On October 4, 2020, volunteers from the Irvine branch of AYLUS hosted its sixth science exploratory class for the fall session. We used Zoom to host the lesson, and students, consisting of elementary and middle schoolers, had a great time participating.
For the first lesson in chemistry, we started off by doing an experiment with water and oil. We put oil in a glass of water and showed the students how they separated into layers. We first explained the basic structure of atoms and how electronegativity leads to bonding. We then explained the two different types of bonds with an analogy to roommates. We explained the difference between polar and non-polar covalent bonds, and gave some examples on each, including water. The students had a couple of questions that were answered. Afterwards, we introduced how polarity is related to biology by creating a diagram about how cell membranes and the phospholipids that make them up utilize polarity to create a semi permeable layer. We finished off the lesson by explaining how polar and non polar molecules are different and describing the different types of atomic modeling, including the Lewis Dot Structure. We made sure to do a lot of practice problems with the Lewis Dot Structure method so that they were prepared for their homework! What a great success!
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Volunteers: Andy Chen (1.5 hrs), Aditya Verma (1.5 hrs), Brian Song (1 hr)