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Using Balls of Different Sports To Model the Variation of Atomic Sizes

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Gabriel Pinto

Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica Industrial, E.T.S.I. Industriales, Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, SPAIN

J. Chem. Educ., 1998, 75 (6), p 725

DOI: 10.1021/ed075p725

Publication Date (Web): June 1, 1998

Abstract

In this article, an analogy is described about the order of magnitude of the variation of atomic sizes that can be used for discussion in introductory chemistry classes. The order of magnitude of this variation, involving microscopic magnitudes, is difficult for students to imagine. For the most part, the students are very familiar with the world of sports. In any case for example, the teacher can make use of the wide, informative coverage given to the olympic games or similar events, where different sports are televised in a few days. The radii of official balls for seven well-known sports are given, and students must assign an atom to each ball by using tabulated single-bond, covalent radii and by assigning the smallest ball (i.e., corresponding to ping-pong) to the smallest atom (i.e., hydrogen). The balls can also be used to show how the ionic radii change upon ionization.

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Domain):

Demonstrations

Keywords (Feature):

Applications and Analogies

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Analogies / Transfer

Keywords (Subject):

Atomic Properties / Structure

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Citing Articles

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This article has been cited by 7 ACS Journal articles (5 most recent appear below).

Spattering and Crackle of Hot Cooking Oil with Water. A Classroom Demonstration and Discussion
Carmen V. Gauthier , Gabriel Pinto
Journal of Chemical Education2009 86 (11), 1281
- Spattering and Crackle of Hot Cooking Oil with Water. A Classroom Demonstration and Discussion
  Carmen V. Gauthier , Gabriel Pinto
  Journal of Chemical Education2009 86 (11), 1281
  Any student that has spent time in the kitchen knows that hot vegetable oil will pop and spatter violently after coming into contact with water such as that on the surface of foods (meat, fish, potatoes, etc.). This well-known effect can be used as an ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Stoichiometry of Calcium Medicines
Gabriel Pinto
Journal of Chemical Education2005 82 (10), 1509
- Stoichiometry of Calcium Medicines
  Gabriel Pinto
  Journal of Chemical Education2005 82 (10), 1509
  Students have a greater appreciation of the principles of chemistry if they can see the relevance to their lives. Calcium supplements provide an excellent context in which to review most of the core content of general chemistry, namely, stoichiometry, ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Kinetics of the Osmotic Hydration of Chickpeas
Gabriel Pinto , Ali Esin
Journal of Chemical Education2004 81 (4), 532
- Kinetics of the Osmotic Hydration of Chickpeas
  Gabriel Pinto , Ali Esin
  Journal of Chemical Education2004 81 (4), 532
  An experiment examining the swelling of chickpeas as they are soaked in water is presented to introduce students to topics such as osmotic flow, mass transfer, diffusion, kinetics of hydration, modeling, and estimation of activation energy. The experiment ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Learning Stoichiometry with Hamburger Sandwiches
Liliana Haim , Eduardo Cortón , Santiago Kocmur and Lydia Galagovsky
Journal of Chemical Education2003 80 (9), 1021
- Learning Stoichiometry with Hamburger Sandwiches
  Liliana Haim , Eduardo Cortón , Santiago Kocmur and Lydia Galagovsky
  Journal of Chemical Education2003 80 (9), 1021
  Simple and understandable activities involving the manufacturing of hamburgers can be used as an analogy for stoichiometric concepts and calculations.
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Use of Chloroisocyanuarates for Disinfection of Water: Application of Miscellaneous General Chemistry Topics
Gabriel Pinto , Brian Rohrig
Journal of Chemical Education2003 80 (1), 41
- Use of Chloroisocyanuarates for Disinfection of Water: Application of Miscellaneous General Chemistry Topics
  Gabriel Pinto , Brian Rohrig
  Journal of Chemical Education2003 80 (1), 41
  This paper presents a set of motivating exercises to study various general chemistry topics such as formulation, molar mass, stoichiometry, chemical equations, balanced equations, oxidation states, acid–base reactions, tautomerism, calculation of formal ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links