Teaching Strategies

Topic Strategy Title Description
Diagram of Many Molecules Reaching Equilibrium

Use large scale diagrams with many molecules to show the progression from initial to reacting to equilibrium, and extend that with changes to the system that influence the equilibrium. In these ensure that there are many molecules present rather than one.

Equilibrium Animations

Use animations to show what happens as reactions come to equilibrium.

Link to PhET Simmulation: Reversible Reactions

Population Analogy

Use the analogy of populations migrating between adjacent cities.

Discuss in Terms of Concentration

Extend equilibrium to a more general discussion of concentration. If you increase the amount of one reactant, or if you compress the system - all of those things could be considered just as changes of concentration. Rather than splitting them up into different categories of changes of...

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Link to Previous Experience

It’s really important always to keep going back to links of where they might have seen equilibrium previously, because then they start to get the idea of chemistry topics being interrelated. Even put at the end of each lecture a little problem, for example, ‘how is equilibrium related to acids...

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