Developing secondary students’ conceptions of chemical reactions: the introduction of chemical equilibrium

Abstract

This article describes an empirical study concerning the introduction of the chemical equilibrium concept in chemistry classrooms in a way which challenges secondary students’ initial conceptions of chemical reactions. The objectives of this study were to identify the types of reasoning students use in this context and to develop teaching strategies which promote conceptual change in this respect. As a grounded theory approach was adopted, the study included three research cycles. In each cycle, a field experiment was carried out which involved the design and implementation of an experimental course. Data consisted mainly of audiotapes of classroom situations and the written responses of groups of students. The results indicated that carefully designed chemical experiments contributed to students’ dissatisfaction with respect to their present conceptions of chemical reactions. The concept of a dynamic chemical equilibrium was offered as an explanatory model to account for the anomalous data. This model was adopted by students, usually reasoning that all macroscopic conditions for the two opposite reactions to take place are being satisfied in the equilibrium situation. Another type of reasoning, involving statistical corpuscular notions, was applied successfully by a minority of the students.

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