Methane 3D Molecular Model — CAS 74-82-8

Model Overview & Print Notes

Summary Methane (CH4, CAS 74-82-8) — a free educational 3D molecular model for teachers and students, by MolGod.org. Element symbols are cut into each atom sphere: a self-labelled teaching aid. On a typical printed molecule every sphere is the same anonymous ball, since the STL file cannot transmit the usual colour convention. MolGod engraves the element symbol directly into every atom sphere, so the identity of each atom is part of the geometry itself. The aim of this scientific education project is to help students identify the atoms of a molecule faster and so grasp its chemistry and 3D geometry sooner. Preparation time drops for the teacher too: there is nothing to model, colour or annotate before sending the file to the printer. More about the hypothesis we are testing with these models: https://molgod.org/engraved-molecular-models/ . Lay Methane on the desk and search for a ring: there isn't one. Its 5 atoms hang together through 4 bonds (all of them single). Counting task: 1 C + 4 H gives 5 engraved spheres; can the class rebuild the formula CH4 from the model alone? Use it when you teach saturated carbon chains and tetrahedral (sp3) carbon. Without any hydrogen-bond donor or acceptor (computed), it shows students what attraction between molecules looks like when hydrogen bonding is absent. There is no sp2 or sp carbon here; every carbon is sp3-hybridised and tetrahedral. MolGod.org publishes its molecular models free of charge for teachers and students. Teachers: pass the model round at the start of the lesson, before showing any diagram. Free to print and free to bring into any classroom. When you publish a photo, a worksheet or a remix, CC BY-SA 4.0 requires you to credit "MolGod.org" as the author of the model, link to the original and to the licence, indicate any changes and share remixes under the same licence (the ready attribution line is below). Nothing else is needed: no account, no cost, no compulsory feedback. Your comments decide what we improve next, from engraving depth to which molecules we add. Leave a review below or contact us at https://molgod.org/contact/ . Have an idea for a lesson built around this molecule? Share it in the comments so other teachers can use it too. MolGod builds 3D models from a CAS number alone: send one and receive a printable, engraved model of that molecule. Full record and more free models: https://molgod.org/molecule/74-82-8/?utm_source=thingiverse&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=edu-3d-models Licence & provenance: https://molgod.org/licenses/stl/74-82-8/ Same file on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Methane-3D-molecular-model-engraved-CAS-74-82-8.stl Also published on: Zenodo (DOI, latest version) https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23718987 A ball-and-stick model of Methane with each element symbol recessed into its atom sphere, generated by MolGod.org from a PubChem-computed 3D conformer (not an experimental crystal structure); atomic coordinates and connectivity are unchanged. STL mesh: 50,178 triangles, closed (watertight) single solid. Coordinates in ångström (STL stores no unit) — scale the model deliberately in your slicer. Names in other languages: Methan (de); méthane (fr); metano (it); methaan (nl); metan (pl); 甲烷 (zh). Chemical identity CAS Registry Number: 74-82-8 Molecular formula: CH4 Molar mass: 16.043 g/mol (exact mass 16.0313001276) IUPAC name: methane MolGod ID: MG_421-499-313-76 ( https://molgod.org/id/MG_421-499-313-76 ) PubChem CID: 297 ( https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/297 ) Wikidata: Q37129 ( https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37129 ) EC number: 200-812-7 ChemSpider ID: 291 InChIKey: VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N SMILES: C Required attribution (CC BY-SA 4.0): "Methane 3D model by MolGod.org — https://molgod.org/molecule/74-82-8/ — CC BY-SA 4.0" Licence text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Instructions STL mesh: 50,178 triangles, closed (watertight) single solid. Coordinates in ångström (STL stores no unit) — scale the model deliberately in your slicer.