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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > April  >
Chemistry Everyday for Everyone
Using Games to Teach Chemistry. 1. The Old Prof Card Game

Philip L. Granath
Crockett Junior High School, Odessa, TX

Jeanne V. Russell
Chemistry Department, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, 4901 E. University Blvd., Odessa, TX 79762
Cover
April 1999
Vol. 76 No. 4
p. 485
Abstract
A card game has been developed and used to teach nomenclature of the elements and their symbols in the first laboratory session of General Chemistry. The game is a cross between the Old Maid game and Go Fish game, which makes it very nonthreatening. There are 24 pairs of symbol cards plus an "Old Prof" card, for a total of 49 cards in the deck. The students pair up the cards and can lay down each pair only if they can name the element. Students in turn asks another for a specific card. If they get the card, it is still their turn. If not, then they must draw a card from that student's hand, ending their turn. The winner is the person who has laid down the most pairs and the loser is the person left with the "Old Prof" card. The game both helps the students learn or review the symbols of the elements and is a good "icebreaker" where students learn the names of other students.
More Information
*  Citation
 Granath, Philip L.; Russell, Jeanne V. Using Games to Teach Chemistry. 1. The Old Prof Card Game J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 485.
*  Keywords
 Introductory / High School Chemistry; Chemical Education Research; Teaching / Learning Aids; Nomenclature / Units / Symbols; Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 14, 1999
June 23, 2005
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