Bonds, ions, cats and irons...don't panic!

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Subject: GCSE Chemistry
Last updated: 10/08/2010
Tags: gcse chemistry, study skills
GCSE Chemistry

When teaching Chemistry, I often find pupils have difficulties with types of bonding and how they affect the properties of the compounds being studied.  The concept of covalent and ionic bonding sometimes leaves teenagers looking a bit puzzled (to put it nicely), so I find that funny diagrams and mnemonics often help. 

Did you know that the words 'OILRIG', 'PANIC' and pictures of a cat's face and the bottom of a steam iron can help Chemistry students?  The use of such devices, along with kinesthetic activities involving model-making using molymod kits can make essential but heavy-duty concepts much easier for students to understand and remember when answering questions.

Sometimes, the teenagers even laugh at my drawings...now that really is an achievement!


Sarah Spicer GCSE Science Tutor (Swansea)

About The Author

Hi there - thanks for showing interest in my tutoring services. I am a fully qualified and experienced teacher of Science, specialising in Chemistry up to A level.



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