A little bonding goes a long way

Dear Parents,

We rediscussed types of intramolecular bonding (ionic versus covalent) and how to draw valence shell diagrams. Then the students learned other ways of depicting bonds, including Lewis dot diagrams and structure notation. We used hula hoops and balls as well as our respective budding scientists to visually represent how the atoms behave as they create the discussed chemical bonds.  We are moving them one step farther to think like chemists do! So much fun!

They went on to begin an experiment exploring various types of reactions with different salts. This experiment will continue next lesson, and then the students will work together to identify an unknown compound. As discussed with Joellen, the pictures I take to give you and other parents a bit more insight into our work are of a really poor quality, as often I do focus more on an action than documenting it. We will have Joellen to help us in our workshop on 10/18th - thank you Joellen!!!

What a great group of kids I have, thank you parents!!! - Joanna

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