This is an assignment designed to help students begin to reflect on professional ethics of scientific practice.  I have used this in a freshman and a senior seminar after 2-3 days of discussion of what professional ethics is and how one goes about choosing a course of action in an ethical dilemma.  I use:

Students are sent to find (and take pictures) of  items in various point groups around campus.  Generally, I give them a list of possible offices (though they are free to go to other places) and point groups (some hard) and the following ground rules:

­In this activity, students self-organize according to periodic trends. I print out the attached cards onto card stock (each page will contain two) and hand them out to the students (one to each). Generally, we go outside and I shout out periodic trends (i.e. size, polarizability, ionization energy, Z_eff etc.) and the students run to get in line in the correct order.  I have a bell which I ding if correct, and a buzzer that I sound if incorrect. If incorrect, they have to try again.