Tape and Tetrahedra

John W. Hill
University of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls, WI 54022
J. Chem. Educ., 1996, 73 (6), p 531
DOI: 10.1021/ed073p531
Publication Date (Web): June 1, 1996

Abstract

Ball-and-stick models are often used to represent the shapes of molecules, but students frequently have problems relating what they see to the words we use to describe those shapes. I have found a simple solution to the problem of visualizing the tetrahedron (this can be applied to other molecular geometries and electron-pair geometry). I use masking tape or labeling tape to connect the hydrogen atoms to one another. The tape represents the edges of the tetrahedron; the four hydrogen atoms are the corners. This short article describes the procedure.

Keywords (Audience):

First-Year Undergraduate / General

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives

Keywords (Subject):

Molecular Modeling
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  • Received: August 03, 2009

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