Skip to main content
Article
University Chemistry Students’ Interpretations of Multiple Representations of the Helium Atom
Chemistry Education Research and Practice
  • Zahilyn Roche, Miami University
  • Stacey Lowery Bretz, Miami University - Oxford
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-28-2019
Disciplines
Abstract

Multiple chemistry education research studies at the secondary level have characterized students’ difficulties regarding a conceptual understanding of the quantum model of the atom. This research explores undergraduate students’ interpretations of multiple representations of the atom. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with first-year university chemistry students (n = 26) and second-semester physical chemistry students (n = 8) after they were taught and tested on the quantum model of the atom in their respective courses. During the interview, students were asked to interpret four representations of the atom (an electron cloud model, a probability representation, a boundary surface representation, and the Bohr model) and to rank each of the representations from most preferred to the least preferred. Nearly two-thirds of the students ranked the electron cloud and Bohr-model as their two most preferred representations. Students invoked ideas from classical mechanics to interpret the electron cloud model and used probabilistic language to describe the Bohr model of the atom.

ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2971-4878
DOI
10.1039/C8RP00296G
Citation Information
Zahilyn Roche and Stacey Lowery Bretz. "University Chemistry Students’ Interpretations of Multiple Representations of the Helium Atom" Chemistry Education Research and Practice Vol. 20 (2019) p. 358 - 368 ISSN: 1756-1108
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/zahilyn-roche/23/