Previous studies have identified that one reason why general chemistry students struggle to understand chemical bonding is due to the use of many different representations when teaching about the making and breaking of bonds. Our project examines how students translate between particulate (space-filling models) and symbolic (reaction equations) representations of molecules, particularly in regards to the making and breaking of bonds during a combustion reaction. Think-aloud interviews were conducted with sixteen general chemistry students from Fall 2016 through Fall 2017. Patterns in students’ thinking have been identified and described through thematic analysis. These findings were used to develop assessment items which were administered to Chemistry and Biochemistry majors after completing the first semester of General Chemistry. Themes from the interviews and results from the assessment items regarding students’ understandings of space-filling representations and chemical equations will be presented.

General chemistry students’ reasoning about bonding: Translating between symbolic and space-filling representations of a combustion reaction

2019 Spring National Meeting

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