Teaching Strategies

Topic Strategy Title Description
Relate Content to Real World

Keep going back to applications in the real world. How is it that geckos can crawl up a wall, and sit on the ceiling without falling off? How is it they’re able to stay there with gluey legs or something? How do they maximise the attractions between the molecules in their feet and the molecules...

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Compressibility Demonstration

You can get the students to physically feel that liquids are not compressible by giving them three closed syringes: one contains water, say 50 mL, that’s been put in the freezer to become ice; another syringe contains 50 mL of liquid water, and the other one is gas. Ask them to push the syringes...

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Tactile Experiences

Use physical and tactile experiences to demonstrate intermolecular forces. For example, If you stretch a plastic grocery bag (made of polyethylene), the length increases and the width decreases. This breaks apart the London Dispersion Forces (induced dipole-induced dipole interactions) and...

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Using Models

Use molecular models, simulations, Lewis diagrams, ball and stick models, space filling models. Different representations - macroscopic and microscopic. Make sure you know how to use them.

Link to YouTube Video: Bonding...

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Lab Workshops

Incorporate a workshop into the lab program, where the students basically do geometry and they use these models.

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