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Undergraduate Science and Engineering Students' Understanding of the Reliability of Chemical Data

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Bette Davidowitz

Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa

Fred Lubben

Department of Educational Studies, University of York, York, UK

Marissa Rollnick

College of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

J. Chem. Educ., 2001, 78 (2), p 247

DOI: 10.1021/ed078p247

Publication Date (Web): February 1, 2001

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

This study investigates the status of procedural knowledge of sophomore science and chemical engineering students in South Africa. Procedural knowledge includes collection, manipulation, and interpretation of experimental data. A piloted questionnaire was administered to these students before any instruction on data handling. Comparisons were made across the tasks, and clusters of responses were identified. Analysis of the responses to the questionnaire revealed that one in seven students replicate measurements to identify the recurring value. Almost a third of the students replicate measurements to perfect their measuring skills. About half of the students replicate measurements in order to take a mean, and a third of these show an awareness of the spread of measurements. Over 80 percent of students were able to recognize an anomalous reading and there is also some perception of an acceptable range for the readings. Most students appear to see the relationship of the spread to the mean when the means are the same, but the response is much more variable when the means are different. In drawing a straight-line graph, the majority of students made some attempt to draw the "best fit". Some implications for teaching are given.