ChemKarta is a card game designed to help students succeed in organic chemistry. The use of games is an established method of teaching chemistry, however many chemistry educational games are modeled from existing sources (chemistry bingo, chemistry Scrabble, etc.) ChemKarta is an original card game designed to be an enjoyable method for students to approach course material.
Rational Game DesignChemKarta was designed from the ground up as a teaching resource according to the following guidelines:
Easy to PlayBasic game play can be picked up in under 5 min.
ModularThe game can adapted to teach multiple subjects in chemistry.
Promotes Good Study HabitsThe game promotes short, repetitive interactions with course material.
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Structured Card DesignChemKarta presents multiple pieces of information on a single card. Each card can solve multiple problems and in turn, each problem can be solved by multiple cards. This promotes problem solving and downplays memorization as a winning strategy.
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Teaching DatabaseEach ChemKarta module contains 100 Solution cards representing a database from which students can study and teachers can derive questions. Lesson plans are available that describe how to apply the material as examples in the classroom.
Sample Lessons:
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Functional Groups
The Functional Groups module is the first set of ChemKarta cards. It is designed to reinforce knowledge of common organic functional groups. A total of 22 functional groups are addressed, as well as 8 heterocycles. The module exposes students to several classes of organic compounds and is intended to introduce them to structures they will in future classroom examples.
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Solution Deck:
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Sample Cards
Structure and Bonding
The Structure and Bonding module focuses on bonds, atom hybridization, and polarity. The hybridization of and types of bonds formed by carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, aluminum, and boron are addressed. This module introduces students to many common solvents and reagents used in organic chemistry in order to familiarize students with their structures and names
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Solution Deck:
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Topics include
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Sample Cards
Name Reactions
The Name Reactions module is an application of the ChemKarta design to graduate level information. Like with the undergraduate modules, its purpose is to develop a basic knowledge of name reactions in organic synthesis that a new graduate student should be familiar with. In addition, the module introduces famous synthetic chemists and total syntheses in which the name reactions are used.
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Solution Deck:
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Topics include:
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In Progress Modules:
Cycloalkane Conformation |
Stereochemistry
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Aromatic Structure
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Aromatic Reactions |