Chemical Dominoes

Evidence of Work:

For this project, our task was to create a board game that incorporated chemical reactions that could be played by people 10 years or older at a board game night presentation. The graded requirements were to make a board game that incorporated a double displacement reaction, a single displacement reaction, the creation of a gas, and to light an LED.

Our group approached this project in a unique way. We decided to make up the game as we went and focus more on creating a fun game than focusing on which chemical reactions we would create. We still had an idea of how to meet the requirements, but we wanted to make our board game as fun as possible. We began by brainstorming ideas to which Max kept bringing up ideas involving dragons. We settled on making a game similar to Candy Land (but more medieval themed) where you roll chemicals to make a reaction, and whatever color the reaction is, you move to that color space on the board. To begin making our game, we planned out how we wanted our game to look. We wanted mountains and a volcano to be 3d elements on our board that we would create with clay. We made the mountains out of clay and painted a trapezoid shaped piece of wood green, gray, and white. The green section represented a forest, the gray section represented the rocky area around the volcano, and the white section represented the snowy area. Next we cut up construction paper to make spaces for our game pieces. At home, I 3d printed the playing pieces, the mixing cauldrons for the chemicals, and the dragon obstacle. To light an LED, Max set up an incomplete circuit where if copper completed the circuit, the lights would turn on. We taped copper onto the bottom of the playing pieces so that once they reach the end of the game, the lights on top of the volcano would glow red. Below is a video of this circuit working along with pictures of the board, the google document for our rules, the pictures of the blueprints, and the pictures of the 3d printed game pieces.

Rules and Dice Key

Blueprints

The Board Game

The 3d Printed Pieces

2. Content:

• Chem Equation Terms:

  • Reactants: The compounds in a reaction. These compounds can be a mixture of multiple elements or could just be one element, in the case of a single displacement reaction. In our game we rolled for different reactants to make reactions

  • Products: The results of the mixing of 2 or more reactants in a reaction. The result of the reaction is the product which was seen when people mixed their 2 reactants in our board game.

  • Subscripts: The number below an element in a compound that indicates how many of it are in a compound

  • Coefficients: The amount of a compound that balances the product. For example, 2H₂ + O₂ -> 2H₂0. We used this skill when balancing equations on worksheets throughout the unit.

• Symbols:

  • (s): the solution is soluble (solid)

  • (aq): the solution is aqueous (liquid)

  • (g): the solution is a gas

• Types of Reactions:

  • Single Displacement Reaction: One element (usually a metal) switches with another in a compound. Ex: A + BC -> B + AC. We made one of these reactions in our board game by mixing zinc and hydrochloric acid.

  • Double Displacement Reaction: 2 elements switch places in this reaction. Ex: AB + CD -> AD + BC. This was the most common reactions in our board game. Almost every turn was a double displacement reaction.

  • Decomposition: A reactant decomposes into 2 or more separate elements. Ex: AB -> A + B. An example of this is the decomposition of calcium carbonate to form calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. Equation: CaCO₃ -> CaO+ CO₂.

  • Synthesis: The opposite of a decomposition reaction. Two elements combine to make a compound. For example, 2 hydrogen particles and oxygen synthesize to make water.

  • Combustion: A reaction where a substance reacts with oxygen gas, releasing energy in the form of light and heat. Ex: C₃H₈ + O₂ -> CO₂ + H₂O. Propane gas turns into heat (Carbon dioxide) when mixed with oxygen gas.

3. Reflection:

This may have been my best project all year. It was a really fun project that I got a fantastic group to do it with. Everyone collaborated well and it felt like no one was just standing and watching. We would do separate tasks so that the work could get done quicker and more efficiently. This allowed us to take our over ambitious idea and get it done in the amount of time that we had. For example, one day we had half our group cut up and place the spaces on the board while the other half looked for all the chemicals we needed for our board game to be played. Max was a great facilitator and would delegate the jobs to us which is why we were able to get work done so efficiently. This whole project could not have been done if it were not for our communication. This is one of the 6c's that our group excelled in. Our communication allowed us to succeed. Our critical thinking helped us solve lots of problems that we faced. One of the main issues was the circuit for the lights. We used our critical thinking to come up with a creative and fun way to light our circuit which was putting copper on the bottom of the playing pieces so that when they reached it, the circuit would be complete and the lights would turn on.

One thing I could definitely improve on is being a better conscientious learner. Our group collaborated and communicated well but sometimes we would get really off task. Even though it was fun to watch the world cup while doing our project, we would tend to get more involved in the game than the project which led us to being rushed towards the last week of the project. Another thing I could improve upon is collaboration and communicating even better. On chemical board game night, I noticed we were missing a critical chemical to our board game about 30 minutes into the night. Then a judge walked over and rolled that chemical so we had to tell him we just didn't have it. This definitely hurt our score and in the future to fix that, I need to communicate better with my group and make sure that all the materials we need are ready for the presentation. While in the future it may not be for a board game night, I could communicate better to make sure everyone has done their part so we can succeed.