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8/13/2019 Mastery of Chemical Formula Through CHEMIMATCH by Khor Sim S
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Mastery of Chemical Formulae through CHEMIMATCH
KHOR SIM SUANSMK BERAPIT,
14000 BUKIT MERTAJAM, PENANG
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the use of CHEMIMATCH, a card game designed to improve the
students memory skills of the ionic formulae in the subtopic Chemical Formulae. The
basic idea of this design is to have the students construct the chemical formulae bymatching the correct combination of the cations and anions. CHEMIMATCH is different
from other types of card games as it consists of three sets of cards which require the
students to master SET I and SET II before playing SET III. The uniqueness of this card
game is that students can play the game on their own with or without the teachers
supervision.
1.0 Introduction
As a chemistry teacher, I often come across students having difficulty in giving the
correct chemical formulae of substances. As a result, it will affect the students ability to
write balanced chemical equations. Sometimes I have no choice but to force the
students to memorise the ionic formulae in the hope that they will be able to come out
with the correct formulae of the ionic compounds. However, I realise that this strategy is
sometimes not workable as some students will not take the initiatives to memorise and
find it boring. Thus, the question arises on how to help my students solve this problembesides making it interesting enough to learn the chemical formulae of substances on
their own.
Through discussion and brainstorming sessions with my chemistry colleague, I finally
come out with this idea of chemical formulae matching through a card game called
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CHEMIMATCH to help my students. I first conceived the idea of the CHEMIMATCH
game after conducting a survey to gage my students interest. The survey results
revealed that most of the students enjoy playing POKEMON during their leisure time. I
then decided to come out with an interesting game of chemical formulae matching to
alleviate students difficulty in writing chemical formulae of substances. Thus, the
CHEMIMATCH game is designed in such a way that students can have fun while
competing with each other to win the game. As the total point for the correct matching of
a chemical formula is 1000, the students can check on each others cards and play with
or without the teachers supervision.
2.0 Objectives of CHEMIMATCH
The CHEMIMATCH card game is designed with the following objectives:
(a) To familiarize students with the ionic formulae of cations and anions, and
chemical formulae of all types of elements or compounds.
(b) To develop the thinking skills of students when constructing the chemical
formulae of ionic compounds.
(c) To help students utilize the knowledge learnt in an interesting and active manner.
(d) To create a fun and lively atmosphere for students to communicate and solve
problems among themselves.
(e)To instill students confidence and interest towards learning Chemistry,
particularly in the subtopic CHEMICAL FORMULAE.
3.0 Construction of CHEMIMATCH
The innovation of CHEMIMATCH was carried out within a period of 2 months starting
from March until April 2009. In the first month, a preliminary survey was conducted
through interviews with students and feedback from teachers followed by observations
and analysis of Progressive Test 1. During this period, the teacher constructs the three
sets of cards which involve two major stages such as follows:
A. Matching of ions to form chemical formulae of ionic compounds
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(a) Level Iinvolves simple ions (SET I) as shown below:
Cations Points Anions Points
K+ 250 Cl- 200
Na+ 300 I- 300
Cu2+ 250 O2- 150
Mg2+ 450 Br- 250
Al3+ 100
Zn2+ 150
Ag+ 600
Fe3+ 100
Pb2+ 200
P+ 150 Cl2- 100
So+ 200 O- 100
Mn2+ 150
Co2+ 200
[Note: P+, So+, Mn2+, Co2+, Cl2-and O-are purposely added to distract the students.]
Name of compound Formula Points
Magnesium oxide MgO 400
Zinc chloride ZnCl2 450
Sodium chloride NaCl 500
Sodium oxide Na2O 250
Potassium iodide KI 450
Lead(II) iodide PbI2 200
Copper(II) oxide CuO 600
Aluminium oxide Al2O3 350Zinc bromide ZnBr2 350
Iron(III) chloride FeCl3 300
Sodium iodide NaI 400
Silver chloride AgCl 200
Potassium bromide KBr 500
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SET Icaters for students who simply cannot write chemical formulae of ionic
compounds at all. In this set, there are altogether 150 cards which comprise
90 cation cards (10 of each cation), 40 anion cards (10 of each anion), 6
distractors and 14 cards with names of formulae of ionic compounds.
