My Notes
Categories
This POGIL based activity is intended to review general chemistry concepts of atomic structure and to further those concepts with additional attention to d orbitals and radial distribution graphs. The primary model in the activity is The Orbitron website (https://winter.group.shef.ac.uk/orbitron/) with students examining the isosurface and radial distributions for a variety of orbitals.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Student version of Atomic Orbital Representations and the Orbitron | 133.93 KB |
| Summary sheet homework | 73.39 KB |
- Determine the rules for possible quantum numbers for an atomic orbital.
- Determine the number of angular and radial nodes in an atomic orbital.
- Explain how angular and radial nodes relate to orbital shape and the radial distribution graphs.
Each group of students will need a computer or tablet with internet access.
This activity is intended to be completed in small groups of 3 or 4 and is based on the POGIL model. It was inspired during the Summer VIPEr Fellows meeting by Patrick Lutz's activity: Review of Atomic Orbitals and Guided Tour of the Orbitron.
Some of the questions in the activity may seem rudimentary (for example 8a where students describe the x axis). This is intentional. POGIL uses an Exploration, Invention, Application learning cycle. Rudimentary questions like 8a are intended to help students explore the model before they begin the more complex process of concept invention.
In my class this activity immediately follows and activity on the Bohr Model. The first question in the activity could be removed if the Bohr model is not being reviewed.
Question 5 is an "application" question and can serve as a check point for instructors. Groups should be able to explain based on rules rather than only recognizing patterns. Question 15 is an "invention" question and can again serve as a check point to make sure students are understanding concepts. 17eii is an application question that can again serve to make sure students understand the underlying concepts and not only pattern recognition.
Ideally students will complete the whole activity, however if you have a "slow" group they should at least complete through question 18.
After the activity, students have a Summary Sheet to complete individually to make sure that they understood the main concepts. The Summary Sheet is homework and due the next classroom period. This lets me have quick feedback on whether or not students are on track. More complex and intergraded questions on the concepts are included in a larger homework assignment due later in the unit.
Evaluation
The activity has not formally been evaluated. However my students this year (with new activity) did much better on the radial distribution and angular/radial node questions on the first exam than in previous years (when I had used an activity in which they only compared drawings of radial distributions without interacting with the Orbitron site). That being said, in recent semesters I've had very few students (3 this year, 5 last year) so the difference in exam achievement may have been due to other factors.