ACTIVITY pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Go Chemistry: A Card Game To Help Students Learn Chemical Formulas Todd A. Morris* Department of Chemistry, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837, United States
bS Supporting Information ABSTRACT: For beginning chemistry students, the basic tasks of writing chemical formulas and naming covalent and ionic compounds often pose difficulties and are only sufficiently grasped after extensive practice with homework sets. An enjoyable card game that can replace or, at least, complement nomenclature homework sets is described. “Go Chemistry” is similar to the “Go Fish” card game in that students earn points by using cards to correctly form the formulas of covalent and ionic compounds and by subsequently providing the names of these compounds. By playing the game, students practice identifying an element or ion from its chemical symbol, categorizing elements as either metals or nonmetals, determining whether elements will combine to form ionic or covalent compounds, combining the cards in the correct ratio for electrical neutrality for ionic compounds or valency for covalent compounds, and applying the nomenclature rules. The difficulty of the game can be easily adjusted to match the course objectives and the knowledge level of the students. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Humor/Puzzles/Games, Covalent Bonding, Ionic Bonding, Nomenclature/Units/Symbols, Student-Centered Learning
T
he incorporation of games in the chemistry classroom has been well established as a novel method of helping students learn and review material in a less formal, yet effective way.1 5 Pedagogical card games, in particular, are especially well suited for this purpose because of their inherent adaptability for course content and objectives.6 9 A card game called “Go Chemistry” in which students earn points by using their cards to correctly form the formulas and provide the names of covalent and ionic compounds is described. By participating in the game, students review how to identify an element or ion from its chemical symbol, categorize elements as either metals or nonmetals, determine whether elements will combine to form ionic or covalent compounds, combine elements or ions in the correct ratio for electrical neutrality for ionic compounds or valency for covalent compounds, and apply the appropriate rules for naming ionic or covalent compounds. Once players are acquainted with the rules and structure of the game, most games are finished in about 15 20 min.
playing the card, the formula weights have been rounded to the nearest whole number to facilitate scoring. A deck list of suggested elements and ions along with the recommended number of cards for each element or ion, a template for generating cards, a handout of the rules, and a scoring record for players are given as Supporting Information.
’ RULES OF THE GAME Before the first game begins, the role of dealer is determined by each player drawing a card. The player with the card of lowest value serves as the dealer for the first game. These cards are discarded. The dealer will not compete in the game but will be responsible for verifying the correctness of all responses. This student may have access to his or her notes and textbook. The player to the left of the dealer begins the game and play rotates to the left. For subsequent games, the player to the previous dealer’s left assumes the role of dealer. The dealer deals each player seven cards face down. When it is a player’s turn, he or she has three options. As option 1, the player may combine two or more cards from the cards he or she is holding to form the formula of a compound and provide its name. If the dealer concludes that formula and name are both correct, the player earns the number of points equal to the sum of the formula weights appearing on the played cards. The player draws
’ GAME PREPARATIONS Each group of 4 6 students uses one deck of cards. One side of each card contains the chemical symbol and the rounded formula weight of an element or polyatomic ion and the other side of the card is blank. The cards can be printed on card stock and cut to size. Alternatively, each card can be printed on office paper, cut to size, and taped to one side of a blank index card. Because the formula weight is the point value for correctly Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: July 22, 2011 1397
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed100661c | J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1397–1399
Journal of Chemical Education as many cards as he or she has played, and it is the next player’s turn. If the formula is incorrect, the player earns zero points, returns the cards to his or her hand, and it is the next player’s turn. If the formula is correct but incorrectly named, another player may earn 25 bonus points by correctly naming the formula of the played cards. The person to the player’s left has the first opportunity to correctly name the formula and receive the bonus points. If this person cannot correctly name the formula, the student to this person’s left has an opportunity and so on. If the correct name is not given after all players have had a chance, the dealer provides the correct name. Before play continues in this third scenario, the player who played a correct formula but incorrectly named it discards the played cards, draws an equal number of cards from the deck and earns zero points for his or her turn. As option 2, if a player anticipates being able to complete a formula by obtaining a particular card, he or she may ask one other player for that card. If the asked player is holding the requested card, then the card is surrendered to the asking player who then may play a formula as in option 1. If the asked player loses a card this way, he or she may immediately draw a card from the deck to replace it. If the asking player unsuccessfully requests a card, he or she may draw a card from the deck but may not play a formula until his or her next turn. As option 3, if a player feels that he or she needs more than one particular card to play a formula, the player may discard any number of his or her cards and then draw an equal number of cards from the deck to replace them. The player, however, may not play a formula until his or her next turn. Play continues until one player has accumulated 500 points. A piece of candy or extra credit may be awarded to the winning student.
