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European Journal of Science

Education
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Conceptions of first‐year university

students of the constituents of
matter and the notions of acids
and bases
a a b
Danièle Cros , Maurice Maurin , Roger Amouroux ,
b b c
Maurice Chastrette , Jacques Leber & Michel Fayol
a
Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc ,
Montpellier
b
Université Lyon I
c
Université de Dijon , France
Published online: 24 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Danièle Cros , Maurice Maurin , Roger Amouroux , Maurice Chastrette ,
Jacques Leber & Michel Fayol (1986) Conceptions of first‐year university students of the
constituents of matter and the notions of acids and bases, European Journal of Science
Education, 8:3, 305-313, DOI: 10.1080/0140528860080307

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0140528860080307

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 EUR. J. Sci. EDUC., 1986, VOL. 8, NO. 3, 305-313

Conceptions of first-year university students

of the constituents of matter and the
notions of acids and bases

Danièle Cros and Maurice Maurin, Université des Sciences et Techniques du

Languedoc, Montpellier; Roger Amouroux, Maurice Chastrette* and
Jacques Leber, Université Lyon I and Michel Fayol, Université de Dijon,
France
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Preconceptions of first-year university students of the constituents of matter and the notions
of acids and bases were investigated on a total of 400 students. The procedure used consisted
of free interviews, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires.
It was found that the constituents of matter were well known to students, but that
interactions between these constituents were either totally unknown or were the subject of
severe misconceptions. The students' knowledge tended to be qualitative and formal, with a
worrying lack of connection with everyday life.

Introduction

University teachers frequently complain that when students commence their

university studies, they often have distorted views of certain basic scientific
notions. Although there is nothing new about this observation, no systematic
investigation of the knowledge and conception of first-year chemistry
students has been carried out in France although much work has been carried
out in physics (Viennot 1978).
The aim of the work described here was to investigate the knowledge
and conceptions of students in the first year of the first cycle of university
studies, in either DEUG A (Diplome d'Etudes Universitaires Generales
awarded at end of 2nd year), centred on mathematics, physics and chemistry,
or in DEUG B, (centred on natural science), as regards to two important
notions in chemistry-the atom and acids and bases.
Our purpose in conducting this study, was not simply to draw up an
inventory of students' 'scholastic' knowledge related to these notions.
Instead, the work aimed at identifying students' perceptual structures
associated with the notions, i.e., the sets of knowledge and relationships held
by them. These sets constitute conceptions that are liable to impede the
learning of concepts as presented at the university. Thus, our ulterior motive
in conducting this investigation was to provide teachers with information on
the basis of which they can improve the effectiveness of their lectures and
tutorial work.

* Corresponding author.
 306 RESEARCH REPORTS

Methods
The procedure used consisted of three stages: free interviews followed by
semi-structured interviews and then a questionnaire-based enquiry. We first
held some forty unstructured interviews (each lasting about 45 minutes) on
the notions selected. The purpose was to let students express themselves
freely on the notions in order to enable us to draw up as wide-ranging an
inventory as possible of their conceptions. The tape-recorded replies were
analysed and, on the basis of the findings, two interview schedules were
compiled for use in the semi-structured interviews. The latter were
conducted with a fresh sample of 50 students. The results from this part of
the study enabled us to draw up the two questionnaires which are outlined in
the appendix. The purpose of the last stage was to show the relative
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proportions of the various conceptions revealed by the interviews. The

questionnaires included both multiple-choice questions and open-answer
questions. For some questions, the students were requested to indicate the
degree of confidence in their answers on a scale from 1 to 3 (Noizet and
Caverni 1978).
The questionnaires thus compiled were given to students at two
universities (Lyon I and Montpellier II) before the start of lectures at the
beginning of the university year. At each university, some 50 first-year
students enrolled for DEUG A and 50 students enrolled for DEUG B answered
the questionnaire for each of the two themes selected. The total survey was
thus applied to a total of 400 persons. Processing of the answers was carried
out using a computer and took into account the baccalaureate specialization
(series C or other) together with the university in question and the DEUG (A or
B).
The main scientific branches of the French baccalaureate are C and D.
Students are directed towards the various specializations mainly in the light
of their mathematical ability. Series C is for students specializing in
mathematics and physics. Series D is more for students specializing in the
natural sciences. Other scientific specializations are classified in the field of
technical education and are not covered here. It is generally accepted that
series C students are the best.

