How to teach chemistry through electrostatics at post-16

By 2024-01-22T06:14:00

A yellow oil sits on top of a clear liquid in a test tube

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Highlight the importance of charge and polarity in chemistry with these classroom ideas and activities

Understanding charges and forces is important at post-16. Help your students to master electrostatics with ideas for your classroom, common misconceptions to look out for and checks for understanding. Provide context to learners when teaching A-level, Scottish Higher and Advanced Higher and Leaving Certificate chemistry with everyday examples of charge and polarity, such as why water and oil don’t mix and fizzy drinks go flat. Explain how electrostatics influence states of matter, bond strength and molecular interactions. Plus, make links to other post-16 topics including electron movement in organic reaction mechanisms, periodicity and electronegativity. 

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