Introduction

This lesson was developed in the course Teaching with WebQuests, a course offered by the Teacher Education Institute.

Students enrolled in an introductory chemistry course need to understand the reasons why chemical reactions occur. The collision theory states that a chemical reaction can only occur between particles when they collide (hit each other). The collision between reactant particles is necessary but not sufficient for a reaction to take place. The collisions have to be effective. It is important for students to understand the exact nature of these effective collisions, which determines whether or not particles actually react with each other and form new products.

The original idea for this lesson came from a Science Teacher’s Association of New York (STANY’s) publication written by Judith Gould. The learning objective is for students to identify the requirements needed for a successful reaction to occur between reactant particles. They will be successful if, at the end of the WebQuest, they are able to explain the meaning of an effective collision and explain the requirements needed for a reaction to occur between reactant particles.

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