Results and discussion

The results of the two questionnaires were very similar for the two
universities participating in the study, justifying the unified presentation of
the results. Likewise, replies varied little but in a similar way according to
whether the student had taken Baccalaureate C or not. Series C students
seemed to approach all the questions in a more logical and abstract manner.
The results are presented and discussed in the sections, headed 'atoms' and
'acids-bases', respectively. The questions asked are listed in the appendix.

Atoms
Atomic structure: The constituents of the atom and nucleus were known very
well to the students (97% correct answers to question 1, 95% to question 3).
 THF. CONSTITUE!
Table 1. Summary of answers received to Question 2 and Question 4, first questionnaire.
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H
Question 2 Question 4 X
Interactions in theatom Interactions in the nucleus

ATT1
Percentage Percentage of students
:-i

of total with Baccalaureate Percentage Percentage of students

population C others of total with Baccalaureate
Answer (AT =400) (iV=200) (iV=200) population C others

No answer 15-6 10-5 17-5 39-7 38-5 40-2

No interaction 0-9 1-7 0-6 21-3 17-5 22-7
Electrostatic or
electrical interactions 64-4 71-9 61-6 3-3 1-7 3-8
The électron moves
around the nucleus 10-4 7-0 11-6
Cohésion 11-3 10-5 11-6
Nuclear forces 1-8 5-2 0-6
Mass defect 1-8 00 2-5
Repulsion between protons 2-3 1-7 2-5
Others 7-5 8-7 7-1 13-7 21-0 11-0

Note: The figures represent percentages of students providing particular answers.

^1
 308 RESEARCH REPORTS

Table 2. Summary of answers to Question 7, first questionnaire.

Percentage Percentage; of students

of total with Baccalaureate
Answer population C Others

No answer 11-3 12-2 11-0

a, P, y radiation 284 36-8 25-3
Danger + Radiation 15-1 14-0 15-5
Release of energy 12-3 8-7 13-6
Something emitted from
the nucleus 9-9 7-0 11-0
Fission/Fusion 94 8-7 9-7
Social/Medical aspects 1-8 00 2-5
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Disintegration 4-7 3-5 5-1

Others 6-6 8-7 5-8

However, the interactions between these constituents were perceived m u c h

more vaguely, as can be seen from table 1. A fairly similar pattern of answers
was received for the relations between the constituents of the hydrogen atom
(Question 5).
T h e questionnaire and, above all, t h e interviews showed that in the
students' mind the dominant model of the atom is that of Bohr. T h e
planetary model is clearly very attractive: students are already very familiar
with it and find it easy to use on the scale of the atom. I n addition, the model
can be depicted graphically in a way that is extremely easy to remember; this
graphic representation is used by the media and found in many books,
including school textbooks (e.g., Cros 1968).
O u r teaching experience has shown that it is very difficult to modify
students' conceptions (Chastrette and Cros 1985). T h i s is why it appears to
us to be desirable in chemistry teaching to stop using a model whose
inadequacies were demonstrated over 50 years ago.

Radioactivity: W e observed that students had a fairly good knowledge of the

conditions of release of nuclear energy, with the exception of collision
between atoms and particles (Question 6). Knowing that radioactivity is not
dealt with very systematically in secondary education, it appeared interesting
to investigate the students' conception of it. T h e results are given in table 2.
Unexpectedly, radioactivity was not perceived as being dangerous. T h e
radiation associated with radioactivity was mentioned, b u t only descriptively
and without any association with the production of energy or with socio-
economic questions (medical interest, danger, etc.).
A more recent study (unpublished results) shows that the 'radioactivity-
danger' association is m u c h more frequently encountered when students are
requested to give their conceptions in graphic forms (e.g. drawings).