(b) Level IIinvolves polyatomic ions (SET II) as shown below:
Cations Points Anions Points
Cu2+ 250 CO32- 150
Na+ 300 SO42- 250
Ca2+ 350 OH- 250
Mg2+ 450 Cl- 200
Fe2+ 200 NO3- 150
Al3+ 100
Pb2+ 200
NH4+ 250
So+ 200 SO2- 150
Silver bromide AgBr 150
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Mn2+ 150 OH2- 150
Ca+ 200 CO2- 100
[Note: So+, Mn2+, Ca+, SO2-, OH2-and CO2-are intentionally added to distract
the students.]
SET II caters for
students who
have acquired the
mastery level of
SET I which involves
simple ions. In
this set, the
students are
introduced and
exposed to
polyatomic ions. There are altogether a total of 150 cards in this set which
comprise 80 cation cards (10 of each cation), 50 anion cards (10 of each
anion), 6 distractors and 14 cards with names of formulae of ionic
compounds.
B. Matching of chemical formulae to all types of elements or compounds (SET III) as
shown below:
Substances Formula of
substance
Points
Name of substance Points
Potassium 650 K 350
Aluminium oxide 350 Al2O3 650
Name of compound Formula Points
Iron(II) sulphate FeSO4 550
Calcium carbonate CaCO3 500
Sodium carbonate Na2CO3 250
Copper(II) carbonate CuCO3 600
Magnesium nitrate Mg(NO3)2 250
Copper(II) sulphate CuSO4 500Ammonium chloride NH4Cl 550
Lead(II) sulphate PbSO4 550
Aluminium hydroxide Al(OH)3 150
Iron(II) chloride FeCl2 400
Sodium hydroxide NaOH 450
Magnesium carbonate MgCO3 400
Lead(II) nitrate Pb(NO3)2 500
Ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4 250
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Potassium nitrate 750 KNO3 250
Ammonium sulphate 250 (NH4)2SO4 750
Hydrogen 700 H2 300
Chlorine 680 Cl2 320
Carbon monoxide 450 CO 550
Sulphur dioxide 250 SO2 750
Phosphoric acid 400 H3PO4 600
Ethanoic acid 350 CH3COOH 650
Sodium chloride 500 NaCl 500
Hydrochloric acid 800 HCl 200
Sulphur trioxide 730 SO3 270
Calcium hydroxide 150 Ca(OH)2 850
Oxygen 660 O2 340
Copper 720 Cu 280
Iron 540 Fe 460
Sulphuric acid 640 H2SO4 360
Magnesium 480 Mg 520
Water 670 H2O 330
Nitric acid 470 HNO3 530
Magnesium carbonate 400 MgCO3 600
Ammonia 550 NH3 450
Zinc 570 Zn 430
Potassium hydroxide 500 KOH 500
Distractors:
Formula of
substance
Points Formula of
substance
Points
Cl 300 K2NO3 350
Mg2 250 CO2 450
O 650 HSO4 260
P 320 Co 500
NH4 400 HNO 330
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SET IIIalso involves card matching whereby the players will have to match the
chemical formula of a substance to the name of substance displayed. This set
includes all types of substances and altogether there are 110 cards which
comprise 25 cards with name of substance, 75 cards with formula of substance
(3 of each formula) and 10 distractors.
For the construction of CHEMIMATCH SETS I, II and III, I prepare a total of 150
cards each measuring 6 cm x 10 cm for SET I, 150 cards for SET II and 110
cards for SET III. For SET I (see P-1) and SET II (see P-2), one side of the card
is labelled CHEMIMATCH and CATION (red card) or ANION (blue card) while
the other side is the ionic formula and point. Another type of the card shows the
name of ionic compound and point with CHEMIMATCH (yellow card) printed
over-leaf. As for SET III (see P-3), one side of the card shows the formula of
substance and point while the other side is printed CHEMIMATCH (green card).
Another type of the card shows the name of substance and point with
CHEMIMATCH (yellow card) printed over-leaf.
The letterings and designs of the laminated cards are done using computer and
printed on A4 coloured papers. Overall, the cost incurred for the construction of
CHEMIMATCH SETS I, II and III is RM 41.00. The cost is relatively low as
compared to the vast benefits obtained for the teaching and learning of chemistry
particularly on the subtopic Chemical Formulae in the Form Four Chemistry
Syllabus.
