This activity can be an engaging way for students to visualize how ionic compounds are formed and where their formulas come from. Although it will take time to create the decks of cards the first time around, they can be reused year after year. This game can be used as a review activity to reinforce students’ understanding of formulas and names of ionic compounds.
The purpose of the activity is for students to use cards representing ions and subscripts to create chemical formulas, and to assess each other’s formulas to determine whether they are correct.