How well does A-level Mathematics prepare students for the mathematical demands of chemistry degrees?

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1190-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Darlington ◽  
Jessica Bowyer
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Pure Mathematics ◽  
Entry Requirements ◽  
Good Preparation

332 undergraduate chemistry students were surveyed in order to establish whether they had found A-level Mathematics and/or Further Mathematics to be good preparation for their degree. Perceptions of both subjects were found to be positive, with more than 80% of participants describing Mathematics or Further Mathematics as good preparation. In particular, pure mathematics and mechanics topics were found to be the most useful. Additionally, over 90% of participants who had studied at least AS-level Further Mathematics reported that there was an overlap between the material they encountered at A-level and in the first year of undergraduate study. This indicates that prospective undergraduate chemists would significantly benefit from studying A-level Mathematics, and in particular may benefit from specialising in the study of mechanics, something which will only be possible through the study of Further Mathematics after qualifications are reformed in September 2017. Universities should consequently consider revising their entry requirements or recommendations to applicants.

scholarly journals Students’ attitudes, self-efficacy and experiences in a modified process-oriented guided inquiry learning undergraduate chemistry classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkat Rao Vishnumolakala ◽  
Daniel C. Southam ◽  
David F. Treagust ◽  
Mauro Mocerino ◽  
Sheila Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Inquiry Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Guided Inquiry ◽  
Affective Outcomes ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry ◽  
Affective Experiences ◽  
Process Oriented ◽  
Students Attitudes

This one-semester, mixed methods study underpinning social cognition and theory of planned behaviour investigated the attitudes, self-efficacy, and experiences of 559 first year undergraduate chemistry students from two cohorts in modified process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) classes. Versions of attitude toward the study of chemistry (ASCI v2), and chemistry attitudes and experiences questionnaire (CAEQ) were adopted, modified, and administered to understand and gauge students’ affective outcomes before (pre) and after (post) POGIL intervention. Students’ post-POGIL perceptions of their attitudes, self-efficacy and experiences were statistically significantly higher. In addition to confirmatory testing of reliability of data obtained from ASCI v2 and CAEQ in an Australian POGIL context, the findings suggest that POGIL intervention provides positive affective experiences to students who are new to chemistry or have limited prior chemistry knowledge.

scholarly journals Introducing the First Year Laboratory to Undergraduate Chemistry Students with an Interactive 360° Experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (7) ◽  
pp. 1491-1496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan D. Clemons ◽  
Lise Fouché ◽  
Cara Rummey ◽  
Ryan E. Lopez ◽  
Dino Spagnoli
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry

scholarly journals Conceptual Difficulties Experienced by First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Students in Assigning Oxidation Number: A Case Study of High School Chemistry Textbooks

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Rahmat Basuki
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
First Year ◽  
High School Chemistry ◽  
Oxidation Number ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry ◽  
Chemistry Textbooks ◽  
Formal Charge ◽  
Conceptual Difficulties

The purpose of this research was to investigate first-year undergraduate chemistry students’ understanding in assigning oxidation number following a case-study course instruction. A list of multiple choice question and interview section was formulated to identify the initial knowledge as representative of their conceptual understanding in assigning oxidation number obtained from their chemistry textbooks. This study revealed that most of 34 students who participated were confused about the nature of oxidation number. In the section of the interview which focused on applying “The Rules”, many students experienced more problems in assigning oxidation number of sulfur in S2O32– ion. Several misconceptions relating to the inappropriate assumption in assigning oxidation number were identified. The data illustrated how students attempt to make sense of the concept obtained from High School with the knowledge they had already constructed in solve of a given question. The research implied that the teachers, lecturers, curriculum developers, and High School Chemistry textbooks authors need to be cognizant of the importance of related concept (electronegativity and dot-Lewis structure) with oxidation number. The high school and chemistry textbook authors were recommended to introduce this interconnection (including formal charge) to minimize the misconception and conceptual difficulties experienced by first-year undergraduate chemistry students in assigning oxidation number.

REVERSE ENGINEERING: TENSION RATCHET DISSECTION PROJECT

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremiah Vanderlaan ◽  
Josh Richert ◽  
James Morrison ◽  
Thomas Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
First Year ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Final Project ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Solid Edge ◽  
Part Modeling

We are a group of engineering students, in our first year of undergraduate study. We have been selected from one thousand first year students and have competed and won the PACE competition. All engineers share a common general first year, but we have been accepted into Civil and Mechanical engineering. This project was assigned as the final project in the Design and Graphics course. The project we are tasked with, called the Cornerstone Design Project, is to first dissect a product, discover how it works, dimension each part and create a fully assembled model using CAD software (Solid Edge V20 in our case). As part of discovering how it works we must benchmark it so the device can be compared with competing products. The goal of the project is to develop a full understanding of part modeling and assembly in Solid Edge, learn proper measurement techniques, and learn the process of reverse engineering and product dissection. All of these tasks were stepping stones to help us fully understand how the device, and all its components, work.

scholarly journals Compreensão textual de artigos originais de pesquisa por graduandos em química

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. e8
Author(s):  
Flávia Gabriele Sacchi ◽  
Salete Linhares Queiroz
Keyword(s):  
Oral Presentation ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Scientific Communication ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry ◽  
The Subject

Reading and comprehension of research articles (RA) by undergraduate chemistry students provides a greater ability to develop criticism and establish links between scientific contents. Even being such a relevant skill, research on the subject is scarce, especially in the Brazilian context. From this perspective, this paper aims to investigate the text comprehension of RA about the topic of biofuel, extracted from the “Química Nova” journal, by undergraduates from the area, in the context of a scientific communication discipline.  Therefore, we initially analyzed the retextualization carried out by a group of students from RA for corresponding oral presentation, and then established links between retextualization operations and text comprehension. The analysis was based on studies on retextualization operations and text comprehension, from the perspective proposed by Marcuschi.  The results indicated that the development of the oral presentation component slides took place without impairing the communicative purpose established by the RA authors, suggesting the undergraduates understood it.

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