Once you’ve learned to visualize, you can employ my chemistry trick to learn molecular structures. Here’s the structure of Proline (from Sigma Aldrich’s reference).
Before I learned how to visualize, I would try to remember this structure by “flashing” the whole 2D representation in my head, essentially trying to see a duplicate of the image above in my head.
Now, I can do something much more engaging and complex.
I visualize the molecule as a landscape, and myself as standing on one of the atoms. For example, perhaps I start by standing on the oxygen at the end of the double bond.
I then take a walk around the molecule. Different bonds feel different—a single bond is a path, a double bond a ladder, and a triple bond is like climbing a chain-link fence. From each new atomic position, I can see where the other atoms are in relation to me. As I walk around, I get practice in recalling which atom comes next in my path.
As you can imagine, this is a far more rich and engaging form of mental practice than just trying to reproduce static 2D images in my head.
A few years ago, I felt myself to have almost no ability to visualize. Now, I am able to do this with relative ease. So if you don’t see this as achievable, I encourage you to practice visualizing, because any skill you develop there can become a very powerful tool for learning.
I was able to memorize the structures of all 20 amino acids pretty easily and pleasantly in a few hours’ practice over the course of a day using this technique.
I imagine a computer game, where different types of atoms are spheres of different color (maybe also size; at least H should be tiny), connected the way you described, also having the correct 3D structure, so you walk on them like astronaut.
Now there just needs to be something to do in that game, not sure what. I guess, if you can walk the atoms, so can some critters you need to kill, or perhaps there are some items to collect. Play the game a few times, and you will remember the molecules (because people usually remember useless data from computer games they played).
Advanced version: chemical reactions, where you need to literally cut the atomic bonds and bind new atoms.
I haven’t seen games using the precise mechanic you describe. However, there are games/simulations to teach chemistry. They ask you to label parts of atoms, or to act out the steps of a chemical reaction.
I’m open to these game ideas, but skeptical, for reasons I’ll articulate in a later shortform.
Chemistry trick
Once you’ve learned to visualize, you can employ my chemistry trick to learn molecular structures. Here’s the structure of Proline (from Sigma Aldrich’s reference).
Before I learned how to visualize, I would try to remember this structure by “flashing” the whole 2D representation in my head, essentially trying to see a duplicate of the image above in my head.
Now, I can do something much more engaging and complex.
I visualize the molecule as a landscape, and myself as standing on one of the atoms. For example, perhaps I start by standing on the oxygen at the end of the double bond.
I then take a walk around the molecule. Different bonds feel different—a single bond is a path, a double bond a ladder, and a triple bond is like climbing a chain-link fence. From each new atomic position, I can see where the other atoms are in relation to me. As I walk around, I get practice in recalling which atom comes next in my path.
As you can imagine, this is a far more rich and engaging form of mental practice than just trying to reproduce static 2D images in my head.
A few years ago, I felt myself to have almost no ability to visualize. Now, I am able to do this with relative ease. So if you don’t see this as achievable, I encourage you to practice visualizing, because any skill you develop there can become a very powerful tool for learning.
I was able to memorize the structures of all 20 amino acids pretty easily and pleasantly in a few hours’ practice over the course of a day using this technique.
I imagine a computer game, where different types of atoms are spheres of different color (maybe also size; at least H should be tiny), connected the way you described, also having the correct 3D structure, so you walk on them like astronaut.
Now there just needs to be something to do in that game, not sure what. I guess, if you can walk the atoms, so can some critters you need to kill, or perhaps there are some items to collect. Play the game a few times, and you will remember the molecules (because people usually remember useless data from computer games they played).
Advanced version: chemical reactions, where you need to literally cut the atomic bonds and bind new atoms.
I haven’t seen games using the precise mechanic you describe. However, there are games/simulations to teach chemistry. They ask you to label parts of atoms, or to act out the steps of a chemical reaction.
I’m open to these game ideas, but skeptical, for reasons I’ll articulate in a later shortform.