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Mayo Ana for Ohio Link.pdf (5.99 MB)

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Abstract Header

Atomic emission misconceptions as investigated through student interviews and measured by the Flame Test Concept Inventory

Mayo, Ana Veronica
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362754897

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Chemistry and Biochemistry.
One challenge of chemistry education arises from the limited experiences that students have with some abstract concepts first introduced during chemistry classes. The abstract concept of atomic emission is formally introduced during secondary education in the U.S. science curriculum. The topic is re-introduced in the first year of, and elaborated upon throughout, the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Current chemistry education literature does not address students’ understandings of atomic emission. This study addresses this gap in the literature. Through interviews, this study investigated students’ understandings of atomic emission using flame test demonstrations and energy level diagrams. In both open-ended and flame test questions, ideas related to enthalpy, ionization, and changes in states of matter were common reasoning patterns when students builded explanations for atomic emission. The misconceptions found in interviews allowed the development of the Flame Test Concept Inventory (FTCI). The FTCI was administered to high school and undergraduate chemistry students. The results of 459 high school students across the U.S and 362 undergraduate chemistry students from a predominantly undergraduate institution shed light into diverse categories of misconceptions at different levels of student chemistry expertise. While the focus of this dissertation was students’ understandings of atomic emission, additional work was completed in analytical chemistry. This work is presented in Appendix A- Flow injection analysis (FIA) and liquid chromatography (LC) for multifunctional chemical analysis (MCA) systems. The large class sizes of first year chemistry labs makes it challenging to provide students with hands-on access to instrumentation because the number of students typically far exceeds the number of research grade instruments available to collect data. MCA systems provide a viable alternative for large scale instruction while supporting a hands-on approach to more advanced instrumentation. This study describes how the capabilities of MCA systems were extended to introduce FIA and LC in undergraduate laboratories. Two MCA systems, Vernier and MeasureNet, were used in two unique experiments demonstrating the detection of salicylate in aspirin tablets by FIA and the LC separation of a mixture of riboflavin and fluorescein. Both instruments are rugged and inexpensive permitting student construction, if desired.
Stacey Lowery Bretz (Advisor)
Ellen Yezierski (Committee Chair)
Neil Danielson (Committee Member)
Richard Taylor (Committee Member)
Jennifer Blue (Committee Member)
262 p.
Chemistry; Education
Atomic emission misconceptions; flame test demonstrations; energy level diagrams; mode-node framework; student interviews; mixed-method research design; development of a concept inventory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mayo, A. V. (2013). Atomic emission misconceptions as investigated through student interviews and measured by the Flame Test Concept Inventory [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362754897

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mayo, Ana. Atomic emission misconceptions as investigated through student interviews and measured by the Flame Test Concept Inventory. 2013. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362754897.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mayo, Ana. "Atomic emission misconceptions as investigated through student interviews and measured by the Flame Test Concept Inventory." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362754897

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.