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Modeling Your World B 1998
Shodor > SUCCEED > Workshops > Archive > Modeling Your World B 1998

Bob Gotwals, Bob2, opened this morning's session by stating his area of expertise, chemistry, and then he asked the students to define it. One student said that it was mixing chemicals together. Another student spoke up saying, "It's the physics of electrons!" Bob1 might have tipped him off, but he still had a great answer. Bob2 used water as his first example. The students instantly recognized the elements and configuration. Later in the morning this led to the use of MacSpartan, but for now Bob2 gave over the class to Bob1.

Bob1 led the class in a discussion of electromagnetism, gravity, force, and energy (both kinetic and potential energy forms were thought of by students). SimSurface was the program used for this section of the course. SimSurface simulates annealing with a definite number of electrons. The students hypothesized what configuration the electrons would stop in given a set number of electrons. The students also discovered that the cooling rate and a number of different factors affect the final configuration of the electrons.

After the break, Bob2 returned to teach the students some chemistry using MacSpartan. The students modeled a molecule of water. They monitored the energy level as they adjusted the angle of the connection between the hydrogens and the oxygen. The young modelers also had time to work with other aspects of MacSpartan. Everyone seemed to be looking forward to tomorrow.