CHEM.10.A

Research

Rodríguez, María A, and Mansoor Niaz.  "La Teoría Cinético Molecular de los Gases en Libros de Física: Una Perspectiva Basada en la Historia y Filosofía de la Ciencia /Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases in Physics textbooks: A History and Philosophy of Science Perspective." Journal of Science Education 5, no. 2 (2004): 68-72. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/la-teoría-cinético-molecular-de-los-gases-en/docview/196957572/se-2

Summary:  The objective of this study is to analyze presentation of the kinetic theory in general physics textbooks based on a history and philosophy of science perspective. Thirty university level general physics textbooks were analyzed to evaluate their treatment of the kinetic theory. It is concluded that general physics textbooks lack a history and philosophy of science perspective, and continue to teach students in a mechanical fashion that amounts to rhetoric of conclusions. This impedes the development of students ability to analyze that can help them to confront challenges posed by scientific research. Such teaching also encourages the rote learning of simple formulae with no conceptual understanding.

Research

Erceg, Nataša, Ivica Aviani, Vanes Mešić, Matko Glunčić, and Gordana Žauha. "Development of the Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases Concept Inventory: Preliminary Results on University Students’ Misconceptions." Physical Review Physics Education Research 12, no.2 (2016): 020139. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020139

Summary:  In this study, we investigated students’ understanding of concepts related to the microscopic model of gas. The results of our study not only corroborate the existence of some already known student misconceptions, but also reveal new insights about a great spectrum of students’ misconceptions that had not been reported in earlier research (e.g., misconceptions about intermolecular potential energy and molecular velocity distribution).