Mapping compound structure and bonding
How everyday compounds’ properties can be linked to their bonding and structure with a ‘structure triangle’
The periodic table is a fantastic scaffold for understanding the properties of elements and how those elements relate to their neighbours. However, for students beginning to learn about bonding, the properties of compounds can appear random and disconnected from their constituent elements.
What if there was a way to categorise compounds, like the periodic table does for elements, to help students make sense of their properties?
Organising the dizzying array of compounds into a visual representation analogous to the periodic table is possible. They can be sorted into just four groups based on the elements they are made from and the ways elements bond. The resulting ‘structure triangle’ groups compounds by physical properties beyond solid, liquid or gas.
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