Future needs and challenges, especially in complex real-world problem-solving, require education to equip individuals with quality skills. Inquiry-based learning that integrates socio-scientific issues (SSI) can significantly develop students' problem-solving skills. This study aims to test the effects of the Socio-Scientific Real-world Inquiry…

Anaerobic respiration reactions are of fundamental importance to global biogeochemical cycling of elements. Yet, the idea that cellular respiration can occur not only in the absence of oxygen but also involve the oxidation of inorganic substrates (e.g., AsO[subscript 3 superscript 3-], Fe[superscript 2+], H[subscript 2], H[subscript 2]S,…

We use a validated conceptual multiple-choice survey instrument focusing on thermodynamic processes and the first and second laws of thermodynamics at the level of introductory physics to investigate the problem-property dependence of introductory and advanced student responses to introductory thermodynamics problems after traditional…

This study examines the effects of the pedagogical use of context-rich problems on motivation and learning, as compared to traditional problems, in mechanical physics courses at the college level. The results indicate that the treatment has appreciable outcomes on conceptual learning gain, on the perception of task value and on a perceived sense…

Resonance is a crucial concept in Organic Chemistry that enables both deriving chemical properties from molecular structures and predicting reactions by considering electron density distribution. Despite its importance for problem-solving and learning success, learners encounter various difficulties with this concept. Although prior research…

The current study aims to contribute to the literature on how organic chemistry students weigh various factors when predicting products of substitution and elimination reactions. This study focuses specifically on these mechanism types, as they are often the first instances where students must consider the "how" and the "why"…

Physics experts and students commonly use a variety of representations when working with partial derivatives, including symbols, graphs, and words. One especially powerful representation is the contour graph. In open-ended problem-solving interviews with nine upper-division physics students, we asked students to determine derivatives from contour…

The cases of constant and quadratic damping of free oscillations are missing from standard textbooks, even at college and university level. The case most examined is that of linear damping, the reason being that the student can work out a closed form which describes all stages of motion. The case of constant damping is straightforward to be…

We report an educational tool for the upper level undergraduate quantum chemistry or quantum physics course that uses a symbolic approach via the PySyComp Python library. The tool covers both time-independent and time-dependent quantum chemistry, with the latter rarely considered in the foundations course due to topic complexity. We use quantized…

In the context of quantum mechanics, students are often asked to use delta functions to solve problems. Here, we investigate three typical problem-solving processes using delta functions: a delta function potential well problem, a position space delta function problem, and a momentum space delta function problem. We studied students'solutions in…

Commonly used methods to simulate the oxidation-reduction (redox) titration curves include the three-step method and the rigorous method. The simple three-step method simulates the redox titration curve with the assumption that the reaction is complete, which is widely used in undergraduate quantitative analysis courses. For the rigorous…

Researchers and educators have been exploring systems thinking (ST) in chemistry education to better equip citizens for 21st century challenges; however, little is known about students' perspectives and experiences. In this study, we investigated students' perspectives of ST and their experiences with ST activities. We designed and implemented a…

Redox reactions and their balancing are one of the basic chemistry subjects in which students may experience remarkable learning difficulties at the beginning of their university career. This topic represents an evolution of stoichiometry concepts related to the balancing of chemical reactions and can be taught with different approaches as a…

The use of approximations in solving problems in sciences can be vital for students. Order of magnitude estimation also helps with physical understanding of the quantities involved in a calculation. For example, in the first exam in a first-year class in chemistry the student must find the mass in grams of an atom; a couple of students will…

The static equilibrium properties of a spool, resting on an incline and subject to the tension exerted by a string wrapped around the core cylinder, are studied by means of Newtonian mechanics. The overall behaviour of this system is imagined to be similar to that of a doggie kept on a leash. Starting from the well-known mechanical properties of…