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International Journal of Science

Education
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An Investigation into the Relationship

between Students Conceptions of the
Particulate Nature of Matter and their
Understanding of Chemical Bonding
a

Jazilah Othman , David F. Treagust & A. L. Chandrasegaran

a

Maris Stella High School , Singapore

Curtin University of Technology , Perth, Australia

Published online: 27 Aug 2008.

To cite this article: Jazilah Othman , David F. Treagust & A. L. Chandrasegaran (2008) An
Investigation into the Relationship between Students Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of
Matter and their Understanding of Chemical Bonding, International Journal of Science Education,
30:11, 1531-1550, DOI: 10.1080/09500690701459897
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International Journal of Science Education

Vol. 30, No. 11, 3 September 2008, pp. 15311550

RESEARCH REPORT

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An Investigation into the Relationship

between Students Conceptions of the
Particulate Nature of Matter and their
Understanding of Chemical Bonding
Jazilah Othmana*, David F. Treagustb and
A. L. Chandrasegaranb
aMaris

Stella High School, Singapore; bCurtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia

jazilahothman@gmail.com
Taylor
02007
00
Ms.
000002007
JazilahOthman
&
Francis
International
10.1080/09500690701459897
TSED_A_245869.sgm
0950-0693
Original
and
Article
(print)/1464-5289
Francis
JournalLtd
of Science
(online)
Education

A thorough understanding of chemical bonding requires familiarity with the particulate nature of
matter. In this study, a two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic instrument consisting of ten items (five
items involving each of the two concepts) was developed to assess students understanding of the
particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding so as to identify possible associations between
students understandings of the two concepts. The instrument was administered to 260 Grades
9 and 10 students (1516 years old) from a secondary school in Singapore. Analysis of students
responses revealed several alternative conceptions about the two concepts. In addition, analysis of
six pairs of items suggested that students limited understanding of the particulate nature of matter
influenced their understanding of chemical bonding. The findings provide useful information for
challenging students alternative conceptions about the particulate nature of matter during classroom instruction in order to enable them to achieve better understanding of chemical bonding.

Introduction
Extensive research on students conceptions about the particulate nature of matter
has been documented in the review by Harrison and Treagust (2002) on research
regarding students understanding and use of the particle theory. A review by Taber
and Coll (2002) also documents the findings of several studies on students conceptions about chemical bonding. However, there appears to be a lack of studies that
investigate the correlation between the two concepts, particulate nature of matter
and chemical bonding.
*Corresponding author. Science Department, Maris Stella High School, 25 Mount Vernon Road,
368051 Singapore. Email: jazilahothman@gmail.com
ISSN 0950-0693 (print)/ISSN 1464-5289 (online)/08/11153120
2008 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701459897

Downloaded by [University of Kent] at 09:47 23 April 2014

1532 J. Othman et al.

Previous studies investigating students ideas about matter and behaviour of particles usually involved the use of interviews (e.g. Ebenezer & Erickson, 1996;
Nakhleh, Samarapungavan, & Saglam, 2005). Interviews were also used in many
studies investigating students conceptions about chemical bonding (e.g. Coll &
Treagust, 2003; Taber, 2003). Although the interview strategy has the advantage of
clarifying student responses and allowing for in-depth probing (Anderson, 2004), it
is not a practical way of diagnosing student understanding for use by teachers as it is
very time-consuming. Other approaches of identifying student conceptions include
free-response explanations and various multiple-choice type questions (Mann &
Treagust, 1998). The multiple-choice diagnostic instrument was chosen as the
approach for identifying students conceptions in this inquiry as it is more practical
for teachers to use, and relatively straightforward for students to respond to because
of their familiarity with multiple-choice tests.
Theoretical Background
Research findings on students understanding about the particle theory of matter
and chemical bonding formed the basis of this study. Studies that have been undertaken over the past two decades or so indicate that students of varying age groups
hold understandings in these two areas that are not accepted by the scientific
community. Awareness of students understandings provided useful guidelines for
the development of the diagnostic instrument that was used in this study. Several
alternative conceptions about the particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding
that have been identified are discussed in the following sections.
The Particulate Nature of Matter
A review of several studies involving students of different ages from elementary
grades to university level undertaken by Nakhleh (1992) indicates that students
understanding of the model of matter is relatively limited (e.g. Albanese & Vicentini,
1997; Ben-Zvi, Eylon, & Silberstein, 1986; Johnson, 1998a; Nakhleh et al., 2005).
There also seems to be a differential acceptance of the particulate model, with those
parts of the model that are closest to observable phenomena being most easily
understood by students (Nakhleh, 1992).
The most prevalent student conceptions are that matter is continuous, with the
view that particles are small portions of the (continuous) substance (Ben-Zvi
et al., 1986; p. 64) and that the macroscopic properties of matter may be extrapolated to its particles (Albanese & Vicentini, 1997; Ben-Zvi et al., 1986; Harrison &
Treagust, 2002). Krnel et al. (1998) proposed that students regard particles as small
pieces of an object with all its properties, because they have yet to make the distinction between matter (substance) and objects. In addition, students believe that there
is no empty space between particles (Griffiths & Preston, 1992), that there is stuff
between molecules and that molecules are in substances rather than a substance is
composed of molecules (Lee, Eichinger, Anderson, Berkheimer, & Blakeslee, 1993).

