Chemistry teachers and their senior secondary students’ answers to pictorial and verbal questions in evaporation

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to compare chemistry teachers’ answers in a question related to evaporation with that of their senior secondary students. Two hundred and seventy six senior secondary students and their seven teachers participated in the study. The main data collecting instrument was the pictorial and verbal tests in evaporation. According to some teachers (57.14%) when water in a closed container evaporates, no particles would be noticed while about 42.86% of the teachers believe that evaporated water will contain more of water molecules and less than is found in the liquid water. Students’ choice of answers to the evaporation question cut across all the options ranging from molecules of oxygen and molecules of hydrogen to water molecules present in evaporated water but less than is found in the liquid water. These and other observations were discussed in the study. Implications for chemical education were considered.

[AJCE, 3(1), January 2013]