The heart of learning chemistry is the ability to connect a compound's structure to its properties. Prior research shows, however, that many students fail to recognize these structure-property connections and are unable to decode the information contained in the structures. Students' understanding of intermolecular forces is an especially difficult step in this process due to their abstract nature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with both general chemistry and organic chemistry students on their understanding of structure-property relationships. The Implicit Information from Lewis Structures Instrument (IILSI) was also collected to determine how students link structures to intermolecular forces. Results from these interviews and survey will be discussed along with future directions.

Disconnect in students' understanding of intermolecular forces

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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