TITLE: My Chemical Romance: Chemistry 101 for Dummies

Writer/Researcher: Janna Marie Go

Concept: The comic strip shall be a compilation of seven different stories.
Topics:
1. Periodic trends, electron configuration
2. Bonds (ionic, covalent)
3. Stoichiometry

Disclaimer: We mean no offense in our jokes. The characters, being elements, should be
treated as elements, not people.

Comic 1: Dating Stereotypes (Electron Configuration, Properties, Periodic Trends)

1st box
Element on a bench: Hmm.. I wonder whom I could form a bond with?
2nd box
Francium passes by (1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 3d 4s 4p 4d 5s 5p 4f 5d 6s 6p 7s )
2 2 6 2 6 10 2 6 10 2 6 14 10 2 6 1

Element: Ooh, francium seems nice, happy, and isn’t she just radiating? It’s hot and I
can just feel the electric spark! But, that number is too long to memorize!
NOTE: Make Francium really big (has biggest atomic radius)
3rd box
Fluorine passes by (1s 2s 2p )
2 2 5

Element: Fluorine seems okay; however, she doesn’t just seem to shine.
4th box
Fluorine breaks down
Element: Hey, are you okay?
Fluorine: No! I attract negative charges; I’m acidic, and I am just really brittle!
Did you know? Metals and non-metals have varying properties. Francium is a metal,
while fluorine is a non-metal. Metals are good conductors of heat and energy, form cations, has
luster while non-metals are the opposite of that.

Comic 2: I’m happier when I’m with you (Ionic, KBr)

1st box
Br: Hey, you okay?
K: K.
2nd box
Br: Hey, um, you can call me Bro.
K: K.
3rd box
Br: You seem down, you know what. I just know the trick. Why not give me some
of your negativity?
K: I guess… here’s an electron
4th box
KBr is formed
K: I feel so much better, Bro!
Br: Me too! I feel so much stable. This is just right.
Did you know? An ionic bond is formed by the transfer of electrons between a positively-
and negatively-charged ion.

Comic 3: Sharing is Loving (Covalent) CH4

 1st box
C: it’s so lonely. I have no one to give my electrons to and no one’s willing to give
me theirs!
2nd box
4 hydrogen atoms pass by and meet
3rd box
Hydrogen 1: hey, wanna share?
Hydrogen 2: yeah, we can each share you our electron and you can share one of
your electrons to the each of us!
Carbon: sharing? Huh?
4th box
Covalent bond is formed
C: sharing does work! Hey, wanna call our bond something?
Hydrogen 3: hmm.. covalent bond?
Hydrogen 4: yeah! That sounds great! Since we share our valence electrons and
all that!
Did you know? Covalent bonds are formed through the sharing of electrons. Elements in
the fourth group usually form covalent bonds.

Comic 4: We’re Better Together (Na + Cl → NaCl)

1st box
Na: No one likes me… I’m poisonous.
Cl: I hurt everyone…
2nd box
Na and Cl meet, both say hey, hugs
3rd box
NaCl forming
Na: Oh no, what’s happening?
Cl: You’re transferring one of your electrons to me! The electrostatic force is too
strong!
4th box
NaCl is formed, is used for food
NaCl cloud: “We’re so much better when we’re together!”
Did you know? When elements are joined to form compounds, they lose their individual
properties and develop new ones!

Comic 5: Creating Volume (stoichiometry, how much is needed to form) (2H2 + O2 →

2H2O)
1st box
2 hydrogens (best friends) meet 1 oxygen
2nd box
Hydrogen 1: Hey, wanna join with us?
Hydrogen 2: Cmon, it’d be great! It’ll be totally different!
Oxygen: Hm.. I guess. We can have volume together!
3rd box
Hydrogen 1: Combined, we both weigh 15.1 grams!
Hydrogen 2: I wonder how much water we’ll yield?
Oxygen: Well, let’s see!
4th box
Water: Woah, I didn’t know we could produce 136 grams of water!
 Did you know? 15.1 g of H2 1 mol of H22 g of H22 mol of H2O2 mol of H218 g of H2O1
mol of H2O=136 g of H2O

Comic 6: Replacement (Reactivity Series, Zn + NiSO4 → ZnSO4 + Ni)

1st box
Nickel and Sulfate are going out on a walk together (Nickel(II) Sulfate).
2nd box
NiSO4: Oh, hey Zinc! (said by sulfate)
Zn: Hi, Sulfate! Oh, nickel, didn’t see you there.
3rd box
The next day…
Zinc and sulfate are going out on a walk together (ZnSO4)
Ni: What is the meaning of this? How dare you replace me with that reactive
element?
4th box
Zn from ZnSO4: Sorry, Nick. You just aren’t reactive enough and so I can just
replace you.
Did you know? An element can only replace another element with a lower reactivity.

Comic 7: #StrongIndependentElements (noble gases)

1st box
An element passes by
He: Hey…
Element ignores He
2nd box
An element passes by
Ne: Hey…
Element ignores Ne
3rd box
An element passes by
Ar: Hey…
Element ignores Ar
4th box
Noble gases come together
Kr: Nobody seems to like us, huh?
Xe: You know what? It’s okay!
Rd: Because we’re strong and independent! We’re noble gases!
Did you know? Because of their full outer shells, noble gases are very inert and stable.