Chemical energetics: words matter
How you can help your students avoid common misconceptions about energy change?
Energy changes in chemistry can appear to be very familiar and straightforward, but this familiarity can lead to some strongly held misconceptions that are very persistent and difficult to change.
One problem is that we can’t ‘see’ energy. We can only sense and measure the effect it has when it is transferred between system and surroundings.
According to the first law of thermodynamics energy cannot be created or destroyed. Research, however, shows that many students believe that energy is produced or used up during chemical reactions.1
This view may arise because students’ early ideas about energy change are strongly influenced by examples of combustion.
So how you can help your students avoid common misconceptions about energy change? Derek Denby considers the causes behind these misconceptions and shares demonstration suggestions and approaches to teaching chemical energetics.
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