Max's Snap Lab
Every atom has a number of hands
snap atoms together by their bonding hands and discover real molecules
what this teaches: valence, chemical bonds, molecule shapes, chemical formulas
What you'll learn
- That each kind of atom can only hold a fixed number of partners
- Why water is H2O and methane is CH4, and never anything else
- What a double bond is and when atoms need one
- Why water is bent while carbon dioxide is straight
- That the same atoms can be arranged into completely different substances
How to play
- Drag an atom out of the tray and drop it onto another one to snap them together.
- Watch the little hands — an atom with no free hands will bounce away.
- Tap a bond to turn it into a double or triple bond.
- Try the challenges, and see how far you get toward caffeine.
FAQ
What age is this for?
Around 9 and up, roughly 4th through 8th grade. Younger children can still enjoy snapping atoms together and finding water by accident.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in any web browser, it is free, and there is no signup.
Are the shapes accurate?
The bond counts and the rough angles are real, which is why water comes out bent and carbon dioxide comes out straight. Real molecules are three-dimensional, though, and this is a flat version of them.
For parents and teachers
This pairs directly with Max's Periodic Table — the table tells you what an element is, and this shows you what it does. The bonding-hands idea is valence, introduced physically before it is ever named. Supports NGSS 5-PS1 and MS-PS1-1.
Max's Atom Explorer
Max's Snowflake Lab
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