An inquiry-based molecular modeling laboratory was designed to help first-year general chemistry students discover valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory and resonance structures. In this laboratory, students use GaussView and Gaussian 09W to carry out optimization calculations of various structures with different symmetries for the same molecule. Students then compare the optimized energies and explain the results based on the Lewis structures they drew as part of the pre-lab assignment. Students also determine the resonance structures of benzene by comparing the bond distances of the six C-C bonds in benzene with the C-C bond distances in ethane and ethene. An optional exercise regarding the ozone structure further challenges students to deepen their understanding of VSEPR theory and resonance structures. This laboratory has challenged more than a thousand students in the past four years at Central Washington University. These students learned more and far better than those who did the traditional instruction-based molecular modeling laboratory.
Le et al. (Fri,) studied this question.