Dutchess Community College

Gordon Lake

CC0

I teach Anatomy & Physiology as well as introductory courses that have been established to prepare students for the rigor of A&P. At the introductory level students are just getting introduced to the basic chemical and physical principals that govern molecular and cellular interactions. They may not grasp material as quickly, or as deeply, as traditional texts expect so I have been building a library of worksheets and guided assignments to address some of these foundational concerns.

Most recently I have been editing a multi-paged Functional Groups worksheet that is part of our introduction to Organic Chemistry. The first page utilizes fill-in-the-blank style questions (with no word bank) to address basic bonding capacities for the core elements as well as identifying key characteristics of the basic six chemical functional groups. The next two pages present structural formulas of molecules prompting students to circle and name all functional groups. A second battery of questions follows and asks deeper questions regarding polarity and solubility. The last page presents a final collection of structural formulas with key elements subtracted from the images. Students must complete each molecule considering the elemental members of each functional group as well as the bonding capacities of elements that are chosen to complete the images.

I have used this assignment as homework but lately I have found it is more valuable to use in class with students operating in pairs. Not only has the activity helped to reinforce fundamental ideas but it acts as a bonding exercise between the students within pairs, between pairs and between the students and me.

As I am still editing the worksheet I am not prepared to release it to Creative Commons at this time.