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A Cross-Sectional Study of the Understanding of the Relationships Between Concentration and Reaction Rate among Turkish Secondary and Undergraduate Students

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Abstract

This research describes a cross-sectional study, which will give insights into the development of students’ understanding of chemical kinetics (at key points, in relation to relevant teaching) from secondary to university level, in Turkey. The study is based mainly on the written responses given by school and undergraduate students to a series of written tasks involving concepts and phenomena in chemical kinetics. A small-scale interview study was also carried out with a number of students to obtain further information regarding students’ ideas about chemical kinetics and to check for appropriate interpretation of the written responses. In this paper, our focus is on the students’ understanding of the relationships between the concentrations of reactants/products and reaction rate. Analysis of students’ responses on written probes and in interviews indicates that, after instruction, many students use conceptions not consistent with scientific perspectives, and have conceptual difficulties in understanding the relationships between concentration and reaction rate. Furthermore, the results show that students did not frequently use “particulate” and “mathematical” modelling, and in most cases such modelling was not used as intended by the curriculum. The results indicate a need to review curricula, and instructional practices, in the light of the students’ difficulties in understanding chemical kinetics.

Keywords

  • Chemical Kinetic
  • Secondary School Student
  • Macroscopic Modelling
  • Write Response
  • Reaction Rate Increase

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Cakmakci, G., Donnelly, J., Leach, J. (2005). A Cross-Sectional Study of the Understanding of the Relationships Between Concentration and Reaction Rate among Turkish Secondary and Undergraduate Students. In: Boersma, K., Goedhart, M., de Jong, O., Eijkelhof, H. (eds) Research and the Quality of Science Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3673-6_38

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