Chemical Dominoes

In this project, our group of four had to devise a board game that could be played involving the chemical reactions that were taught and learned in that unit. We covered concepts such as: single displacement reactions, double displacement reactions, combustion reactions, and the creation of a gas through a chemical reaction.

Here is our finished project game board:

How to Play:

To play the Museum Heist Game, you start was the piece in the bottom right corner at the entrance to the museum. Your goal in the game is to reach the top right corner of the museum and to steal the diamond represented as a metal ball on the golden podium. To move around the squares, you must draw a card with the corresponding number of how many squares you can move. As you move around the board, your character will land on numbered squares which will trigger an event.

On the play sheet are clues that need to be solved which will explain to you the necessary chemicals required to get past this museum booby-trap. At square 1 are lasers that must be deactivated which block the entrance to the doorway, at square 2 there is a wooden door that must be burned down to get past, at square 3 there is a security camera so you must make a yellow camouflage to sneak past the camera on the wall, and at square 4 are iron bars and a security system and both must be melted through to reach the diamond.

You only have 15 turns to reach the diamond before the museum owners catch onto the plan, and failing a chemical reaction costs 5 turns.

Here are some concepts and skills that are vital to know in relation to our project:

Balancing Chemical Equations

A critical skill to have in 11th grade chemistry is the ability to correctly balance chemical equations. What do I mean by this? The law of conservation of mass states that in a chemical reaction mass cannot be created or destroyed. The atom may change forms of matter (for example solid atom carbon in coal may become a gas when burned into CO 2). Following this rule, even in complex chemical reactions there cannot be an imbalance of chemicals on either side of the reaction arrow. This means that when evaluating equations, you must make sure that you don't lose any atoms between the sides. In the synthesis reaction of 2 iron atoms with 3 chlorine atoms,2 Fe + 3 Cl 2, which yields 2 Fe Cl 3; you must make sure you have the 2 iron atoms and 6 chlorine atoms that were in the original equation.

Word & Formula Equations

The simple difference between word and formula equations is how the equation is expressed. The word form of an equation is just how the equation would be written and spoken. For example the word equation for the formation of rust is iron combining with oxygen to form iron oxide (rust). This same equation in formula form is 4 Fe + 30 2 → 2Fe2O.


Here are some basic chemistry-related terms to know about reactions before diving deeper into our project:

Reactants

  • A substance that takes part in and undergoes change during a chemical reaction.

Coefficients

  • A number placed in front of a formula to balance a chemical equation.

Subscripts

  • The numbers that come after and below a symbol. They tell you the number of atoms in the element and if there is no subscript listed, that means there is only one of that atom.

Reaction Arrow

  • It tells you that a change has taken place and one thing has turned into another (→ ).

Product

  • A substance that is formed as the result of a chemical reaction.

State of Matter

  • When listed in a chemical reaction, it shows the state of the matter that the chemical is in. These can be: (aq) for aqueous, (g) for gaseous, (s) for a solid, and (l) for a liquid.

Types of Reactions:

Synthesis

A reaction that occurs when two different atoms or molecules interact to form a different molecule or compound. An example of this type of reaction is the combination of sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) to form sodium chloride. The chemical equation is: 2Na + Cl2 → 2NaCl.

Decomposition

A chemical reaction in which one reactant breaks down into two or more products. An example of this type of reaction is the breakup of calcium carbonate (CaC03) to form calcium oxide (CaO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The chemical equation is: CaC03 → CaO + CO2.

Combustion

A chemical reaction in which a compound and an oxidant is reacted to produce heat and a new product. An example of this type of reaction is the combustion of methane (CH4) with oxygen (202) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (2H2O). The chemical equation is: CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2H2O.

Single Replacement

A reaction in which one element is replaced by another in a compound. An example of this type of reaction is the replacement of bromine (Br) with fluorine (F) to form a chemical compound with sodium (2Na). The chemical equation is: F2 + 2NaBr → 2NaF + Br2.

Double Displacement

A type of reaction in which two reactants exchange ions to form two new compounds. An example of this type of reaction is the displacement of gold (Ag) nitrate (NO3) with sodium (Na) nitrate (NO3). The chemical equation is: AgNO3 + NaCl → AgCl + NaNO3.

Reflection:

Making and presenting our presentation was a lot of fun for our entire group. Collaboration was the 6C where I had the most success. I showed this by putting in a ton of effort and producing the most on the board game itself. I put a lot of time and effort into making sure everything worked correctly and looked good. I also assisted the team in maintaining order and focus in a chaotic environment such as the makerspace.

Despite this triumph, there is always potential for improvement, which I will take into account for the following project. The 6C that I demonstrated the weakest was critical thinking. I spent the most of my time creating the board and a smaller amount of time solving chemical equations which should have been the opposite way. Unfortunately, I don't comprehend all the chemistry terminology even now. I will emphasize investing more time in learning and improving my comprehension of the subject matter for my future project.