This is a simple activity designed to help students visualize the interaction of atomic orbitals to form molecular orbitals.  Students construct atomic orbitals out of Play-Doh and determine whether overlap of a given pairs of atomic orbitals along the specified axis can result in a σ, π, or δ interaction or no net interaction.  I do this activity following a reading assignment and lecture on the formation of molecular orbitals from atomic orbitals that cover the various types of interactions.  Students then work in groups of 3-4 to complete the instructions described on the attached worksh

I like having students look at data and then explain data based on what they know about periodic trends. This activity uses the data we all use for radii and ionization energies and asks students to look just a little bit deeper. 

I have gone back and forth between using this as an in class activity (my current practice) and using some of these questions on exams. 

This in class activity is designed to introduce students to how amino acid side chains can coordinate metal ions in proteins.  It guides students through the exploration of several metal binding sites in proteins using the Ligand Explorer program on the Protein Data Bank (PDB) website.  Essentially, it is a way for them to use the PDB to “discover” the information generally presented on this topic in the introductory chapters of bioinorganic textbooks.  At the end it asks students to think about Hard Soft Acid Base theory and to see how that can be applied to the binding of metals in protei

This is an in-class activity that I made to help students in my second semester general chemistry course work through some aspects of color and coordination chemistry.  The activity was performed with a demonstration of color for nickel coordination complexes (ligands: water, ethylenediamine, and ammonia). I also included equilibria and thermodynamics as those concepts apply to coordination compounds at the introductory level.  This served as a review of the concepts as well.

Students construct computer models of two transition metal complexes, solve their electronic structures, and inspect the resulting d-type molecular orbitals to identify which are non-bonding, sigma* antibonding, or pi* antibonding. After constructing a molecular orbital diagram, they determine which of the two complexes is likely to absorb light at a longer wavelength.

This in-class activity is intended to help visualize the meaning of the subscripts and coefficients in molecular formulas that appear in balanced chemical equations. It has been my experience that students in 2nd semester general chemistry can sometimes still be confused about this fundamental aspect of chemical language. It substitutes edible candy for the atoms in a molecular model kit, thus allowing students to eat the atoms at the end. (My philosophy is that if students are eating, they're probably awake and could be learning!)