Description

Chemical element learning kit in wooden box. Fisher Scientific label plate on front. Cat. No. 12-822. Inside case: Bottom has 20 slots holding space-filling atom model pieces of various sizes and colors; top has green printed chart of what each represents, with typewritten additions pasted over the third row. Box also contains brochure/manual with handwritten notes.

In organic chemistry, atomic models are useful to illustrate how molecules change in chemical reactions, but traditional ball-and-stick configurations don’t accurately represent the shape and size of the whole molecule. In 1939, Joseph Hirschfelder and Hugh Taylor developed a system that highlighted the spatial arrangements of atoms to better understand if a molecule’s shape will hinder a reaction.