Ideas

Modelling ionic bonds with plasticine

By 2022-03-30T08:00:00

A red and a blue balls of plasticine

Source: © New Africa/Shutterstock

Mould your students’ understanding of ionic bond formation and overcome misconceptions

Chemical bonding is a concept A-level and equivalent pupils often find difficult to grasp. The attractive nature of electrostatic forces in matter is sometimes not highlighted early enough in pupils’ scientific education. A lack of understanding manifests itself with older pupils struggling to do calculations involving simple stoichiometry in ionic compounds and separating redox from ionic bond formation. As teachers, we can do something about this by distinguishing ion formation and ionic bond formation more clearly with our 11–16 pupils and avoiding misconceptions forming. 

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