Post-secondary Science Students' Understanding on Mole Concept and Solution Concentration
Due to their abstract nature, the mole concept and solution concentration are difficult for students to understand and apply to stoichiometric calculations. This study was designed to investigate students’ perceptions and difficulties in solving problems related to the mole concept and solution...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1279/ |
| Summary: | Due to their abstract nature, the mole concept
and solution concentration are difficult for students to
understand and apply to stoichiometric calculations. This
study was designed to investigate students’ perceptions and
difficulties in solving problems related to the mole concept
and solution concentration. Thirty-eight students (18-19
years old) who were pursuing science related programmes
from a private university college in Malaysia participated
in the study. Students were asked to answer twenty-five
open-ended questions on the mole concept and solution
concentration. Analysis of students’ responses revealed
that they were not able to connect the mole concept with
mass and number of particles. Students were also grappling
to answer problems regarding concentration and dilution.
This study suggests that it is important to determine
whether students’ difficulties to master the concepts are
due to lack of knowledge or the presence of alternative
frameworks so that so that pedagogical instruction can be
modified. This study was part of a larger research project
where students’ responses on this open-ended test will be
used to get a greater generalizability in order to construct
the alternatives to the four-tier multiple choice (4TMC)
instrument to identify students’ alternative frameworks on
these concepts. (Abstract by authors) |
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