Electronegativity Trends 3D periodic table

Currently, we are working on periodic trends in Chemistry class.  We have already completed ionic and atomic radius, and this week we moved on to Ionization Energy and Electronegativity.

Ohio Model Curriculum states:

" Atomic theory and bonding must be used to explain trends in properties across periods or down columns including atomic radii, ionic radii, first ionization energies, electronegativities and whether the element is a solid or gas at room temperature."

The students have already read background information and summarized it to meet Common Core ELA standard

"Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms."

 I gave a short lecture on the two trends, and they've completed practice problems.  I was looking for something more hands on that would visually represent these trends, and a friend suggested this activity.


I think the students enjoyed the activity and hopefully it will enhance their understanding - we will see when we take the quiz on Tuesday!





First, we went over the instructions and the materials needed.
Per student: one straw, scissors, small ball of play-doh or clay, and a ruler with cm markings

I cut these apart before class started.  For a class of 28 you would need four sets.

 Teacher prep: make sure you've cut the dotted lines to provide one column for each student to build their model.  Then students will come together in a jigsaw to build the model from the work of 7 kids.












To make the larger group organization easier, I labeled the back of each purple column with A, B, C, etc. so the students would know which large group they were in, and the groups were randomly chosen.











The students cut the straws to the length determined by the electronegativity chart in their book.  Ex: 3.98 Paulings from the chart = 3.98 cm in the straw.

My students building their group of elements.

Then the students used the play-doh to stand the straws up.  Now, I read online you can use a large microwell plate for this instead, but I didn't have those, so we used the play clay as an improvisation.

One group of elements placed on the table when finished.

Once the students put their groups together on the empty periodic table map, they were able to see the representative elements all completed.

Finished Student Work

The students also answered questions about their work, leading them back to the ideas that Electronegativity increases across a period, and decreases as you move down a group.  We had a class discussion about the answers they had written, and the lesson was over.

From start to finish it took about 45 minutes in class.  Teacher prep time was probably 15-20 minutes to copy the pages, set out the scissors and rulers, and cut out the strips.  I also had some extra questions ready at the end to ask if the students finished early, or to use on an individual basis if there were students who moved really quickly and needed a little enrichment.


If you would like to download the questions and templates for this activity - click here to visit my TPT store. 

If you try this activity - comment below and let me know how it went!