DOUBLE TROUBLE – MATH IN CHEMISTRY – VISUALISING THE MOLE RATIO AS FRACTIONS IN REACTING AMOUNT CALCULATIONS
Strand: Bringing about curriculum innovations
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Abstract
Mathematical aptitude plays a major role to the success of a student enrolled in any science course. The work herein, that involved 14-16 years old Chemistry students (N = 20) of the investigator, in a co-educational government school, distinguished itself from existing body of work that had focused primarily on students getting the correct outcome. The approach suggests setting up mole ratio as fractions. Subsequently, students decide whether they have reacting masses, solutions chemistry and/or reacting volumes of gases before equalling them to the stoichiometry fraction that was set up prior. This ultimately presents an all-in-one format for mole calculations, enabling students to find the desired unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the pedagogy can help beginning learners overcome the usual impediments involving such calculations. At the initial stage of implementing this strategy, students’ work was scrutinised to identify common mistakes. Following feedback interventions to highlight these mistakes, questions assessing similar calculations were selected as part of various controlled summative assessments over a period of nine months. Overall, the average score of 55% in September 2021 improved to 66% by June 2022, as students get more familiarised and comfortable with the method. Due to the small sample size, statistical analysis was however not feasible. Overall, its speed, simplicity, and versatility outweigh the potential complications, arising from careless algebraic manipulations.
KEYWORDS
algebra, stoichiometry, mole concept, reacting mass, reacting volume, solutions chemistry
Dr Onn Chee Sheng
Education Officer
Sekolah Menengah RIPAS
Dr Onn completed his MChem (Hons) at Oxford University in 2012 on and his PhD in Chemistry from Australian National University in 2022. He is a subject expert and exam coach specialist, with keen interest in exploring metacognition in Chemistry learners. His YouTube channel, @ptet.chemistry has over 7000 subscribers.