’ VARIATIONS The difficulty or goals of the game can be easily adjusted by changing the types of cards in the deck and the information provided on the card. For example, the polyatomic ion cards could be excluded from the deck if these ions have not been discussed in class. As suggested here, only the transition metals and polyatomic ions have their charges indicated. Including the charges on the group 1 and 2 metals would lower the challenge. On the other hand, the charges on the polyatomic ions could be omitted to challenge the students to recall their specific charges. In addition, the rules for correctly naming compounds could be made more or less strict to match the level of the students. For example, CuCl is properly named copper(I) chloride or cuprous chloride. However, some instructors may accept “copper chloride” as a correct name if it matches the course’s content and objectives. The inclusion of wild cards is also an option for playing the game. These cards are blank and may be used to represent any element or ion in the formation of a compound (analogous to blank tiles in the board game Scrabble) but have no point value. The number of wild cards in the deck should be kept low to maximize their impact on the game and the student’s joy upon drawing them. ’ OTHER NOTES To maintain a reasonable pace in a game, it is suggested to not allow students use of their notes or textbook. However, a periodic table could be made available. To assist the students in asking for a particular card (as in option 2), each group
ACTIVITY
should be given a deck list that shows the number of each type of card present in the deck.
’ DISCUSSION At least two other chemical formula card games have been reported in this Journal.6,7 These games are similar to “Go Chemistry” in that students compete by forming chemical formulas with cards bearing the chemical symbols of elements or ions. Players are awarded points based on the molar mass of their played chemical formula7 or its complexity.6 In contrast, players are awarded points in “Go Chemistry” by both correctly forming and naming a chemical formula. This fundamental facet of the game along with option 2 and the possibility of earning bonus points (see option 1) help promote verbal interactions among competing players. As a result, the game play remains lighthearted and keeps the students actively engaged in learning chemistry even if it is not their turn. In addition, the instructor can easily determine if a particular group of competing players are on task by listening to their conversations. Because the point value for each formula is its approximate molar mass, the game may also serve as an introduction or review of the concept and calculation of molar mass. Although a successful player must know the rules to form and name compound formulas, winning a game of “Go Chemistry” is also product of the student’s strategy and luck. One risky strategy of play is to forego the playing of the most highly valued formula possible and to save certain cards in the hopes of being able to complete a higher valued formula later. For example, a player holding a chlorine card, two sodium cards, and a phosphate card may choose to not play NaCl for 58 points but save the two sodium cards and hope to obtain another sodium card in order to play the 164-point formula Na3PO4. Alternatively, a player may choose to frequently utilize option 2 during his or her turn. As a result, the player will collect more cards in his or her hand than the other players. Although this strategy will improve his or her chances of playing highly valued formulas, it is also carries with it a high risk of earning zero points for a turn. Luck may also play a significant role in the game. Similar to holding all vowels in Scrabble, it is possible for a student to hold a bad hand (e.g., all metals) for a time. The instructor should encourage the student in such a situation to utilize option 2 (asking for the most common card that will work) or option 3 to eventually play out of the predicament. This game has received a generally positive response from introductory chemistry students at two colleges. Although it takes a half of a game or so for most students to understand the objectives of the game, most report enjoying the game and understanding compound formation and nomenclature better by their participation. As an example of its effectiveness, several students have asked to borrow the deck of cards as a study aid for the exam. ’ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
bS
Supporting Information A suggested deck list (of 104 cards); a scoring sheet for the players to keep record of their points; a rules handout; and a template for the creation of the cards. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. 1398
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed100661c |J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1397–1399
Journal of Chemical Education
ACTIVITY
’ REFERENCES (1) Russell, J. V. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 481–484. (2) Hanson, R. M.; Michalek, B. J. Chem. Educ. 2006, 83, 581–588. (3) Deavor, J. P. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 467. (4) Capps, K. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 518. (5) Schreck, J. O. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 233–234. (6) Sawyer, A. K. J. Chem. Educ. 1976, 53, 780. (7) Sherman, A.; Sherman, S. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1980, 57, 503–504. (8) Sevcik, R. S.; Hicks, O.; Schultz, L. D.; Alexander, S. V. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 514–515. (9) Granath, P. L.; Russell, J. V. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 485–486.
1399
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed100661c |J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1397–1399
