Project Overview:
The goals of this project was to make a board game that little kids could play our game. Our team made a game of battle ships called Battle-Chem. Our project happened from October to December. In my group mwas Tak Maga, Colin McGardy, and Grant Feiring.
Battle Ship CardsGame Rules |
SafetyReactions |
Our Board Game |
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Key Concepts
Single Replacement Reactions |
A reaction in which a monoatomic cation swaps with the cation in a polyatomic compound as long as the monoatomic cation is higher on the reactivity series. This was seen when we mixed the nitric acid and the zinc. This was our production of a gas where the zinc bubbled and fizzed in the nitric acid.
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Double Replacement Reactions |
A reaction in which two compounds exchange their cations and anions. This was seen in the different shots on the ships. Each shot would react with the type of ship to see if you had a hit or not.
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Synthesis |
A reaction where two monoatomic ions combine to form a polyatomic compound. This was seen when we burned our magnesium and it mixes with the oxygen in the air to form magnesium oxide.
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Reactants |
Reactants are the items that react in a chemical reaction. Put on the left side of a chemical equation, the compounds, ions, elements, etc. are the inputs to the entire process. Identifying the reactants in an equation helps define what the reaction will do. The reactants in our reactions are described in our information sheet.
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Products |
Products are the items that are produced by the chemical reaction. Often put on the right of the right side of the equation, the products can often be identified from the products. The products in our reactions are described in our information sheet.
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Subatomic Particles |
The three subatomic particles that were covered in our lessons were the proton, neutron, and electron. They each are related to each other, but have distinct characteristics. The proton has a positive charge, and is located in the nucleus. The number of protons determines which element it is. Neutrons are also located in the nucleus, but have a neutral charge. The number of neutrons determines the isotope of the element. While both neutrons and protons have a mass of 1 AMU (atomic mass unit), electrons have an almost negligible mass. Located in clouds around the nucleus, electrons can react and bind with other electrons. They have a charge of minus one, to balance out the protons' charge.
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Ions |
An ion is an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation (positive ion) , which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion (negative ion) , which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode.
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Types of Reactions |
Refer to our reaction information above. The double displacement reactions were our shots and materials, either red or blue. The synthesis reaction was our magnesium destroyer. The zinc in our single replacement reaction was our observation balloon.
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Chemical Equations |
Chemical reaction equations describe reactions. More specifically, they describe the reactants on the left side, the catalyst, and the products on the right. According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, the two sides must be equal. This means that molecules cannot leave the reaction. Refer to our chemical equations above.
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States of Matter |
Solid, liquid, and gas states are self explanatory. Aq, or aqueous, describes a solid dissolved in a solution.
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REFLECTION
This project was a great and interesting way to mix chemistry and creativity. As we learned the process of chemical reactions and how they work, we also had to figure out a way to incorporate the things we have learned into our board game. Planning the whole game was the most difficult part. By building our game from scratch we had a lot of creative freedom, and many decisions to make on how everything would fit. One thing i feel i did well in this project was when asked to do something I would do it. However I feel i played a very passive role and would offer to help but ended up painting almost the entire time. One thing I can improve for my next project will be to try managing my time better, and not rush to paint the board in the last days of construction. Another thing I can improve upon is my patience. It takes time to make a good product, and sometimes waiting can make the difference in a great and just a mediocre output. Overall, this project helped me learn about reactions in an interesting and unique task; and in the beginning, it seemed daunting, but over time got easier to let ideas flow and build a great game.