Bonding Unit

During third quarter this year, we began a unit focused on bonding between atoms and molecules. In this unit we built upon previous knowledge gained from past units such as columbic attraction and electronegativity to discover new things about how atoms of different elements interact and bond. The purpose of this unit was for us to understand bonding between atoms and how to draw these interactions in the correct way. Although I learned many new interesting facts and new pieces of information during this unit, the biggest way I grew through this unit isn’t content related. The biggest way I think I grew during this unit was in my understanding of how important dedicated practice is to mastering a subject. This growth can be seen when comparing two artifacts from this unit; a Lewis Dot Structure worksheet completed at the beginning of the unit and a worksheet done at the end of the unit that covers all the new material learned throughout the unit.

The process of learning/teaching used throughout this unit is the main reason I developed in my understanding of how important practice is to mastering a subject. The first step in this unit was to learn how to draw Lewis Dot Structures. Once we understood how this was done, we knew how to draw simple molecules with correct valence electron configurations. We then learned about different types of bonding between molecules. The three types of bonding are ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and metallic bonds. The unit then moved on to cover what polar and nonpolar covalent bonds were. Next we explored the unique properties of each of the different bonds and learned why these bonds have these properties. Finally we learned about VSEPR shapes and polarity. We learned all of these things by listening and taking notes on lectures and completing worksheets that helped us practice and remember the new material we learned. While listening to a teacher explain a new concept is helpful, the main way that new lessons are learned, at least in an educational aspect, is through consistent practice. It was the continued practice, given through homework and in class work, that really cemented all of these concepts in my head.

The first artifact (the Lewis Dot Structure worksheet), when compared to the second artifact, shows how important practice is to mastering a subject. This worksheet shows how limited my understanding of the Lewis Dot Structures and molecular bonding was at the beginning of this unit. Even though this was in the early stages of understanding, there are still some valuable concepts that are visible in this artifact. One of these concepts is valence electron shells. These shells are layers in which electrons “reside” in the atom. The electrons, combined with the protons, gives the atom its charge. All molecules want to become stable, meaning they have electron configurations like that of the noble gases. This means that they will give up or take on electrons from other atoms to obtain a full valence electron shell. Another new concept evident in this artifact is the process in which the charge of atoms change when the number of electrons change. For example, when potassium loses or gives up one electron, its charge changes from neutral to positive one. The third example of classroom content found in this artifact is the two types of ions. These types are cations and anions. Cations are atoms that have given up electrons to get a positive charge and anions are atoms that have gained electrons to get a negative charge. One concept that I struggled understanding initially was valence electron shells, specifically how different elements that aren’t noble gases obtain full valence. This struggle can be seen in this artifact when witnessing my rudimentary understanding of valence shells. While this artifact demonstrates the lack of understanding about these concepts in chemistry, the comparison between this artifact and my second artifact show how beneficial dedicated practice can be.

The second artifact, when compared to my first artifact, which shows how important practice can be is the study guide I completed at the end of this unit. This was completed after I had covered all the new material and shows my new understanding after going through the learning process. This artifact contains visual displays of how I grew in my understanding of concepts I didn’t understand, such as molecular “shape”, polar molecules, and nonpolar molecules. The molecular shape of a molecule/compound is known as the VSEPR shape. VSEPR stands for Valence Shared Electron Pair Repulsion. The different shapes; linear, trigonal planar, tetrahedral, pyramidal, and bent, are all shapes created by electron pairs surrounding the compound. The compounds in these shapes also become either polar or nonpolar when bonded with specific atoms. If an atom in the compound has lone unpaired electrons around it, the electrons will push away the other atoms creating these shapes. Nonpolar is when there are no unshared electron pairs around the atoms, so this repelling of atoms doesn’t occur, forming different shapes. Polar is when the electrons are unequally shared between atoms, causing charged particles that repel each other. Because this artifact showcases my new found understanding of difficult concepts taught in this unit, it proves to me that continued practice will cement new information into my head.

My definition of practice is relatively simple; continue to attempt a task until it becomes second nature. If I apply this definition to tasks in my daily life, I will become better at many things. I think that this lesson of how important practice is to master a subject, taught by this unit, is invaluable. Someday, I hope to become a doctor. I need to be willing to spend hours and hours studying and perfecting my craft. All of the valuable lessons I learn while in school and in residency will be taught through practice and experience. Now that I have had a clear example of how effective practice is, I am willing to apply my time to practice new things in order to master them. This unit in Chemistry taught me so much about bonding and how molecules interact, but the most important lesson it taught me was to practice. While it may be time consuming and not be fun in the moment, it is truly one of the best ways to truly learn anything.