This is an in-class case study activity that introduces relevancy between atomic structure (specifically isotopes) and animal migration. Students will apply their knowledge of isotopes, writing atomic symbols, and calculating average atomic mass while also connecting this information to another application (in this case animal migration).
For names with an odd number of letters the center letter must be a valid symbol. For names with an even number of letters the center two letters must be a valid symbol.
This paper describes the synthesis of a stable compound of sodium and helium at very high pressures. The paper uses computational methods to predict likely compounds with helium, then describe a synthetic protocol to make the thermodynamically favored Na2He compound. The compound has a fluorite structure and is an electride with the delocalization of 2e- into the structure.
This paper would be appropriate after discussion of solid state structures and band theory.
The questions are divided into categories and have a wide range of levels.
This is an in-class exercise developed based on a recent paper in Angewandte Chemie International Edition that reported a crystal structure of "six-coordinate" carbon. We normally think of carbon being four-coordinate at most, but this case has definitive evidence otherwise. However, we can use our inorganic chemistry knowledge to understand the structure and bonding of this molecule and rationalize its stability. Students do a pre-class exercise and then construct the MO of fhe molecule in class together.