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Emergence, Learning Difficulties, and Misconceptions in Chemistry Undergraduate Students’ Conceptualizations of Acid Strength

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Abstract

Philosophical debates about chemistry have clarified that the issue of emergence plays a critical role in the epistemology and ontology of chemistry. In this article, it is argued that the issue of emergence has also significant implications for understanding learning difficulties and finding ways of addressing them in chemistry. Particularly, it is argued that many misconceptions in chemistry may derive from students’ failure to consider emergence in a systemic manner by taking into account all relevant factors in conjunction. Based on this argument, undergraduate students’ conceptions of acids, and acid strength (an emergent chemical property) were investigated and it was examined whether or not they conceptualized acid strength as an emergent chemical property. The participants were 41 third- and fourth-year undergraduate students. A concept test and semi-structured interviews were used to probe students’ conceptualizations and reasoning about acid strength. Findings of the study revealed that the majority of the undergraduate students did not conceptualize acid strength as an emergent property that arises from interactions among multiple factors. They generally focused on a single factor to predict and explain acid strength, and their faulty responses stemmed from their failure to recognize and consider all factors that affect acid strength. Based on these findings and insights from philosophy of chemistry, promoting system thinking and epistemologically sound argumentative discourses among students is suggested for meaningful chemical education.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the reviewers for their critical review and valuable suggestions which helped me further improve this article. I also would like to thank Prof. Sibel Erduran and Prof. Yüksel Tufan for their constructive suggestions and discussions which improved this work.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science and Mathematics Education – Chemistry Education, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

    Halil Tümay

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  1. Halil Tümay
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Correspondence to Halil Tümay.

Appendix: Acid Strength Concept Test

Appendix: Acid Strength Concept Test

What is acid?

What is strong acid and weak acid?

Please rank the following chemical compounds based on their relative acid strength from least to most acidic. Explain and justify your reasoning in ranking acid strength.

(A) CH4

NH3

H2O

HF

(B) HF

HCl

HBr

HI

(C) HClO

HClO2

HClO3

HClO4

(D) C2H5OH

CH3COOH

C6H5COOH

 

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Tümay, H. Emergence, Learning Difficulties, and Misconceptions in Chemistry Undergraduate Students’ Conceptualizations of Acid Strength. Sci & Educ 25, 21–46 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-015-9799-x

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