Molecules and crystals: Molecules were correctly perceived as being made u p

of atoms (85%). However, interactions between constituents were either
 THE CONSTITUENTS OF MATTER 309

unknown (38%) or poorly known (18%), even though some students

mentioned covalency (25%), electron-sharing (8%) and ionic bonding (1%).
Crystals remained a mysterious notion for most: 42% of the students did
not reply and 15% gave incorrect or extremely inadequate information. Only
27% of the students referred to a clearly denned arrangement (lattice) of
atoms or ions. Nevertheless, the notion of crystals is introduced in the fifth
year of secondary school in connection with the study of sodium chloride in
solid form, and the notion of 'ordered crystalline structure' can even be
found in certain textbooks (e.g., Cros 1968).
In conclusion, when systems are comparatively simple the constituents
were well known but the interactions much less so. However, when more
complex systems were considered (molecules, crystals), students' percep-
tions are found to be increasingly vague: The constituents are described less
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accurately and the interactions are sometimes totally unknown. It is

particularly striking (and serious) to observe that the notion of interactions is
completely alien to many students.

Acids-bases
Twenty-three per cent of the students gave purely descriptive definitions of
acids and bases ( p H < 7 or p H > 7 ) ; 61% gave more abstract definitions of
acids connected with the transfer of protons; forty-seven per cent gave the
Bronsted-Lowry definition of acids-bases whilst 14% continued to prefer
that of Arrhenius.
Students found it is easy to give examples of three acids (Question 2) but
there was very little variety in the replies. The acids mentioned most
frequently were hydrochloric acid (93%), sulphuric acid (61%), ethanoic acid
(56%) and nitric acid (36%).
The situation was very different for bases (Question 4). Forty-three per
cent of the students were unable to name more than two bases. Those
mentioned most frequently were sodium hydroxide (90%), ammonia (46%),
the acetate ion (25%), potassium hydroxide (15%) and water (9%). It is
interesting to note that the bases most frequently mentioned are those which
can release hydroxide ions. Thus, the ethanoate ion was mentioned half as
often among bases as ethanoic acid among acids, even though the notion of
acid-base pairs forms part of the last year of the secondary school
programme.
Forty-eight per cent of students defined pH (Question 5) by giving the
appropriate mathematical formula, viz. p H = —log [H 3 O + ]. Fifteen percent
remembered it wrongly. The rest gave qualitative descriptions such as
'measurement of the degree of acidity' (17%).
The practical aspects of the reaction between an acid and a base were the
subject of a multiple-choice question; the results are given in table 3. It can be
seen that only 41% of the students associated release of heat with this
reaction, whilst 46% considered that no heat was evolved. In addition, the
replies were given with a very low degree of confidence. The dichotomic
formulation of the answer has doubtless much to do with this result (Payne
1951, Loftus 1975, Loftus and Zanni 1975). Questions 6a and 6e turned out
to be ambiguous and were not taken into account. However, replies to the
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Table 3. Summary of answers to Question 6, second questionnaire.

Heat is evolved pH decreases pH increases

Answer and Population with Population with Population with

confidence Total Baccalaureate Total Baccalaureate Total Baccalaureate
level population C others population C others population C others

True 40-7 47-3 38-1 7-8 11-7 6-1 83-8 84-5 83-5
Very sure 27-5 25-0 28-9 47-4 86-3 19-7 75-5 80-1 73-8
Rather sure 33-4 42-9 28-9 11-5 0-0 19-7 16-2 160 16-3
Unsure 39-1 32-1 42-2 41-0 13-4 60-6 8-2 3-9 9.9

False 45-8 40-5 47-8 84-4 86-2 83-4 101 15-0 8-1
Very sure 23-4 20-7 24-3 73-9 82-5 70-7 45-5 78-7 23-5
Rather sure 32-7 29-1 33-9 14-5 15-7 13-9 13-9 10-7 14-8
Unsure 43-9 50-1 41-8 11-6 1-8 15-4 40-6 10-7 61-7
No answer 13-0 11-8 13-5 7-4 1-6 9-6 5-5 00 7-7

Note: The values for the degrees of confidence are given as a percentage of the number of true and false answers, respectively.
 THE CONSTITUENTS OF MATTER 31 1

question on pH variation were correct and given with a high degree of

confidence (cf. table 3). The purpose of question 9 was to check the
relationship perceived by students between the pH as a scientific notion and
the pH of drinks. We thought that acidic solutions would be considered to be
more dangerous than basic solutions. In fact, the replies were distributed
symmetrically around the pH corresponding to neutral, possibly because of
the way the question was phrased.
All the students would have agreed to drink a solution of pH 7, and 75%
would have drunk a solution with a p H 7 + 2. If one remembers that
ordinary soft drinks like lemon juice or Coca-Cola have a pH of the order of
2-5, our results show that the link between everyday life and scientific ideas
has not been established properly.
As with the questions on atoms, we observed in this case also that
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students had good knowledge of the formal, descriptive aspects, but a very
inadequate conception of concrete phenomena (e.g., the release of heat
during an acid/base reaction).

