David has taught Honors Physics, AP Physics, IB Physics and general science courses. He has a Masters in Education, and a Bachelors in Physics.
Covalent bonding is where two atoms (generally two non-metals) bond together by sharing electrons. Because of the nature of atoms sharing electrons to fill their outer shells, having students predict how this bonding will occur takes some practice. Students have to look at the number of electrons in the outer shells of two elements, and see how many electrons they would need to share in order to fill that shells and bond covalently. Practice is key to achieving this goal. So, here are some activities you can involve your students in that will keep them focused as they practice. Why not try these for yourself?
Perhaps the classic covalent bonding activity is to create jigsaw cutouts that students can use to piece together the atoms to form covalent bonds. Start by creating a set of puzzle pieces, that fit together with zigzags or keyhole shapes. For example, you could create a hydrogen puzzle piece that contains one convex part (labeled with a dot to represent an electron) and, next to it, one concave part to represent the missing electron it needs to form a full shell. Then, two hydrogens can fit together to form a hydrogen molecule. For nitrogen, you could create a puzzle piece with three convex parts (labeled with a dot to represent each of the three electrons it can share), and three concave parts alongside them to represent the missing electrons it needs to form a shell. Electrons that are not shared by the atom can be drawn as dots at the center of the puzzle piece as a reminder to students.
The benefit of the puzzle pieces is that students can find multiple ways of connecting the atoms together to form different covalent compounds. For example, they'll find that elements in the same group can replace one another in these compounds. By playing around with the puzzle pieces, they'll internalize a lot of the rules that determine how covalent bonds form.
For this activity, have students create a piece of artwork showing two cartoon characters which represent atoms, fighting over or sharing electrons. Essentially this is an opportunity for the artistically inclined to create an illustration that helps them remember how covalent bonding works. Students who don't feel confident in their art skills can find clever ways of drawing stick figures, and use speech bubbles to convey a particular story or meaning. However, those who do have the skills can create some beautiful and fun creations.
Rather than the bonding cutouts, an alternative is to create representations of covalent bonds using circles of paper and cotter pins (otherwise known as paper fasteners or split pins). Begin by having your students create circles to represent atoms. They can draw the various energy levels (shells) of each atom, and punch holes through the paper to represent both the electrons it has and empty slots that need to be filled by electrons to make a shell. They can place a cotter pin in each slot that is filled with an electron, and leave a hole in the empty spaces.
You can then lead students through an activity where they form bonds by combining two atoms (paper circles). They can do this by overlapping the circles, and running the cotter pins through a hole on each atom to connect them together. This illustrates to students how the atoms share electrons. From there, it's up to you how extensive the activity becomes, and how many different covalent bonds they explore.
Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a MemberAlready a member? Log In
Back
I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
