Element Cycles: An Environmental Chemistry Board Game

Abstract

A complete ecosystem consists of the geosphere (earth), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), and biosphere (life). The essential elements exist in different forms in each sphere and pass between them by chemical and physical processes called biogeochemical cycles. Students are initially introduced to these concepts in grades 4À6, but do not usually study them intensively until secondary environmental science classes. 1 Incorporating games into a class (or lab) is a nonthreatening way to refresh a student's memory, and the interactive format provides a stimulating environment in which to reinforce important concepts. Such games have been developed to address a wide variety of chemical concepts. 2 "Element Cycles" is a simple board game designed to familiarize students in grades 4À12 with the most common essential elements and their roles in the environment. The students initially gain knowledge about the elements and their biogeochemical cycles by researching them online. This knowledge is then reinforced by constructing a game board with ecological sections and element cards to pass the elements between ecosystems. When the students play the game and are passed from ecosystem to ecosystem, the forms of the elements change and they gain greater appreciation of the cyclic nature of matter in the environment.The game can be customized for different grade levels. For elementary students, the ecosystems can be defined as earth, air, water, and life, and the forms of the elements are simply the names of the compounds and ions, such as carbonate rocks, carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, and so forth. For more advanced students, the ecosystems are defined as geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, the forms of the elements are the actual chemical formulas, such as CO 3 2À , CO 2 , and N 2 , and mechanisms of transformation can be included, such as oxidation, reduction, precipitation, and so forth.This game format is also adaptable to other chemical concepts and is an entertaining alternative to rote memorization of specific facts. One example of such a concept is solubility. The four sections of the board can be labeled as þ1 cations, À1 anions, þ2 cations, and À2 anions. The track is then marked with appropriate anions and cations, and when the student lands on a symbol, he or she is sent to an oppositely charged ionic section and must draw a specific ion card and correctly predict solubility. Other units, such as oxidationÀreduction, are also potential game topics. ' MATERIALS• List of essential elements for students to research: The suggested minimum is C, N, P, and S, but the list may also be expanded to include O and H. Some good references, in ABSTRACT: "Element Cycles" is an activity designed to reinforce correlation of essential elements and their different forms in the ecosystem. Students are assigned essential elements to research as homework, then share results, and construct game boards with four ecosphere sections: geosphere (earth), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), and biosphere (life). Th...

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“…The results (Table 1) show that the students made significant progress in their understanding of scientific concepts, with a median level of effect size (the Cohen's d equaling 0.50). This finding is consistent with the results of other educational board games, which have all achieved satisfying learning outcomes [1,3,5,14]. The study also found that the post-test scores for the technique and product items were all higher than the pre-test scores.…”

“…The first category is organic chemistry-related topics, such as the nomenclature of organic compounds, organic synthesis, chemical structure, functional groups, chemical reaction formulas, and other chemical concepts [4,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The second category includes topics concerning the periodic table, such as the atomic order of chemical elements, atomic weight, melting point, boiling point, color, and the use of chemical elements [1,3,5,14]. The last category refers to other chemistry-related topics, such as the understanding of the experimental apparatuses that are commonly seen and used in chemical laboratories [6], as well as chemical elements in the natural cycle [14].…”

“…The second category includes topics concerning the periodic table, such as the atomic order of chemical elements, atomic weight, melting point, boiling point, color, and the use of chemical elements [1,3,5,14]. The last category refers to other chemistry-related topics, such as the understanding of the experimental apparatuses that are commonly seen and used in chemical laboratories [6], as well as chemical elements in the natural cycle [14]. Among them, the periodic table is a very important part of chemistry education and is the main subject of the current research.…”

“…The use of scientific board games for teaching and the gamification of scientific concepts has become an emerging teaching trend [1]. Several board games for supporting the teaching of chemistry courses have been employed by many schoolteachers and science education scholars [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Research shows the difficulties in helping students achieve higher learning motivation by using only the traditional modes of memorization and repeated practice, which may cause students to lose their interest in science as well as their willingness to further study and explore science independently [2,3].…”

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