4.0 Examples of CHEMIMATCH Sets I, II and III
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P-1
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P-2
P-3
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5.0 Implementation of CHEMIMATCH
The implementation of CHEMIMATCH was carried out in the second month of April
2009. The rules set for the game are as follows:
(a) SET I and SET II
1. The basic idea is for each player to make up a chemical formula by matching the
correct combination of cations and anions to the name of ionic compound given.
2. The game is suitable for up to a maximum of 4 players.
3. For a start, each player takes one set of anion and cation cards.
4. Each player in turn plays the cards by matching the cards according to the name
of ionic compound displayed on the table. The correct matching of cards will
have a total point of 1000.
5. If unable to match the cards, the player will have to draw one card either from the
cation or anion stack of cards.
6. The game continues until all the cards with names of ionic compounds are used
up.
7. The winner of the game will be the player with the highest total points.
(b) SET III
1. The basic idea is to have the players match the correct chemical formula of a
substance to the name of substance given by the team manager.
2. The game is suitable for up to a maximum of 8 players.
3. For a start, the team manager will deal each player one chemical formula card at
a time until all the cards are given out.
4. The team manager will display one card with the name of substance on the table.
5. The fastest player to place the correct chemical formula of the substance given
will get to keep the matching cards.
6. The game continues until all the cards with names of substances are used up.
7. The winner of the game will be the player with the highest total points.
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6.0 Benefits of CHEMIMATCH in the teaching and learning process
Initially many students gave the following reasons for failing to master the subtopic
on CHEMICAL FORMULAE:
1. Find it boring to memorise the ionic formulae.
2. Too many ions to remember.
3. This subtopic is so difficult.
After introducing SET I and SET II to the students, many of them could not wait to
play the game as they wanted to compete with their friends to win the game. When
playing SET III, the students were even more excited as they tried to keep pace with
their friends. The following were the comments given by students about the
CHEMIMATCH game:
1. I enjoy very much playing the game.
2. Its easier to memorise the ionic formulae now.
3. I wish I have more time to play CHEMIMATCH.
4. This game helps me to improve on ionic formulae.
5. I have much fun playing the game.
After a few rounds of CHEMIMATCH (SET I and SET II), the students were more
familiar with the ionic formulae and the principles of constructing chemical formulae
of ionic compounds. The teacher observed that the students even started to keep a
check on each others chemical formula whenever a student placed the matching
cards showing the formula (SET III) on the table. They were able to confirm the
correct matching easily since the total point must be equal to 1000.
The CHEMIMATC card game has enhanced and improved the students memory
skills on the ionic formulae and chemical formulae of substances. The use of
CHEMIMATCH has enabled the students to give the correct chemical formulae of
substances with ease and confidence. Through card matching, the students had
also learnt to determine the ratio of cations and anions in an ionic compound. For
example, when forming zinc chloride compound, one Zn2+ ion card needs to be
matched with two Cl-ion cards so that the total charge is zero.
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7.0 Conclusion
The CHEMIMATCH game can be used as an effective tool in the teaching and learning
of the subtopic Chemical Formulae in Chapter 3: Chemical Formulae and Equations of
the Form 4 Chemistry Syllabus. In the process of playing the game, students
misconceptions and uncertainties in constructing chemical formulae will be eliminated
after a few rounds of the game. The card game certainly outweighs the routine chalk
and talk and drill and practice of examination questions methods of teaching and
learning. This is because the CHEMIMATCH game is fun, enjoyable and exciting as it
involves students participation and interaction in a lively atmosphere.
Students critical thinking and decision making skills can also be enhanced when playing
CHEMIMATCH as they need these skills to choose either the cation or anion cards to
match the name of the ionic compound. Besides, this card game can also be used in
one of the Science Club activities and for recreational activities. In conclusion, the use
of CHEMIMATCH certainly has a positive impact on the students learning interest and
attitudes towards chemistry.
References
A Handbook for Teachers (1992). Chemistry Card and Board Games. Science
Teachers Association of Singapore.
Bahagian Perancangan dan Penyelidikan Dasar Pendidikan, Kementerian Pelajaran
Malaysia. (2006). Manual Kajian Tindakan. Kuala Lumpur: BPPDP, KPM.
Curriculum Development Centre. (2004). Curriculum Specifications for Chemistry Form
Four. Ministry of Education, Malaysia.