atomic properties

Imagine the lively hum of a classroom suddenly bursting into laughter and friendly competition as students engage in a spirited game of rock-paper-scissors. But this isn't just any game; it's the Ion Chip Challenge, a clever and engaging way I help my students grasp the tricky concepts of ions in chemistry.

As sort of a Counting Orbitals I— Appendix, I have invested in a set of painted 100 1" wooden cubes. They can be obtained from your local or online retailer in 8 colors—4 colors with 13 cubes and 4 other colors with 12. Please refer to the Powe

In 2019, the 150th anniversary of the creation of the first Periodic Table established by Dimitri Mendeleiev was commemorated.

Where do the shapes of the orbitals come from? Where is the electron in the p orbital? High school students often have a hard time reconciling the tangible idea of an electron with the idea that the electron has wave-like properties.

I am a 7th grade teacher who has been teaching a semester of physics and a semester of chemistry at the Harker School in San Jose, CA for the last twenty years. Early on in my career, I made a few observations based on the reactions of my students when I introduced the periodic table of elements to them. 

M&M’s (Mars, Inc.) come in a number of colors and sizes. I have found them to be a good visual and kinesthetic model for examining the concept of isotopes and average atomic mass. I use Mega M&Ms, M&Ms minis, and regular M&M’s in this activity. All of these can be purchased in the candy or baking aisles of your local big box store.

This past March, I ran a multi-day poll on Twitter that was designed to be a fun way to determine the “best” element on the periodic table. I’m sharing about the poll here on ChemEdX in case others might want to try something similar in their classrooms.

In this age of scientific inquiry, molecular modeling, digital classrooms, and differentiation, I felt downright guilty about any teacher-centered time. My classroom is flipped after all. I’m not supposed to be lecturing, right?