Skip to Main Content
Register
PhET Home Page
University of Colorado

Build a Molecule

Build a Molecule Screenshot Download Embed
  • Atoms
  • Molecules
  • Molecular Formula

About

Topics

  • Atoms
  • Molecules
  • Molecular Formula

Description

Starting from atoms, see how many molecules you can build. Collect your molecules and see them in 3D!

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe the differences between an atom and a molecule.
  • Construct simple molecules from atoms.
  • Recognize that the subscript in the molecular formula indicates the number of that atom in the molecule.
  • Recognize that the coefficient indicates the total number of molecules.
  • Associate common molecule names with multiple representations.
Version 1.03

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
Concept Questions for Chemistry using PhET A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro
MS		 MC
Using PhET in High School Chemistry- all my activities in pdf A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 Lab
HW
Demo
Build an Molecule - Inquiry-based basics A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 Lab
HW
CQs
Build an Molecule - concept questions A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
MS
UG-Intro		 CQs
Build a Molecule - Molecular Formulas and Coefficients A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Christine Denison, Emily Moore K-5
MS		 Lab
Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Jackie Esler MS Lab
HW
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
PhET Sims Aligned to the Chemistry Curriculum This contribution was designed by PhET. Julia Chamberlain HS
UG-Intro		 Other
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer HS
MS		 Other
Build a Molecule Lab! Jamie Schoenberger MS Lab
Guided
pHet Building Molecules Virtual Lab - HS Chem1 level laura peck HS Guided
Lab
Making Molecules Paul Grafstrom HS Lab
Build a Molecule Cheryl Sundberg UG-Intro Lab
Building and Naming Molecules Roberto Marrero HS HW
Lab
Bouw een molecuul Niloufar Sekandari HS HW
MC
분자 구성하기 SIM 사용지침서 이화국(Wha Kuk Lee) MS
HS		 Demo
Lab

Share an Activity!

Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Arabic All العربية Download Run now بناء جزيئة
Basque All Basque Download Run now Molekulak eraiki
Bosnian All Bosanski Download Run now Napravi molekulu
Catalan All català Download Run now Construeix una molècula
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Download Run now 建立分子模型
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Download Run now 建立分子模型
Czech All čeština Download Run now Stavba molekuly
Danish All Dansk Download Run now Byg et molekyle
Dutch All Nederlands Download Run now Bouw een molecuul
Estonian All Eesti Download Run now Ehita molekul
Finnish All suomi Download Run now Rakenna molekyyli
French All français Download Run now Construire une molécule
Galician All Gallegan Download Run now Constrúe unha molécula
German All Deutsch Download Run now Bau ein Molekül
Greek All Ελληνικά Download Run now Δημιουργία μορίου
Hebrew All עברית Download Run now בנה מולקולה
Hungarian All magyar Download Run now Molekulaépítő
Italian All italiano Download Run now Costruisci una molecola
Japanese All 日本語 Download Run now 分子の生成
Kazakh All Kazakh Download Run now молекула жинағы
Khmer All Khmer Download Run now បង្កើតម៉ូលេគុលមួយ
Korean All 한국어 Download Run now 분자 구성하기
Macedonian All македонски Download Run now Направи молекул
Marathi All मराठी Download Run now रेणु बनवा
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Download Run now Bygg et molekyl
Norwegian Nynorsk All Norwegian Nynorsk Download Run now Bygg eit molekyl
Persian All فارسی Download Run now یک مولکول بسازید
Polish All polski Download Run now Zbuduj Cząsteczkę
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Download Run now Construa uma Molécula
Russian All русский Download Run now Построение молекулы
Serbian All Српски Download Run now Направи молекул
Slovak All Slovenčina Download Run now Vytvor molekulu
Slovenian All Slovenščina Download Run now Sestavi molekulo
Spanish All español Download Run now Construye una molécula
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Download Run now Construir una Molécula
Swedish All svenska Download Run now Bygg en molekyl
Thai All ไทย Download Run now สร้างโมเลกุล
Turkish All Türkçe Download Run now Bir Molekül Yap
Turkmen All Turkmen Download Run now Molekulany ýasa
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Download Run now Tạo dựng một Phân tử

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7/8.1/10
Latest version of Java
OS X 10.9.5 or later
Latest version of Java
Latest version of Java

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Emily Moore (Lead)
  • Jonathan Olson (Lead Developer)
  • John Blanco (Developer)
  • Sam Reid (Developer)
  • Kelly Lancaster
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Christine Denison
  • Piccolo2D
  • Jmol
English العربية Euskara Беларуская Bosanski 简体中文 正體中文 Česky Dansk Nederlands Eesti Suomi Français Galego ქართული Deutsch Ελληνικά Magyar Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本語 한국어 كوردي Kurdî Македонски मराठी Norsk bokmål Norsk nynorsk فارسی Português Português do Brasil Română Српски සිංහල Slovensky Español Español Internacional ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt
©2017 University of Colorado.
Some rights reserved.