Ionic Bonding - Directions

 

How it Works:

Using the Ionic Bonding Concept Builder is quite simple. There are three different activities. Each activity involves a different set of tasks ... and a different set of directions.

In the first activity - Identify the Ionic Bond - you will be presented with four pairs of elements. You must decide which two pairs include elements that would bond together with ionic bonding. You select your choices by tapping on the element symbols. When you do, they are highlighted as your answer choices. If you change your mind, then tap on the pair of elemental symbols a second time and it will be deselected. To assist with your decision making, you can tap on the Periodic Table. The location of the eight elements will be shown on the table. As long as you have selected two pairs of elements, a Check Answer button will appear. When you are satisfied with your choices, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

In the second activity - Ion Formation - you will be presented with the name and symbol of an element. It will either be a metal or a nonmetal. You must first construct the electron shell diagram showing the number of s and p electrons in the inner and valence shells of an atom of the given element. You do this by tapping on the circles to identify an electron location. Tapping on a circle colors it red; the red indicates the presence of an electron. If you change your mind, you can tap on the circle again to remove the electron. Once you have completed your electron shell diagram, you have to indicate the number of valence electrons. These are the outer shell electrons. Tap on the answer box to increase the number by 1. Once you have identified the number, stop tapping. If you pass your number, press Reset and start over. Once these two tasks are completed, tap on the Check button and read the feedback. If either task is incorrectly completed, you will be told to correct it and try again. Once the two tasks are completed, you will have to complete the final task - the completion of a sentence about how the element forms an ion. The sentence is shown to the right of the electron shell diagram. You can complete the sentence by tapping on the blanks. toggles through the answer choices for that blank in the sentence. Once you have completed the sentence, tap on the Check button. You will be given specific feedback and a chance to correct your answer if incorrect. Once you have correctly completed the sentence, your Progress Report will be updated.


In the third activity - Electron Transfer- you will have five tasks to complete. Each task involves making a logical decision about how two elements form an ionic bond. The process begins by identifying the valence shell electron arrangements for each atom. You do this by tapping on the graphics to toggle through the eight options. Once you have completed this task, tap on the Next button. Your answers will not be checked until all five tasks are completed. Tapping Next simply takes you to the next task. The second task is to determine which element is the cation and the anion. Tap on the box to toggle back and forth between the two options. When satisfied with your decision, tap the Next button. The third task is to identify the number of electrons that are donated or accepted per atom of each element. You can tap on the answer fields to toggle through the set of answer options. Once you are satisfied with your answers, tap on the Next button to proceed to the next task. The fourth task involves deciding on how many atoms of each element would combine together to form an ionic compound. You identify your answer by tapping on the answer fields. Once you are satisfied with your answers, tap on the Next button to proceed to the last task. The fifth and final task involves identifying the formula for the ionic compound formed from these two elements. Tap on the answer field to toggle through you choice of options.  Once you are satisfied with your chosen formula, tap on the Next button. Once you tap on the fifth Next button, you will be invited to either check your answer or return to various parts of the question to edit any answers. Once you are finally satisfied with your decisions, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.


Your goal is to earn "Stars" and to complete one or more activities. Stars are earned when you show success on a particular question. If you miss a question then you will have to answer two similar questions correctly before earning a star. Once you show success on all the questions for a particular activity, you will earn the trophy for that activity.

 

Earning Stars

When you start up any of the difficulty levels, the number of questions for that activity are shown in the Progress Report area of the Concept Builder. You will notice that there is either a Yellow or a Red background for each question number. When starting up a difficulty level, the background color is Yellow. Answering a "Yellow" question correctly earns you a star for that question number. However, answering it incorrectly turns the background color to Red. A question number with a Red background must be correctly answered twice (without a miss) in order to earn a star. 

 

Getting Help

You will notice that there is a Help Me button underneath the Progress Report. You should learn to use this feature of the program. It's how you can turn an exercise in answering questions into an exercise in learning. Tapping on the Help Me button will open a page with help that is specific to each question. Of course, the Help pages are only helpful if you read them. So take the time to read them. Each Help page contains four sections: a discussion of the Fundamentals, a display of the various Questions in the Question Group, and a section titled "How to Think About This Situation". You should pay attention to the section titled How to Think About This Situation. You will find what you need to know in the two or three paragraphs in this section. You will also become a better Chemistry student for doing that. That is, after all, the goal of such an activity as Ionic Bonding.
 

Thanks for being patient with the Directions. Happy learning!