Wednesday, January 25, 2006
She Can Taste Music!
Excerpt from the first chemistry homework assignment of the third marking period:
1. Why is the hydrogen molecule more stable than the individual atoms that form it?
a hydrogen molecule is more stable because each H atom has a shared pair of electrons.
2. What is created when two atomic orbitals overlap?
Green
3. What happens to the potential energy of tow atoms as they approach each other to form a covalent bond?
Blue
4. What name is given to the distance between two atoms in a covalent bond at which the potential energy is minimum?
Purple
5. List three examples of substances that have covalent bonds.
Orange
Setting aside for the moment the fact that:
* Question 3 would traditionally require an answer involving an intransitive verb
* Question 5 asks for three examples of substances
* Question 2's answer would only hold true if the orbitals in question were blue and yellow respectively
* Question 4's reply provides sparse detail regarding energy differentials or molecular distance.
I have to wonder a few things:
First (1), is it possible my students are beginning to suffer from early onset synesthesia due to sitting for hours in Underwood High School's asbestos-filled classrooms?
Second (2), if this is not the case, then what the hell was this kid thinking (or smoking) when she turned in this paper?
Third (and final), would you believe this was from my eleventh grade HONORS chemistry class?
Excerpt from the first chemistry homework assignment of the third marking period:
1. Why is the hydrogen molecule more stable than the individual atoms that form it?
a hydrogen molecule is more stable because each H atom has a shared pair of electrons.
2. What is created when two atomic orbitals overlap?
Green
3. What happens to the potential energy of tow atoms as they approach each other to form a covalent bond?
Blue
4. What name is given to the distance between two atoms in a covalent bond at which the potential energy is minimum?
Purple
5. List three examples of substances that have covalent bonds.
Orange
Setting aside for the moment the fact that:
* Question 3 would traditionally require an answer involving an intransitive verb
* Question 5 asks for three examples of substances
* Question 2's answer would only hold true if the orbitals in question were blue and yellow respectively
* Question 4's reply provides sparse detail regarding energy differentials or molecular distance.
I have to wonder a few things:
First (1), is it possible my students are beginning to suffer from early onset synesthesia due to sitting for hours in Underwood High School's asbestos-filled classrooms?
Second (2), if this is not the case, then what the hell was this kid thinking (or smoking) when she turned in this paper?
Third (and final), would you believe this was from my eleventh grade HONORS chemistry class?
