For my report, I choose to design a ball and stick model for a carbon dioxide molecule. I used the C as the center and an O on each side of the C. For Christmas purposes I colored the C green and the two Os red. To make the letters, I used white out. The sticks that connect the balls are actually cue tips that I have taken the cotton off of. I used glue to make it stick on better and just punched in the stick. The sticks are suppose to be springs and I tried bendable straws that were cut, but they did not stick well enough.
I found the Styrofoam balls in my Christmas box. They were really ornaments but I took off the thread and they became regular white Styrofoam balls. The whole process of making the ornament took about 2 hours because I had to find material and color all the balls. In a linear molecule, such as carbon dioxide, the atoms can be connected in a straight line. Carbon dioxide is a very common linear molecule even though many linear molecules contain only two atoms. The sticks or strings represent a double bond, or two pairs of valence electrons between the carbon atom and an oxygen atom.
The pairs of valence electrons are as far apart as possible so that is the reason it is in a linear shape. The bond angle of the carbon dioxide is 180 degrees because it is in a straight line. This was a pretty entertaining project. It was a good idea to make a tree of chemistry subjects because I can learn while making the ornament. The idea of making a linear model came to mind when I thought what could be made with common household objects, and the ball and stick model seemed to be the best choice. I did not even have to leave my house to buy anything to make my ornament.
The Essay on Ball 1996 Carbon Fullerenes Atoms
The Scientific Significance of Buckyballs by Chemistry Section General Chemistry Prof. Spring 199 Until the mid-1980 s, elemental carbon was believed only to exhibit two main allotropic forms, diamond and graphite, both of which are covalent-network solids. However, Nobel Prize winning research conducted in the United States and Europe has confirmed the existence of a third previously unknown form ...
