Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
properties
ionic
matter
covalent
matter
molecular
matter
metallic
matter
ionic
bonds
covalent
bonds
molecular
bonds
metallic
bonds
intermolecular bonds
intramolecular bonds
(covalent bonds)
hydrogen
bonds
1680
Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 85 No. 12 December 2008 www.JCE.DivCHED.org Division of Chemical Education
Division of Chemical Education www.JCE.DivCHED.org Vol. 85 No. 12 December 2008 Journal of Chemical Education
1681
stage
properties
structures
two atoms (stage 2). The general principles are then used to
present the different traditional categories of chemical bonding
as extreme cases of various continuum scales (stage 3). Equipped
with this knowledge, students can then rationalize different
structures (stage 4) and ultimately properties (stage 5), within
a coherent picture.
We emphasize that the general structure outlined in Figure
2 is in fact appropriate for different levels of chemistry students
(from high school students to advanced undergraduate students), depending on the mathematical and physical rigor of
the discussion. Here, we focus on high school studies, with occasional comments on first-year university instruction as well.
Stage 1: A Single Atom
Our suggested presentation begins with the description of a
single atom. First, single atoms are the obvious building blocks
of all chemical systems. Second, it is a relatively easy point to
introduce two concepts that are key in subsequent discussion:
Coulombs law and the wave nature of electrons. Coulombs law
is central to chemistry because electrical interactions are overwhelmingly the dominant ones in the range and energy scale
relevant to chemistry. However, Coulombs law is obviously not
enough because quantum theory tells us that the picture of an
electron orbiting a nucleus owing to an attractive force is not at
all the same as the picture of, say, the moon orbiting the earth
owing to an attractive force. Instead, understanding electrons
requires that we consider their wave-like character. In other
words, we immediately do away with the physically wrong and
conceptually misleading analogy of electron behavior being the
same as that of a classical billiard ball. Instead, we explain that
electrons in atoms exist as fuzzy probability clouds of negative
charge around the nucleus, which we call orbitals. At the high
school level, this can be rationalized by means of a descriptive
treatment of some experiments that rule out the billiard ball
picture. At more advanced levels the justification can (and
should!) be refined. This is also the appropriate point to introduce the important chemical concepts of shells and sub-shells as
well as valence electrons.
The discussion of single atoms can also be used to introduce
electron spin and Paulis exclusion principle at a descriptive level.
1682
Internuclear Distance
Energy
bond energy
repulsive forces
greater than
attractive forces
the equilibrium
pointthe most
stable bond length
attractive forces
greater than
repulsive forces
Figure 3. A schematic energy curve for any two atoms that interact.
Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 85 No. 12 December 2008 www.JCE.DivCHED.org Division of Chemical Education
ionic bonds
polar bonds
covalent bonds
hydrogen bonds
van der Waals bonds
Division of Chemical Education www.JCE.DivCHED.org Vol. 85 No. 12 December 2008 Journal of Chemical Education
1683
1684
Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 85 No. 12 December 2008 www.JCE.DivCHED.org Division of Chemical Education
Literature Cited
1. Fensham, P. Concept Formation. In New Movements in the Study
and Teaching of Chemistry; Daniels, D. J., Ed.; Temple Smith:
London, 1975; pp 199217.
2. Gillespie, R. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 862864.
3. Hurst, O. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 763764.
4. Dirac, P. A. M. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. A 1929, 123 (792),
714733.
5. Ashkenazi, G.; Kosloff, R. Chem. Educator 2006, 11, 6676.
6. Justi, R.; Gilbert, J. Models and Modeling in Chemical Education.
In Chemical Education: Towards Research-Based Practice; Gilbert,
J. K., Jong, O. D., Justy, R., Treagust, D. F., Van Driel, J. H., Eds.;
Kluwer: Dordrecht, Netherlands, 2002; pp 4768.
7. Taagepera, M.; Arasasingham, R.; Potter, F.; Soroudi, A.; Lam, G.
J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 756762.
8. Sproul, G. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 387390.
9. Taber, K. S. Int. J. Sci. Educ. 1998, 20, 597608.
10. Hawkes, S. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1996, 73, 421423.
11. Myers, R. T. J. Chem. Educ. 1979, 56, 712713.
12. Weinhold, F. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 11411146.
13. Weinhold, F.; Landis, C. R. Valency and Bonding: A Natural Bond
Orbital DonorAcceptor Perspective; Cambridge University Press:
Cambridge, 2005.
14. Henderleiter, J.; Smart, R.; Anderson, J.; Elian, O. J. Chem. Educ.
2001, 78, 11261130.
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/Dec/abs1680.html
Abstract and keywords
Full text (PDF) with links to cited JCE articles
Division of Chemical Education www.JCE.DivCHED.org Vol. 85 No. 12 December 2008 Journal of Chemical Education
1685