Teaching Resources

Jogos em Química (Games in Chemistry)

Isabel Ramos, Flora Ferreira, Paula Gomes, Vitor Gil e João Paiva

Software Developer: Ilídio Martins
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto
Centro de Física Computacional

2004

Chemistry Games

Medium

Problem solving

Fundamental Chemistry

Lower Secondary School

Portuguese

Yes

This resource was developed for students of the 9th grade (~14 years old) that are studying the periodic table. The activities comprise basic knowledge about the first twenty chemical elements.
This resource is made up of several games related to the elements of the periodic table and their properties, as follows:
1. Elements I (http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/cec/jogosqui/elementos1/index.html) and Elements II (http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/cec/jogosqui/elementos2/index.html)
In the Games of the Elements I and II, students have to guess which element the computer selected, by choosing questions related to the characteristics of certain elements (e.g. Is it a noble gas?; Its chemical element has two letters?), to which the program will answer yes or no. The final answer is achieved by exclusion of parts. A wrong answer receives a time penalty, lowering the score achieved.
2. Discovery of the pairs (http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/cec/jogosqui/pares/index.html)
According to the authors, this game intends to help students to associate chemical elements to their corresponding elementary substances. By clicking on a square, an image of a substance appears with the name of the corresponding chemical element. Students have to memorize where each element is and try to find the twin square. When two consecutive squares of the same element are selected, they disappear from the panel. The winner is the one that eliminates all pairs in the minimum time possible.
3. Guesswork (http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/cec/jogosqui/adivinhas/index.html)
Students try to guess, based on the given texts, what is the element. The answer is given by clicking on the image of the correspondent elementary substance. The faster the response, the higher is the score achieved. A wrong answer receives a time penalty of 20 seconds.

This resource can be used in classroom by students working in group or individually. It is a playful activity that can be used to consolidate and memorize theoretical concepts about several elements of the periodic table, after an introduction made by the teacher. The games can also be used as practice exercises by students, at home.

Points of strength
The proposed chemistry games are user friendly and they all have a tutorial/help section describing the rules of the games.

Scientific reliability
The games presented here have been developed by several university researchers and are scientifically reliable.

Pedagogic value
This interactive resource can be used by teachers in the classroom, as a motivating activity, and by students in their individual study, at home. It promotes the understanding and memorization of basic concepts about the periodic table.

Instituto Politécnico de Bragança