oh, yeah, electrons...and then attaching them to atoms - here is a preview of my carbon atom with only five valance electrons - you can see the snap where the other electron will go once it is attached to both the hydrogen (white [1proton/1electron]) and the carbon (black [6p/6n/2e interior/4e valence])
(note about colors: hydrogen is usually depicted as a white sphere, carbon as black, oxygen as red, chloride as green, and sodium as various colors - purple is the one i chose)
and the (almost) completed methane molecule (CH4 = one carbon and four hydrogen atoms)...
the hydrogen atoms (i wanted them to be more round, but now they just look like little white potatoes - sigh) without any indication on them yet...
water (H2O - one oxygen [8p/8n/8e total] and two hydrogen) indicating the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the oxygen and indicating the covalent bonds that hold them together.
a close-up of the oxygen atom (there are six valence electrons and space for two more once the hydrogen get hooked up)
the chloride and sodium atoms stuck together in the ionic bond that forms after chloride steals the electron from the sodium... [17p/18n/17e @ nutral chloride] but becomes an anion --> 18e and negative one charge.
a close up of the sodium ion [11p/11n/10e --> positive one charge] showing where the 11th electron was before chloride was so rude as to steal it (smile) (up-side down = "above" the "P" you can see the snap piece).
so that was what i did over my holiday break...and i get to use them on tuesday - we shall see if it helps the students understand what the heck i am talking about...
peace
1 comment:
So how did the "visual aide" go over with the students? I can't begin to tell you how cool I think this all is!!
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