Please Provide AP and Chemistry Students With 3D Molecular Model Sets
Help me give my students six molecular model chemistry sets to build and visualize the shapes, geometries, and bonds for organic and inorganic molecules.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. V.'s classroom raised $359
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Our urban public high school is as diverse racially, culturally, and economically as our large metropolitan city.
Our student population is the majority, Hispanic (70%), followed by Asian, White, Black, Pacific Islander, and various other groups.
Almost all my students classify in our state's lowest economic category, which qualifies them for financial assistance such as reduced lunch and free tutoring programs. For nearly 50% of my students, the primary language that their family speaks at home is not English. Many of our students were classified as ESL students (English as a second language), when they began high school, but have now been reclassified as English proficient. Due to funding cuts, science classes at our public high school have recently increased to average sizes of 44 students per class. We are not a private school, so in order to give these young students the best college prep environment, our science lab programs truly survive from donations and grants.
My Project
Chemistry is a difficult and abstract subject to study without visual models. Unlike biology, chemists cannot look into a microscope to study atoms and molecules the way that biologists can actually see cells—atoms and molecules are too small—TRILLIONS of times smaller than a human cell!
A chemistry student needs to be able to answer questions like "Which has a higher melting temperature: H2O, CO2, or NH3," "Which is most likely a gas," and "Which will dissolve best in water?" But instead of just memorizing answers, students will be better prepared to be problem-solvers with 3D model kits to help them develop the visualization skills needed to analyze any chemical formula—like H2O, CO2, or NH3.
Perhaps you remember drawing Lewis dot diagrams in chemistry class? With models, the students go to the next steps—they will actually build a 3D model of each molecule, so they can visualize the differences that cause their different chemical properties—melting temperature, solubility, etc.
Practicing with the molecular model sets helps them develop problem-solving skills that will be prepared and lead them one day in college-level study; possibly even into careers in engineering and medicine. The pieces are specially designed according to the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Chemical Theory (VSEPR).
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. V. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
