3D Sym Op

Visualise symmetry elements and operations on 3D molecules of many point groups.

“3D Sym Op” is an educational app designed to visualise the symmetry elements and operations on molecules of various point groups. The 3D molecule is searchable via four ways: Name, Formula; 2D Structure; Point Group and Image Recognition. Symmetry elements – rotation axis (C); reflection plane (); inversion point (i) and improper rotation (S) can be selectively displayed on the scalable 3D molecule. On touch the symmetry operation e.g. C6 – 60o rotation, is performed and user can pause/resume movement at any time. The corresponding 2D image with symmetry element can also be shown. Tapping the point group would display the character table. A quiz mode is available for which each time has 7 symmetry element questions followed by 3 point group questions, for self-assessment.

Chemistry undergraduates are encouraged to download this application to supplement their individual learning purposes.

This mobile application is a joint project between the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, and School of Computing, both from the National University of Singapore.