“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.