Playing the Card Game SNAP in Chemistry

Card Games

Nov 18

Card games are a great way to engage students and make learning fun. If you’re looking for an easy-to-learn, fast-paced activity that reinforces chemistry concepts, SNAP might be the perfect addition to your teaching toolbox. Here's how you can adapt this classic game for your chemistry classroom.

What is SNAP?

SNAP is a card game traditionally played with a standard deck of playing cards. All cards are dealt to each player in the group, and the player places their card stack face down in front of them. One player flips over the top card from their pile. The next player flips over their top card. Players continue flipping cards over until there is a match. For example, two jacks. The first player to spot the match yells “SNAP,” and gets to keep the cards from both piles that matched.

Creating Chemistry Themed SNAP Cards

You can customize your card deck to suit a variety of chemistry topics. You just need a topic where you could categorize content, so that students could find a “match.” Here are some ideas for card sets you could create to reinforce chemistry content:

Ionic and Covalent Compounds.
Identifying intermolecular forces.
Identifying molecular geometry or bond angle.
Types of chemical reactions.
Matching element symbol to name for element recognition.

How to Play Chemistry SNAP

Divide cards amongst players in a group. Players put their stack face down in a pile in front of them.
One player flips a card, and the next in the circle flips a card, until one player calls out SNAP.
When two cards match based on the chemistry content, the first player to call out “SNAP” would win both cards or piles that matched. For example, if one card was NaCL and another was KI, and the content was ionic or covalent, one student would call out “SNAP” when they recognized that both are ionic compounds.
The game continues until one player collects all the cards or until time is called. If time is called, the player with the most cards would be the winner.

Why Play SNAP with your Students?

SNAP is an excellent way to:

Promote quick recall of chemistry knowledge.
Encourage friendly competition and collaboration.
Break up routine lessons with an interactive, hands-on activity.

Adapting SNAP for your classroom is as simple as creating custom cards. It’s a low-prep, high-energy activity that students will love. Ready to give it a try? Let the chemistry SNAP begin! Thanks for reading. Happy teaching!