Guided-Inquiry Activities for General Chemistry Using Chime
These are short guided-inquiry activities centering on one concept around the structure and bonding found in the molecules used as examples. The molecular structures are presented in Chime, molecular structure rendering freeware. Data are used and sometimes collected to build on the discovery process whenever possible. Many examples from organic chemistry are introduced to provide support for concepts in general chemistry. Chime is an excellent molecular visualization tool and easy for students to learn to use. For more information on Chime as a molecular visualization tool click here. Some of the activities use interactive Excel spreadsheets and STELLA models.
You will need Chime loaded in your browser to use these activities.
To learn the menu steps to using Chime- Click here to get an interactive HTML student guide.
|Viewing Molecules in Chime||The Behavior of Amines|
|The Water Molecule||Discovering Resonance||The Duality of Amino Acids|
|The Acetic Acid Molecule||The Arrangement of Bonds||Diprotic Acids and Amino Acids|
|Crystalline Solids||The Carbon-Nitrogen Bond||Reaction Rates and Molecular Crowding|
|More About Solids||The Flexibility of Bonds||Consecutive Reactions|
|The Hydrogen Bond||More About Isomers||Oxides of Nitrogen|
|Dipole Moments and Solubilities||Chirality, It's not just for Tetrahedral Carbon||Kinetics of Dinitrogen Pentoxide Decomposition and the Ozone Hole|
|When Lone Pair Electrons Lose||The Hydrogen Peroxide Molecule||Dueling Mechanisms - SN2 vs. SN1|
|Hindered Bond Rotation|
See the Department of Physical Sciences webpage for information on using Excel and to download a run-only version of STELLA.
For the biologically-oriented student see Exploring the Molecules of Life.
For a complete look at molecular motion see The Dance of the Molecule.
Many of the structures shown in these activities are from the molecules collection available at the NSF-funded C4 Project at Cabrillo Community College.
Another great website for information, construction of molecules, and animations, especially for organic chemistry, is available at Molecules in Four Dimensions.
Animations (movies) of vibrations in solids can be found at the Department of Earth Sciences at University of Cambridge.
Scott A. Sinex Department of Physical Sciences Prince George's Community College 4/2003