Have you been using the Collisions: Phase Change Game with your students? Below are some additional strategies to help with planning your lessons.

  • Before starting the game, ensure that students know the meaning of the following terms: solid, liquid, gas, phase change, energy.
  • As students play, introduce the terms latent heat, intermolecular forces, exothermic process, endothermic process.
  • Illustrate that stronger intermolecular forces (denoted by the number of points on the “star”, as well as the number of clicks it takes to break them) have higher boiling points.
  • Draw students’ attention to the temperature DURING a phase change – available energy is used to break the intermolecular forces, but the temperature does NOT rise. This is called “latent heat.”
  • Explain how adding energy causes temperature rise or phase changes. Post these short YouTube videos for your students to watch!


Ask your students:

  • After playing Level 6, describe which types of phase changes are exothermic.
  • After playing Level 12, describe the relationship between IMFs and energy used.
  • Which IMFs require more energy to break or form?

Challenge your students to master the Phase Change Sandbox Achievements:

  • Six different types of phase changes
  • Lower/Higher boiling points than a certain compound
  • Exothermic vs endothermic phase changes
  • Latent heat
  • Or, make up your own challenges and have students submit a screenshot of their work!

The Phase Change game shares Connected Levels with IMFs and Ionic Bonding. Have your students complete both the Phase Change AND the IMFs (and/or) the Ionic Bonding game, to open up the pipe between these games and CONNECT their learning!