Boardsy Boardsy
Grades 8–9 Science NGSS MS-PS1

3D Molecule Whiteboard

Name or draw a compound; rotate the ball-and-stick model and zoom into an atom's electron shells.

See the teaching outline

Opens a live board in your browser. No install, no hardware.

Acetic acid, CH₃COOH. Drag to rotate; click an atom for its electron shells.

A molecule drawn flat on a board hides the thing that matters: its shape. Boardsy turns a name or a sketch into a rotatable 3D model with correct bonds, then lets a student click any atom to fly into its electron shells — protons, shells, and valence electrons, all labeled.

45-minute outline

How to teach it

  1. Recall (5 min): what does a structural formula not tell us? (Shape.)
  2. Build (10 min): name a compound; rotate the model as a class.
  3. Zoom in (15 min): click an atom, count the valence electrons, connect to bonding.
  4. Check (10 min): Analyze the structure and push a short check.
⬇ Download this outline (PDF)
Standard

NGSS MS-PS1

This lesson is built to support NGSS MS-PS1 for Grades 8–9. Alignment is a teaching guide, not an official endorsement — check it against your district's pacing.

“Rotating a real molecule instead of pointing at a flat picture changed how they talked about bonds.”
Priya S. 9th-grade physical science · California ✔ Verified school educator
Received free beta access. Testimonial shared with permission, per FTC guidance on disclosing material connections.

Teach 3D Molecule Whiteboard tomorrow.

Open the live board, invite your class, and start.