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Name the Molecule- a bit of fun!
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8 Replies
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Stearyl Alcohol?
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Hi Perry. So close. Stearic acid.
CH3 (CH2)16 COOH
in Lego of course.
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Nice! I see…the two red legos = two Oxygen atoms.
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Thanks. I use Legos to teach children how to make molecules. We mostly use C H O and the studs correspond to the number of bonds.
You would be surprised how young children can pick this up. I can give them a formula and they can make the molecule.
My daughter, Meggy aged 7, is pictured with her molecule of stearic acid.
Only rule is the Legos can only be 2 deep. It doesn’t work for nonlinear molecules.
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She is very cute, @Dr_Sara and that is a cute way to learn. I’ll bet Meggy can figure a way to get branched groups into there. Even dendrites.
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Thank you.
You are correct. If I give the children a stack of atoms, they make branched molecules. Rings are more of a problem.
The tricky part is when they ask “Dr Sara, what is the name of this molecule and what does it do?”
Stearic acid is a molecule that all kids can relate to- the smell of crayons!
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Cool idea!
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Thank you!
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