LABWORK INSTRUCTION SHEET

Week No.: __13__

Laboratory Activity: Making a Bucky Ball

Introduction:

The Buckyball is a roundish molecule made of 60 carbon atoms (left photo below). It
was named a fullerene or Buckyball after Buckminster Fuller. He was a designer and
architect who invented the geodesic dome, which has a similar structure. The atoms of a C60
molecule are arranged in a shape that is the same as a football, or American soccer ball (right
photo). The formal name for this shape is truncated icosahedron (center photo). It has 32
faces, of which 20 are regular hexagons and 12 are regular pentagons. These faces come
together at 60 points, or vertices. In a fullerene, there is a carbon atom at each of these
vertices.

Expected Competencies:
At the end of the activity students should be able to:

1. identify the Carbon atoms arrangements in the fullerene structure

2. reinforce the concept of Carbon atom arrangements through preparation of Bucky ball
model

Materials:

Cartolina or any Stiff Paper Clear tape

Pair of scissors Pencil
Ruler Decors
Procedure:

Preparation of a Bucky Ball from cartolina paper/stiff paper

Job 1. Draw and cut two (2) pieces pattern 1 on the paper. Pattern 1 is consisted of 5
hexagons connected on sides as shown on photo below. Attach the two last edges together
with clear tape. Notice that there are now five hexagons surrounding a pentagon-shaped space
as seen in the picture below. Hexagon sides should be at least 1.5 inch

Job 2.
Draw and cut 2 pieces of pattern 2 on the paper. Pattern 2 consisting of 5 hexagons connected
on the sides targeting alternate position of hexagons. Attach the two patterns together on the
specified edges with clear tape .Notice that there are now ten hexagons alternately positioned.
Hexagon sides measurement should be consistent with pattern 1.

Job 3.
Fold the connected sides and attach the last two edges of pattern 2 with clear tape as shown in
the photo below:
Job 4.
Attach the formed pattern 1 on top of formed patterns 2 forming a dome shape as shown in
the photo below:

Job 5.
Turn your construction over and attach the remaining formed pattern 1 using clear tape and
on top of formed pattern 2 forming a dome shape as shown in the photo below:
Notice that you have 20 regular hexagons faces and 12 regular pentagons spaces

Job 6. Design your Bucky ball to make it a Christmas lantern. You may use recycled or
indigenous materials available at home. SUBMIT A CLEAR PICTURE OF YOUR
FINAL MODEL WITH YOUR NAME AND YEAR & SECTION.
Pattern 1
Pattern 2