App review by Debbie Gorrell, Common Sense Education | Updated March 2014
Chem Lab
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Chem Lab

Decent tool for building chemical formulas, but gameplay is monotonous

Get it now
  • Download from App Store
Learning rating
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Grades
9–12
Subjects & Skills
Science, Critical Thinking
Price:  $0.99
Platforms:  iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
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Take a look inside

4 images
The app is very basic, making navigation easy.
Instructions and a cheat sheet may help struggling kids.
Kids drag and drop elements to build a compound.
Each round is scored and timed.

Pros: Interactive way for kids to practice building chemical formulas; scores and times are calculated for each round.

Cons: Instruction is lacking, and the game isn't very engaging.

Bottom Line: Straightforward science tool can help kids who need to practice with chemical formulas.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

If you're looking for a quick, interactive way for kids to practice building chemical formulas, then Chem Lab might be a good option. Ideally, kids will be quite familiar with elements, compounds, and building formulas. Have kids work in pairs or small groups, taking turns completing a round of five compounds. Challenge kids to get the highest score and lowest time. It could be fun to keep a record of all students' scores and times and create a class leaderboard. Continue practicing throughout your chemistry unit, or even throughout the year, to help kids improve fluency.

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Standards:

Chem Lab is really quite basic. The home screen has a Start button and an information icon. Kids can tap the icon to view instructions for using the app and a cheat sheet of common elements and their symbols. When starting the game, kids are given the name of a chemical compound and must drag and drop elements into a flask to complete the chemical formula for the compound. Kids earn a point if they get it right, and each timed round includes five compounds. If kids get it wrong, the flask explodes and the correct formula is given. The game includes over 60 organic and inorganic compounds.

Teaching instructions and explanations are lacking, so Chem Lab is best suited for practice. Although it's interactive, with drag-and-drop features, gameplay is repetitious and seems more like a drill than an actual game. The chemical compounds are randomly selected for each round, which means that learning does not progress in terms of difficulty level. One nice feature is that the rounds are timed and scored. This could motivate kids to improve and learn from their mistakes.

Overall Rating
Engagement

Basic graphics and repetitious activity probably won't keep kids interested for long.

Pedagogy

Kids have to rely heavily on prior knowledge because instruction isn't built into the app. Correct feedback is given, so motivated kids can learn from their mistakes.

Support

Kids will be able to easily navigate through this basic tool, but there's an instruction page just in case. A "cheat sheet" lists some of the common elements and their symbols.

Common Sense reviewer
Debbie Gorrell Educator
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Key Standards Supported

Reading Science/Technical

  • RST.9-10.4

    Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and topics.

  • RST.9-10.7

    Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

  • RST.11-12.4

    Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.

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