CHEMISTRY STUDENTS CONCEPTIONS OF SOLUBILITY - A PHENOMENOGRAPHY

This study identified a number of conceptions of solubility elicited f rom grade 11 students in individual interviews. These conceptions were grouped into six categories related to the students' preferred explan ations for solubility phenomena: (a) physical transformation from soli d to liquid; (b) chemical transformation of solute; (c) density of sol ute; (d) amount of space available in solution; (e) properties of solu te; and (f) size of solute particles. The findings from this study rai sed three general issues regarding chemistry learning. The first of th ese is the critical role played by students' ''everyday knowledge'' in their understanding and interpretation of solution phenomena. A secon d issue was the tendency for students to extend their understanding of properties of materials at the macroscopic level to the microscopic l evel. And, finally, the issue of the discrepancy between the meanings implied by the students' language and the teacher's intended meanings through their use of a technical vocabulary. This article argues that an understanding of the typical conceptions used by students should fo rm an integral component of chemistry teaching, both as points of orig in for lesson planning and for the development of curricular materials . It also calls for more collaborative work between teachers and resea rchers to help facilitate a better understanding of student learning f or all concerned. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.