Chemical Education Today

Association Report: 2YC3

How to Make Learning Chemical

Nomenclature Fun, Exciting, and Palatable

edited by
Ann Cartwright
San Jacinto College, Central Campus
Division of Science & Mathematics
Pasadena, TX 77501-2007

by Joseph Chimeno

One great challenge that introductory chemistry students

have is learning the names of various chemical compounds.
When this topic is first introduced, and problems and questions are assigned at the end of the chapter, one may hear
students moaning and groaning. So to make chemical nomenclature fun, exciting, and palatable, the Rainbow
Wheel1 was developed at North Iowa Area Community
College.
What is the Rainbow Wheel? It is a chemical nomenclature game that students play to help them master chemical nomenclature. The game consists of two wheels; one is a
cation wheel and the other is an anion wheel. The cation
wheel has 36 cations surrounding the wheel in a pie-shaped
format, and the anion wheel has 36 anions surrounding its
wheel in a pie-shaped format. The objective of the game is
to have the student spin a spindle within each wheel, thus
randomly selecting a cation and an anion. The game is called
the Rainbow Wheel because each wheel contains four rainbows that are very colorful and appealing to the eye. The student is to combine the anion and cation into the correct formula and to name it correctly according to nomenclature
rules. The answers are placed on a grid with space for ten
cations and ten anions. Once the grid is complete, the student will have written the formulas and names for 100 compounds.
During the 199899 academic year, I had my students
use this game and compete with one another in nomenclature contests, determining who could complete the grid the
quickest and with the most correct formulas and names.
Comments from the students were very positive. They had
fun and enjoyed themselves, not to mention that they learned
the names and formulas of various chemical compounds. This
game was designed to name ionic compounds; but with a
slight modification, molecular compounds can also be incorporated into the game.
Results of the Rainbow Wheel were impressive. The students quiz scores went up significantly after using the game.
The students loved the excitement of competing with one
another, and it actually made nomenclature a fun experience.
Who said chemistry isnt fun?
In the fall of 1999, three different introductory chemistry classes participated in the use of the Rainbow Wheel
Chemical Nomenclature Game at our school. The classes were
instructed in the rules of nomenclature (Stock Method), and
a number of examples were discussed in detail. Nomenclature problems were assigned and reviewed. Each class took a

144

The Cation Wheel

pre-quiz on chemical nomenclature before using the Rainbow Wheel. The averages for each class were the following:
Class A had an average of 58.4% correct; Class B had an average of 54.8% correct; and Class C had an average of 50.9%
correct. After the pre-quiz, each class worked with the Rainbow Wheel Chemical Nomenclature Game extensively. The
students compiled the formulas and names for many compounds. This work involved completing a minimum of six
grid sheets with the formulas and names of 100 compounds
per sheet. Each student had the opportunity to write the formula and name for each compound. A few students completed nine grid sheets. After reviewing their work, students
took the post-quiz (after using the Rainbow Wheel). The average scores had risen by 1822% per class. The results of
the post-quiz were: Class As average was 76.5% correct; Class
Bs average was 75.1% correct; and Class Cs average was
73.3% correct. The results indicated that the Rainbow Wheel
had a significant and positive impact on the students ability
to write the formulas and to name correctly a variety of
chemical compounds.
Note
1. The Rainbow Wheel can be found at http://www.niacc.cc.ia.us/
~jchimeno/introchem/wheelpage.html (accessed Dec 1999).

Joseph Chimeno teaches at North Iowa Area Community

College, 500 College Drive, Mason City, IA 50401; phone: 515/
756-3305; email: blueagl@netins.net

Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 77 No. 2 February 2000 JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu