The abstract nature of bonding poses several challenges as some students struggle to identify the ionic and covalent nature of bonds within a variety of molecules and compounds. Teachers use multiple representations to communicate the concept of bonding, including Lewis Structures, space-filling models, and 3-D manipulatives. As students learn to interpret these multiple representations, they may develop misconceptions that can create a problem in further learning of chemistry. High school and general chemistry students were interviewed using a five-phase protocol and multiple representations to explore their ideas about covalent and ionic bonding. A concept inventory was designed to determine the prevalence of misconceptions about covalent and ionic bonding that were revealed through the student interviews. Preliminary data from the pilot version of the concept inventory will be presented.

Multiple representations of covalent and ionic bonding: Development of a concept inventory

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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