Charge Balance Built from K'Nex Toys
Here's another version of the charge balance described in Lessons 11-12 in your Friendly Chemistry teacher edition. Using K'nex toys, we put together a simple balance to use when demonstrating the changes that take place in proton and electron numbers as neutral atoms ionize. We used small wooden blocks cut from a 1" x 2" piece of furring strip to represent protons and electrons.
This link will take you to a short youtube video showing the K'nex charge balance in action:
Here are some different views of our charge balance.
Other items we've used in the past to represent protons and electrons include children's A, B, C blocks, milk caps of two different colors, plastic counters (from a math manipulative set) and once we even used sugar and "sweet and low" packets (sugars are white, sweet and lows are pink.)
If K'nex toys are not available, other styles of building sets such as Legos or Fischertechnic may be used.
If you don't have the time to put a balance together, consider making it an assignment for your child or students.
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