Conclusions

The results derived from the questionnaire-based survey correspond very

closely to those from the free semi-directed interviews. They may be
summarized thus:
• The constituents of atoms, molecules, etc., and of acids and bases
were generally well known to the students and well understood by
them;
• interactions between these constituents were either totally unknown
or poorly perceived; students were often not even aware of the
existence of such interactions; and
• certain conceptions —the degree of spontaneity of which we are
unable to judge-appear to be significant to the point of blocking the
assimilation of scientific notions.
It seems to us that the knowledge aquired by the students is essentially
qualitative and formal, and the lack of its connection with everyday life is
worrying. It does not seem exaggerated to put forward the idea that these
features stem from an education which revolves too much around books and
that is not sufficiently linked to experimental work and the practical aspects
of chemistry in everyday life and in the modern world. For example, for
reasons of cost and safety we give our students dilute solutions of acids and
bases to handle. We should then not be surprised to find that they cannot
detect the small increases of temperature obtained when these solutions are
mixed. It would be useful to carry out experimental demonstrations of the
rise in temperature resulting from mixing concentrated solutions of acids and
bases so that students can be made aware of the danger involved.
Our experience in teaching general chemistry to first-year university
students shows that particularly tenacious conceptions are only modified
with difficulty-or not all-by the teaching given today. One of the problems
that should be approached by didactic research in chemistry is that of the
 312 RESEARCH REPORTS

strategy to be adopted to achieve an effective modification of students' initial

perceived ideas. We have started research on this subject and hope to publish
our findings at a later date.

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank the Ministere de l'Education Nationale (DESUP 11)
for a research grant which enabled them to carry out this work.

References
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CHASTRETTE, M. and CROS, D. 1985, Enquête sur la Maîtrise de la Notion de Mole et son
évolution entre 16 et 20 ans. Actualité Chimique, No. 3, pp. 69-76.
CROS, A. 1968, Initiation à la chimie moderne. Classe de seconde C et T (Librairie Belin, Paris).
LOFTUS, E. F. 1975, Leading questions and the eyewitness report. Cognitive Psychology,
Vol. 7, pp. 560-572.
LOFTUS, E. F. and ZANNI, G. 1975, Eyewitness testimony: The influence of the wording of a
question. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, Vol. 5, pp. 86-88.
NOIZET, G. and CAVERNI, J. P. 1978, Psychologie de l'Evaluation Scolaire (Presses Univer-
sitaires de France, Paris).
PAYNE, S. L. 1951, The art of asking questions (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ).
VIENNOT, L. 1978, Le raisonnement spontané en dynamique élémentaire. Revue Française
de Pédagogie, No. 45, pp. 16-24.

Appendix. List of questions used in the questionnaires.

Questionnaire on atoms
1. What are the constituent particles of an atom?
2. What are the interactions between thèse particles?
3. What are the constituent particles of an (atomic) nucleus?
4. What are the interactions between thèse particles?
5. What relations exist between the basic constituents of the hydrogen
atom?
6. In which of the following collisions, can nuclear energy be liberated?
• between molécules
• between atoms
• between nuclei
• between nuclei and particles
• between atoms and particles.
(Indicate the degree of confidence that you hâve in your answer.)
7. What does radioactivity mean to you?
8. What are the constituents of a molécule?
9. What are the interactions between the constituents of a molécule?
10. What are the constituents of crystals?
11. What interactions take place between the constituents of a crystal?
 THE CONSTITUENTS OF MATTER 313

Questionnaire on acids-bases
1. Give a definition of 'acid'.
2. List three different acids and write down their formulae.
3. Give a definition of 'base'.
4. List three bases and give their formulae.
5. What is meant by 'pH'?
6. What happens when a solution of a base is added to an acid?
• neutralization takes place
• there is a temperature change
• the pH decreases
• the pH increases
• a solution of pH = 7 results.
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(Indicate the degree of confidence that you have in your answer.)

7. What is the difference between a 'strong acid' and a 'weak acid'?
8. Indicate on the scale provided (not shown here), the pH-range within
which a solution would be drinkable. How confident are you in your
answer?