Spatial ability predicts success in STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics) fields, particularly chemistry. This paper reports two studies investigating the unique contribution of mental rotation ability to spatial thinking in a STEM discipline. Using authentic disciplinary tasks from chemistry, we show that the difficulty of a…

The electronic and molecular structure of the acylium cation ([CH[subscript 3]CO][superscript +], 1) receives varied treatment in undergraduate textbooks and online resources. The overall structure of 1 is typically represented as an equal combination of resonance structures containing C-O triple and double bonds, the latter structure occasionally…

The aim of this research is identify the effectiveness of a multiple representation-based learning model, which builds a mental model within the concept of atomic structure. The research sample of 108 students in 3 classes is obtained randomly from among students of Mathematics and Science Education Studies using a stratified random sampling…