NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1309343
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Oct
Pages: 36
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0926-7220
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Le Châtelier's Principle a Language, Methodological and Ontological Obstacle: An Analysis of General Chemistry Textbooks
Science & Education, v30 n5 p1253-1288 Oct 2021
This study discusses how textbook educational approaches concerning Le Châtelier's principle (LCP) may hinder student comprehension and prediction of chemical equilibrium disturbances. Firstly, after summarising students' LCP erroneous assertions/explanations, a categorisation of the potential barriers that may originate student misunderstandings is performed. The discussed obstacles are the following: (a) language difficulties; (b) limited range of applicability; (c) official examinations and chemistry syllabi and (d) educational research. Then, it is examined how general chemistry textbooks' authors deal with the evolution of chemical equilibria when they are disturbed. The different qualitative formulations of LCP provided in textbooks use mainly polysemic teleological vocabulary, which are difficult to understand in this context. Moreover, textbooks' writers normally do not specify the conditions under which an equilibrium system is disturbed. In this textbook presentation, LCP is introduced as an easy and infallible rule, without limitations. Thus, several problematic perturbations reported in the chemical education research literature are not considered in these materials. Hence, this study concludes that their lacks and misleading use and application of LCP may certainly affect proper student understanding of the concepts related to chemical equilibrium disturbances.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A