We report on an investigation of student thinking about steady-state pipe flow of an incompressible fluid. About 250 undergraduate engineering students were given a test consisting of two hydrodynamics questions, combining multiple-choice format with subsequent open-ended explanations. There is substantial evidence that students have difficulty…

The elementary reaction sequence A ? I ? Products is the simplest mechanism for which the steady-state and quasi-equilibrium kinetic approximations can be applied. The exact integrated solutions for this chemical system allow inferring the conditions that must fulfill the rate constants for the different approximations to hold. A graphical…

Chemical reaction kinetics and equilibrium are essential core concepts of chemistry but are challenging topics for many students, both at the high school and undergraduate university level. Visualization at the molecular level is valuable to aid understanding of reaction kinetics and equilibrium. This activity provides a discovery-based method to…

Heat and thermodynamics is a conceptually rich area of undergraduate physics. In the Indian context in particular there has been little work done in this area from the point of view of misconceptions. This prompted us to undertake a study in this area. We present a study of students' misconceptions about heat transfer mechanisms, i.e. conduction,…

Student interpretations of the equation for the first law of thermodynamics, [delta]U = q + w, an expression defining work done on or by a gas, w = -[image omitted]PdV, and an expression defining heat, q = [image omitted]C[subscript v]dT were investigated through a multiple-choice survey, a free-response written survey, and interviews. The…

This study aimed at identifying specifically prospective chemistry teachers' difficulties in determining the differences between the concepts of chemical thermodynamics and kinetics. Data were collected from 67 prospective chemistry teachers at Kazim Karabekir Education Faculty of Ataturk University in Turkey during 2005-2006 academic year. Data…

The confusion by students on the use of three terms in their writing is discussed. The definitions of catabolite repression, constitutive, and ribosome binding site, given in the glossaries of 10 textbooks, are compared with the use of these terms in students' papers. (KR)

The data for this study were obtained from a sample of 117 biology majors enrolled in an introductory biology course. The Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test, composed of 12 two-tier items, was administered to the students. Among the major findings are: (1) there was no significant difference in scores of male and female students; (2) math…

Enzyme kinetics is a difficult subject for students to learn and for tutors to teach. During the practicals included in the biochemical courses at the Faculty of Chemistry of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, we found that the students acquire good training in the calculations to obtain kinetic parameters such as K[subscript m], V[subscript…

Although students' misconceptions about the concept of chemical equilibrium has been the focus of numerous investigations, few have investigated students' systematic errors when solving equilibrium problems at the college level. Students (n=189) enrolled in the second semester of a first year chemistry course for science and engineering majors at…