EXAMINATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CONCEPTIONS ABOUT METALLIC BONDING AND PROPERTIES OF METALS

Year 2017, Volume: 6 , 99 - 101, 01.09.2017

Canan Nakiboglu

Abstract

This study examines secondary school students’
conceptions about metallic bonding and properties of metals by using a
diagnostic instrument. The diagnostic instrument
titled “iron” was designed to test out student understanding of the basic
notion of metallic bonding and the relation between the properties of particles
and bulk properties by Taber (2002). In the present study, a translated version
of the true/false diagnostic instrument which contains 20 questions was
administered to 942 students who are attending at 10th grades (374 students),
11th grade (333 students), and 12th grade (235 students) from different
secondary schools. At the end of the study, it was found that the students had
the octet rule alternative framework. They apply the full outer shells
explanatory principle to explain metallic structure. It was concluded that
students have alternative conceptions about the relationship between the
properties of metal atoms and the properties of the metallic structure. For
example, most of the students think “iron conducts electricity because iron
atoms are electrical conductors” and “the reason iron rusts is that iron atoms
will rust if exposed to damp air”.

Keywords

Metallic bonding, secondary school students, metallic properties

References

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