The Nature of Hydrogen Bonding

In this Activity, students build models of polarized water molecules using K’nex toy components and adhesive Velcro. Students investigate hydrogen bonding by shaking the models in various ways. They observe the resulting interactions and relate their observations to physical states of water and the difference between strong bonds and weak attractions. This Activity complements curricular coverage on changes of state such as the melting and boiling of water. The Activity could introduce the importance of intermolecular forces in determining the states of matter. It could also be used after units on electronegativity and bond and molecular polarity.