Acid-base reactions are considered an essential part of the chemistry curriculum, especially in general and organic chemistry. If the underlying concepts that govern acid-base reactions are well understood, they can help students form a robust framework on which they can build, particularly later in more complex organic and biological reactions. However, acid-base chemistry is often introduced in terms of memorization and algorithmic manipulation of mathematical formulas, rather than developing a causal mechanistic explanation for how and why acid base reactions occur. We are investigating how students’ molecular-level explanations of acid-base reactions progress from transformed general chemistry curriculum (Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything, CLUE) to organic chemistry course sequences. Our goal in this work is to unpack how and when students use Brønsted-Lowry and Lewis explanations for acid-base reactions.<br/>We designed activities that prompted students to provide such explanations and administered them at several points over two years of general and organic chemistry.  The explanations were analyzed and a coding scheme was developed that reflected an increasingly sophisticated understanding of acid-base reactions. The development of items, analysis and coding of student data and the results of these analyses will be presented.

From Brønsted to Lewis: A longitudinal study of student-constructed acid-base explanations

251st National Meeting (2016)

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