Many undergraduate general chemistry students struggle in visualizing and understanding how individual particles behave in different physical states. A thorough comprehension of the particulate nature of matter is necessary for students to be successful in all chemistry classes. Although other researchers have studied this phenomenon using interviews and drawings from students, this study is the first to use both techniques to study general chemistry students’ perceptions of four different physical states. Ten general chemistry students were interviewed at the end of their second semester. During the interviews, they were asked to draw what they thought the solid, liquid, gaseous, and aqueous states looked like if they were able to see the individual particles and were also asked to explain why they depicted the arrangements the way they did. Answers were coded on if the student was able to portray increased space between particles as phases went from low order to high order, and if the students were able to depict dissociated ions with charges in the aqueous state. Although no student was able to give a completely correct description of the different physical states, they were predominantly able to draw and explain the general concepts of the solid, liquid, and gaseous sates; however, this was not so with the aqueous state. Students also struggled in giving correct answers when questioned why some species of particles existed in more than one state in the same environment. There was a general reference to the kinetic energy of the particles in many of their answers, but some students would also cite density and temperature as reasons for a difference in physical state. Many students also used macroscopic reasoning in their interviews, even though they were asked to specifically answer from a particulate perspective. Along with incorrect reasoning, many students would misuse chemistry vocabulary terms, which suggests that they’re able to recognize key concepts and words, but not fully comprehend them.

General chemistry students' perceptions of the particulate nature of matter in different physical states

2019 Spring National Meeting

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