Courses How Can I Improve Teaching Chemistry Concepts?

[Physics_UG]

So I have been teaching this university chemistry pre-course that is meant to review all of the pre-req stuff needed for uchem 1 and the course is supposed to touch on some of the stuff the students will see in uchem 1. The course is 4 lectures, 3 hours/lecture. The last two lectures I covered really basic stuff. On the first lecture I covered all of the sig fig rules, scientific notation, SI system, unit conversions, and dimensional analysis. On the second lecture I discussed some of the experimental evidence that gives us a picture of the atomic structure (Thomson experiment, Rutherford experiment, etc), the definition of a mole, the definition of the amu and the standards used to define both quantities, and then I did a ton of stoichiometry problems and had them pair up in groups to work some on their own. I covered mass-mole, mass-molecule, and molecule-mole conversions, chemical equation balancing, stoichiometric calculations given a chemical reaction, limiting reagents, percent yield, and mass percent calculations. I also talked about the rules for naming binary ionic, binary covalent, and polyatomic atoms.

My question is, how do you recommend I spend the last 6 hours of lecture time in this course? Tomorrow I was planning on covering the bohr model and the qualtization of energy levels, and then I was going to discuss atomic/quantum orbital mechanics and how the orbitals fill. Then I figure I will talk about lewis structures, molecular orbital theory (orbital hybridization, sigma and pi bonds, etc), and maybe get into VSEPR theory if time permits. I will also go into more detail on non-covalent vs. polar-covalent vs. ionic bonding.

Friday I plan on covering the gas laws, solution equilibrium, the equilibrium constant, le chatlier's principle, calorimetry (hess law, heat capacity, etc), etc.

Do you think this is a good plan? Are there some things missing that I should consider adding in?

Thanks

 

[rocomath]

My question is, how do you recommend I spend the last 6 hours of lecture time in this course? Tomorrow I was planning on covering the bohr model and the qualtization of energy levels, and then I was going to discuss atomic/quantum orbital mechanics and how the orbitals fill. Then I figure I will talk about lewis structures, molecular orbital theory (orbital hybridization, sigma and pi bonds, etc), and maybe get into VSEPR theory if time permits.

You hit my opinion right on the nose! I know a lot of people who struggle with part of Chemistry, it would definitely benefit someone going into U-Chem. Especially hybridization.

 

[Physics_UG]

Well, the course is over. It went decent, but I think everything I explained came out garbled. lol. MY explanations seemed clear to me in my head when I explained the concepts to myself before giving the lectures, but when I got in front of the group and began speaking everything came out garbled...especially the quantum/orbital mechanics...I was getting lots of blank stares there.

All in all, I was rather disappointed in my performance. I guess it is a lesson learned, and it was good experience for me nonetheless.