Establishing a Connection for Students between the Reacting System and the Particle Model with Games and Stochastic Simulations of the Arrhenius Equation
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Thomas Kraska [1]
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[1] University at Cologne, Germany
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 97, Nº 7, 2020, págs. 1951-1959
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
These days, theoretical methods and simulations are widely spread in chemical science. However, in secondary and introductory chemistry, students learn little or nothing about such approaches. To introduce simulations at this educational level it is necessary to identify suitable chemical problems and simulation methods that allow setting up concise computer codes. In addition, it is useful to implement simulations in topics which are already part of the regular chemistry curricula. Here, we employ the Arrhenius equation in combination with a simple stochastic simulation method to illustrate how computer simulations can be used in chemistry to get insights in the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant. The basis for the simulation is a board game, which puts the students in the position to elaborate the mathematical equations for the modeling of kinetics themselves in a playful manner. Such simulation allows students to establish a connection between the reacting system and the particle model. Furthermore, freely available educational programming software makes it possible for students to write their own simulation program based on the game within limited time and effort.
