Chemistry for Everyone
Secondary School Chemistry
The Elements Drawing Iyad M. Dkeidek Teachers’ Educational Center, Latin Street 12, Jerusalem 97917 and Al-Esawyyah High School, Al-Esawyyah, P.O. Box 19301, Jerusalem 91120 Israel;
[email protected] Presenting chemical concepts through fun, practical activities is one of the creative trends in chemical education especially for high school students or chemistry clubs. Puzzles, games, toys, and computer-aided software are excellent means for students to acquire chemical knowledge. A previous Journal article indicates that puzzles that challenge the imagination of students make lectures more dynamic and conveys ideas in a way that makes them stick with students longer than direct statements of fact and principle (1). Several educational games have been reported in this Journal (2–6) that convey the idea above. With this perspective in mind, we present an educational tool—a game designed for first- or second-year high school students who have already covered themes related to periodic table elements such as their symbol, electronic configurations, properties, and uses. The ultimate aim of this game is to help students learn the symbols of the elements and their properties or uses in a fun, engaging way.
Rules Students draw lines connecting the two elements evoked by each question. Answering the questions correctly (and sequentially) yields a picture, which can be colored as preferred by the student. The rules of the game allow students to consult information sources such as books, encyclopedias, and the Internet, if needed. Encouraging Internet use by students promotes the chemical education process. The Web Elements site (7), for example, is a suggested source for help. Teachers can choose different elements and alter the questions of the game to accommodate the level of the students in their class. Teachers can also make any changes to the positions of the elements in the figure in order to get different pictures, such as pictures of laboratory equipment. As a teacher, I have been using this game for many years as a take-home exam for the 10th grade (second-year high school) students. Students’ evaluations and feedback on using these kinds of educational tools has been positive. The template of chemical symbols for playing the game appears in Figure 1. The solution related to the questions provided here is shown in Figure 2. Playing the Game The game shown in Figure 1 consists of sixteen questions. After answering each question, a line should be drawn between the symbols of the correct elements to reveal the picture at the end. Note that an element can be used as an answer more than once in some of the questions.
The Questions
Figure 1. Template of element symbols for the Elements Drawing Game.
1. Connect two elements from the second period: the first element is an inert gas, the second has the same electron configuration as the inert gas if five electrons are added to it. 2. Connect an inert gas that is used in the neon light industry with a third period metal that reacts vigorously with water, giving an alkaline solution. 3. Connect an element from group IVA that is the basis for all organic compounds and used in dry batteries manufacturing with a liquid halogen. 4. Connect an element whose oxide is called quartz (pure glass) with the reddish-brown liquid halogen. 5. Connect a metal that is sometimes found in thermometers with an element whose oxide is a predominant compound of glass. 6. Connect the inert gas that is used for filling up party balloons with a transition metal that is extensively used for fine jewelry and some dental work.
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 80 No. 5 May 2003 • Journal of Chemical Education
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Chemistry for Everyone 7. Connect a metal from group IIA that is found in a chlorophyll complex with a transition metal that is extensively used in plating and decoration. 8. Connect a metal whose saturated aqueous hydroxide solution is used to identify the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) with a third period element used in making fertilizer. 9. Connect these two elements: one belongs to the third period and is used in the phosphoric acid industry; the other is a halogen with table salt as one of its compounds. 10. Connect two gaseous halogens: one has a greenishyellow color and the other has a pale-yellow color. 11. Connect a gaseous halogen from the second period whose ion is found in toothpaste with a transition metal that appears in the hemoglobin molecule and is used to produce steel alloy. 12. Connect two elements: each of them is found in the diatomic form in nature, and both of them are used to produce ammonia by the Haber process. 13. Connect the third group IIIA metal that is silverywhite in its pure form with an element that is found in its diatomic form in air and is the most abundant fraction of air.
14. Connect two metals: one belongs to group IIIA and its pure color form is silvery-white; the second metal belongs to group IA and reacts vigorously with water forming a basic solution and is used in fertilizers production. 15. Connect these two elements by double lines: one element has an oxide that is pure quartz; the other element is from group VA and is used in the phosphoric acid industry. 16. Draw a circle centered on the symbol for an element that is a member of the actinide series and has an application to nuclear power and nuclear weapons. When making the circle, include the four elements’ symbols closest to the symbol of the central element.
Literature Cited 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Bartell, L. S. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 1067–1069. Crute, T. D. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 481–482. Crute, T. D. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 559. Schreck, J. O. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 233–234. Deavor, J. P. J. Chem. Educ. 1996, 73, 430. Armitage, G. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1979, 56, 609. Mark Winter. WebElements, the periodic table available on the Internet: http://www.webelements.com (accessed Jan 2003).
Solution
Figure 2. Solution to the 16 questions provided in this version of the Elements Drawing Game.
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Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 80 No. 5 May 2003 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
