Today with Science Club, we talked
about what atoms are and how they bond with each other to make
molecules and then the kids made models of specific molecules out of
candy.
Atoms: building blocks of everything
we can touch. Click
here to view good videos about atoms. (Scroll down)
Each atom has a specific amount of bonds it wants to make with
other atoms to form a molecule. I modeled this to the kids by
showing them marshmallow atoms with hands sticking out of them for
the specific number of bonds each wants to make - the desire to hold hands
:)
hydrogen - 1 bond
oxygen - 2 bonds
So when 1 atom of hydrogen and 1
atom of oxygen bond, they do not have a complete molecule
because one bond is still open and looking for a partner.
complete molecule - H2O - water
Another example of how the bonds can
form - carbon has 4 bonds and so could combine with 2 hydrogen atoms
and 1 oxygen atom to make a molecule. Although, I'm not sure
what the name of this molecule is. C4H2O
Then the kids starting working on
building their own molecules following the rules of bonds.
That Y shaped one is ammonia. Its chemical formula is
NH3. One atom of nitrogen with 3 bonds (hands) and 3 atoms of
hydrogen with 1 bond each.
We also build carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane gas (CH4), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)....
Hydrogen
(1 bond) - Oxygen (2 bonds) -
Carbon (4 bonds) -
Nitrogen (3 bonds) -
Sulfur (2 bonds) -
Chlorine
(1 bond)
Then they were challenged with trying
to figure out how to configure sugar C6H12O6 following all the rules
of the bonds. None were able to figure it out but some got
pretty close. Below are a few of the attempts.
In real life though, a sugar molecule
is positioned in two rings, but that doesn't matter. The whole
idea was just to understand the basics of how atoms work together
following certain rules of bonds to form molecules and the kids got
that so all is good.
You can calculate how many molecules you
are made of by
inserting your weight here. Amazingly, someone weighing
100 pounds, has about 916,778,800,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules
making up their body! I had to look it up how to say that huge
number here.
That's 916 septillion, 778
sextillion, 800 quintillion molecules in a 100 pound body!!
Next, we tried our hands at chemical
reactions. A chemical reaction is when something breaks the
molecules' bonds and reconfigures them into a whole new molecule,
which is completely different than the original molecules.
Always a kid favorite....slime.
recipe
