Chemical Dominoes
Project Description
As our first project of the year, we were tasked with designing a game that contained certain elements. Those elements were a double displacement reaction, single replacement reaction, creation of a gas, a physical change, a chemical change, and light an LED. The game we designed was called The Game of Life, and there were three levels that represented three different stages of your life. These levels can be seen below. The first of these was your training, the second represented the rest of your life, and the third represented your funeral and celebrated your life and the journey. In the beginning of the game, you could choose one of three paths, which would either make you become a wizard, sorcerer, or warrior. At the beginning of each turn, the player moves one space forward then draws a card; then that player does whatever the card says. On each path, there is a house with an "x" next to it. Once the player reaches the "x", they receive what is inside the house, either ferric chloride, sodium carbonate, or potassium chromate. After the player reaches the end of the first level, they can perform the double displacement reaction with cupric nitrate. Once this is done, they can move onto the second layer. There is another house here with an "x" next to the house, and once the player reaches this, they receive either copper or magnesium to be used in the redox reaction at the end of the second layer. This is our single replacement reaction, and it takes place when copper is put in cupric chloride and magnesium is put in magnesium chloride and the two are joined by a bridge. This allows one side to lose electrons while the other side gains them, creating a current. The metals are attached to a wire, and this exchange of electrons lights an LED. After this, players moved onto the third stage where a series of metal salts with isopropyl alcohol in crucibles were lit, creating a gas and different flame colors based on the metal salt being burned. Our physical change was the lighting of the flame and our chemical change was all three reactions, the single and double displacement and the combustion reaction. Our chemical safety sheet can be seen below along with the game instructions.
As our first project of the year, we were tasked with designing a game that contained certain elements. Those elements were a double displacement reaction, single replacement reaction, creation of a gas, a physical change, a chemical change, and light an LED. The game we designed was called The Game of Life, and there were three levels that represented three different stages of your life. These levels can be seen below. The first of these was your training, the second represented the rest of your life, and the third represented your funeral and celebrated your life and the journey. In the beginning of the game, you could choose one of three paths, which would either make you become a wizard, sorcerer, or warrior. At the beginning of each turn, the player moves one space forward then draws a card; then that player does whatever the card says. On each path, there is a house with an "x" next to it. Once the player reaches the "x", they receive what is inside the house, either ferric chloride, sodium carbonate, or potassium chromate. After the player reaches the end of the first level, they can perform the double displacement reaction with cupric nitrate. Once this is done, they can move onto the second layer. There is another house here with an "x" next to the house, and once the player reaches this, they receive either copper or magnesium to be used in the redox reaction at the end of the second layer. This is our single replacement reaction, and it takes place when copper is put in cupric chloride and magnesium is put in magnesium chloride and the two are joined by a bridge. This allows one side to lose electrons while the other side gains them, creating a current. The metals are attached to a wire, and this exchange of electrons lights an LED. After this, players moved onto the third stage where a series of metal salts with isopropyl alcohol in crucibles were lit, creating a gas and different flame colors based on the metal salt being burned. Our physical change was the lighting of the flame and our chemical change was all three reactions, the single and double displacement and the combustion reaction. Our chemical safety sheet can be seen below along with the game instructions.
Chemical Safety Guidelines |
Game Instructions |
Terms and Definitions
Synthesis Reaction: Two reactants are combined and form a single product (A + B --> AB)
Decomposition Reaction: One reactant breaks down to form two products (AB --> A + B)
Single Replacement Reaction: An element replaces its counterpart (whichever forms the same charge of ion) in a compound, if that element is more active than the one already in the compound (A + BC --> B + AC)
Double Replacement Reaction: Two aqueous solutions are combined, and their ions switch, forming two new compounds. This can sometimes lead to the formation of a precipitate, if certain chemicals are combined (AB + CD --> AD + CB)
Combustion Reaction: A hydrocarbon, when in the presence of oxygen, reacts with heat to produce products of heat, light, water, and carbon dioxide
Ions: When an element gains or loses electrons, they form charged particles, which are called ions; cations are positive ions and anions are negatively charged ions
Isotopes: Elements can also gain or lose neutrons, and when this happens they form isotopes of that element
Activity Series: Guidelines to which elements are more active than others; used to predict the outcome of single replacement reactions
Solubility Guidelines: Guidelines to see if a precipitate will form when two aqueous solutions are combined
Proton: The positively charged particle; found in the nucleus of an atom; with neutrons, make up most of mass
Neutron: The neutrally charged particle in an atom; also found in the nucleus
Electron: The negatively charged particle; located orbiting the nucleus; makes up most of the volume of atoms
Synthesis Reaction: Two reactants are combined and form a single product (A + B --> AB)
Decomposition Reaction: One reactant breaks down to form two products (AB --> A + B)
Single Replacement Reaction: An element replaces its counterpart (whichever forms the same charge of ion) in a compound, if that element is more active than the one already in the compound (A + BC --> B + AC)
Double Replacement Reaction: Two aqueous solutions are combined, and their ions switch, forming two new compounds. This can sometimes lead to the formation of a precipitate, if certain chemicals are combined (AB + CD --> AD + CB)
Combustion Reaction: A hydrocarbon, when in the presence of oxygen, reacts with heat to produce products of heat, light, water, and carbon dioxide
Ions: When an element gains or loses electrons, they form charged particles, which are called ions; cations are positive ions and anions are negatively charged ions
Isotopes: Elements can also gain or lose neutrons, and when this happens they form isotopes of that element
Activity Series: Guidelines to which elements are more active than others; used to predict the outcome of single replacement reactions
Solubility Guidelines: Guidelines to see if a precipitate will form when two aqueous solutions are combined
Proton: The positively charged particle; found in the nucleus of an atom; with neutrons, make up most of mass
Neutron: The neutrally charged particle in an atom; also found in the nucleus
Electron: The negatively charged particle; located orbiting the nucleus; makes up most of the volume of atoms
Reflection
This project was a success in my mind. We had a little bit of a rough start, as we didn't have much done after the first couple days, but we really pulled it all together the last couple. Everyone did their part, and it all came together seamlessly. We had so many ideas in the first couple days it was hard to choose what we wanted to do, and this was where we started to have problems. The next couple workdays we all forgot to bring in what was needed, so we had to work on designing our game instead of building it, which set us behind. When we did bring in the materials, we worked slowly. The last couple days, however, we all pulled through and really made our project come to life. Everyone came in at lunches and worked on whatever needed to be worked on, and it was this extra work that made our project what it was. I do think we all slacked a little too much in the first bit of our project and we should have been on our game and brought what we needed. I should have stepped up as a leader and been in charge of making sure things got done. In the future, I need to work on this, as most people do not really step up to be a leader unless they are a born leader.
This project was a success in my mind. We had a little bit of a rough start, as we didn't have much done after the first couple days, but we really pulled it all together the last couple. Everyone did their part, and it all came together seamlessly. We had so many ideas in the first couple days it was hard to choose what we wanted to do, and this was where we started to have problems. The next couple workdays we all forgot to bring in what was needed, so we had to work on designing our game instead of building it, which set us behind. When we did bring in the materials, we worked slowly. The last couple days, however, we all pulled through and really made our project come to life. Everyone came in at lunches and worked on whatever needed to be worked on, and it was this extra work that made our project what it was. I do think we all slacked a little too much in the first bit of our project and we should have been on our game and brought what we needed. I should have stepped up as a leader and been in charge of making sure things got done. In the future, I need to work on this, as most people do not really step up to be a leader unless they are a born leader.