Chemical Mahjong - American Chemical Society

TECHNOLOGY REPORT
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Chemical Mahjong
Travis J. Cossairt and W. Tandy Grubbs*
Department of Chemistry, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida 32723, United States
ABSTRACT: An open-access, Web-based mnemonic game is
described whereby introductory chemistry knowledge is tested
using mahjong solitaire game play. Several tile sets and board
layouts are included that are themed upon different chemical
topics. Introductory tile sets can be selected that prompt the
player to match element names to symbols and metric prefixes to
powers of 10. More advanced tile sets are available that require
the player to assign oxidation numbers and electronic configurations, predict precipitation, and recognize weak and strong acids
and bases. Chemical Mahjong is intended for introductory
chemistry students. Adobe Flash Player 10.1þ must be installed
to run this application.
KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, High School/
Introductory Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Humor/Puzzles/
Games, Internet/Web-Based Learning, Mnemonics/Rote Learning, Acids/Bases, Nomenclature/Units/Symbols, Oxidation
State, Student-Centered Learning
T
he original mahjong game is of East Asian origin and
involves four players who draw and discard tiles (or cards)
portraying Chinese characters and images in an attempt to
complete accepted tile sets. The rules for playing mahjong
have varied considerably over time and geographic locale.
Similar to poker, winning the game involves both strategy and
chance.
Mahjong solitaire is a relatively modern rendition of the game
that grew in popularity during the 20th century, particularly as a
computer game starting in the 1980s. Activision produced a
version of the game in 1986 for Apple platforms called Shanghai,
and Microsoft included their own version of the game for
personal computers called Taipei as part of the Windows 3.x
Entertainment Pack in 1990.
Mahjong solitaire involves removing tiles from a board by
identifying matching pairs. The game can be transformed into a
powerful and addictive mnemonic activity by requiring the player
to identify tile pairs that relate a similar concept. In the game
developed here, Chemical Mahjong, the player can choose from
several tile sets that test introductory chemistry knowledge.
Available tile sets include the following:
1. Matching element names with elemental symbols
(Figure 1).
2. Matching atoms in molecules or ions with the appropriate
oxidation number (Figure 2).
3. Matching atoms and ions with the correct ground-state
valence-shell electronic configuration.
4. Identifying chemical species as strong or weak, acids
or bases.
5. Matching metric prefixes with the correct power of 10.
Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and
Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Figure 1. Elemental Symbols; Intro tile set, using a custom X-Board
layout. Tiles are removed by matching elemental names with the correct
symbol.
6. Selecting pairs of compounds that form a precipitate in
aqueous solution.
7. Matching aqueous solutes with the correct predicted Van’t
Hoff factor.
8. Matching chemical species that are isoelectronic.
Each tile set can be played using one of six available board
layouts. Chemical Mahjong is free to use and can be accessed on
the Web.1 Adobe Flash Player 10.1þ must be installed to run this
application.
Published: April 01, 2011
841
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed100900m | J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 841–842
Journal of Chemical Education
TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Figure 2. Oxidation tile set, using the classic Turtle board layout. Tiles
are eliminated by matching a compound or ion tile with the correct
oxidation number tile, where the oxidation number refers to the atom or
ion depicted in red.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail: wgrubbs@stetson.edu.
’ ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Special thanks to Travis Cossairt for programming this
application, the contributors of the Freesound Project from
which audio effects have been selected, and to the AT&T
Foundation for making this project financially possible.
’ REFERENCES
(1) Mahjong Chemistry Home Page. http://www.stetson.edu/mahjongchem (accessed Mar 2011).
842
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed100900m |J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 841–842