Visualization of Crystalline Structures Using MAGE

A series of educational modules for teaching and visualizing crystalline structures has been developed for use with the MAGE program. The MAGE program, designed for display of protein structures, has features that make it well suited for presentation of crystalline structures. Some of these features include: (1) the selective display of subsets of atoms, (2) short pseudoanimation sequences, and (3) predefined viewing angles. Three tutorial modules focus on introductory topics such as the concept of the unit cell, lattice point sharing, closest-packed structures, and holes in ionic lattices. The remaining five example modules are organized by structure type and include structures based on filling of tetrahedral and octahedral holes as well as more complex structures and silicates. We have successfully incorporated this instructional tool into the curriculum at the undergraduate level in both general chemistry and upper-level inorganic chemistry.