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Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1533

In a 3-year longitudinal study with 1114 years old students in Grades 7 to 9

(Johnson, 1998b), four types of particle models in students thinking were identified:
Model Xcontinuous substance; Model Aparticles in the continuous substance;
Model Bparticles are the substance, but with macroscopic character; Model C
particles are the substance, properties of state are collective (emphases in original article). The majority of students were found to hold complete models of either X, A or
B. Ben-Zvi et al. (1986) also investigated the relationship between students conception of the atom and their ability to represent the structure of molecules. They found
that 80% to 90% of students who had a correct understanding about the character of
the atom correctly visualized the bonding that existed between the particles in
compounds.
Another area of research in relation to the particle theory that has been given
considerable attention is that on changes of state. In a study on changes of state
involving two age groups of students (818 years old and 1114 years old), four
commonly held notions about the composition of bubbles in boiling water were
identified (Johnson, 1998a). The bubbles were believed to consist of heat, air,
oxygen or hydrogen, and steam; air being the most commonly held view. Johnson
suggests that most students did not consider that a liquid would turn into its gaseous
state on its own accord. However, it appears that this view becomes more acceptable
to students when they have developed an understanding of the particulate nature of
matter. Findings from another study suggest students face more problems with the
concept of condensation than evaporation (Johnson, 1998a). In the case of condensation, students appear to have difficulty accepting the idea that water in its vapour
state can be present in the air; air is perceived as a conduit for the water (formed),
but there is no sense that the water can be in the air as a vapour (p. 704).
Another commonly held view is that matter is lost as it changes from solid to
liquid, and from liquid to gas (Harrison & Treagust, 2002). Students explanations
of phase changes are often based on perceptible cues that are based on their observations and as a result are unable to extend explanations of the phenomenon to other
substances (Harrison & Treagust, 2002; Krnel et al., 1998). Words students use to
describe melting are usually limited to dissolves or turns into water, and they
often state that the water formed is different from running water (Krnel et al., 1998).
In a study about solubility phenomena with Grade 11 students, Ebenezer and
Erickson (1996) identified six categories of explanations: (1) physical change from
solid to liquid (e.g. it is melting, it liquefies), (2) chemical transformation of
solute (sugar reacts with water and it fills the air spaces), (3) influence of density
of solutedifferences in density given as the reason why some liquids do not mix,
(4) amount of space in solutionsubstances do not dissolve as there is no available
space, (5) effect of size of solutethe size of the solute particles must be small
enough for it to dissolve, and (6) influence of property of solutesolubility attributed to certain properties of the substance. Other researchers have also reported
studies in which students similarly described dissolving as melting (Driver, Squires,
Rushworth, & Wood-Robinson, 1994; Krnel et al., 1998), or as breaking into
smaller pieces (Krnel et al., 1998; Nakhleh et al., 2005).

1534 J. Othman et al.

These findings thus indicate that students alternative conceptions on matter arise
usually because of their failure to understand the relationship between the molecular/particulate and the macroscopic properties of substances. Taber (2001) suggests
that students tendency to exhibit such behaviour is due to their nave understanding
of the role of models in science; when students fail to understand the significance of
the models that are used, they would simply transfer macroscopic properties to the
molecular/particulate level.

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Chemical Bonding
Studies into students conceptions on chemical bonding have also revealed several
alternative conceptions (Taber & Coll, 2002). A key finding is the tendency for
students to rely heavily on an alternative framework, the octet framework, as their
explanatory framework for chemical bonding (Robinson, 1998; Taber, 2001). The
need to attain full outer shells or octets is often cited as the reason why reactions
take place (Taber, 1998). This commonly held belief stems from students subscribing to an atomic ontology, in which everything including reactants in chemical
reactions are believed to exist as atoms (Taber, 1998).
Students often use anthropomorphic language in their explanations for chemical
bonding. While anthropomorphisms are accepted as part of a teachers effective
pedagogical content explanations (Treagust & Harrison, 2000), failure in qualifying
their metaphorical intent might result in the words being taken literally, thus becoming impediments to further learning (Taber & Watts, 2000). For example, students
literally consider the term sharing in describing covalent bonding to mean that on
bond fission electrons returned to their own atoms (Taber, 1998).
The nature of the chemical bond itself has been open to different interpretations
that lack in scientific perspective. Students tend to perceive bonds as something
substantive, like for example, regarding bonds as material connections (Harrison &
Treagust, 2002). In a study with 1314 year old students, their ideas about bonding
were found to be based on mechanical analogiesbonding was like elastic/ string/
glue. Students also commonly referred to the covalent bond as sharing of electrons
the atoms are held together because it is sharing electrons (Taber, 1998). Many also
have the notion that the shared electron pair holds atoms together because it enables
them to have octets of electrons (Coll & Treagust, 2003).
Another prevalent conception is that bonded materials are always in the form of
molecules. Studies have reported that a commonly held conception among secondary school students is that continuous covalent or ionic lattices contain molecular
species (Coll & Taylor, 2001). Giant covalent lattices were thought to consist of
discrete molecules with strong intermolecular forces (Peterson & Treagust, 1989;
Peterson, Treagust, & Garnett, 1989; Tan & Treagust, 1999). Butts and Smith
(1987) reported students commonly referring to sodium chloride molecules, some
believing that there were both covalent and ionic bonds present in sodium chloride.
This notion apparently provided some of these students with the explanation as to
why sodium chloride does not conduct electricity when solid, as they believed the

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Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1535

sodium chloride molecules become ions only on dissolving. Taber (1994) reported
findings from 1619 year old students in which NaCl ion-pairs within the lattice are
regarded as molecules. In this case the students had the notion that ionic bonding
existed within the ion pairs, but just forces between ion pairs. This notion could
arise from students belief that the electrovalency of an atom determines the number
of ionic bonds it can form (Taber, 1998). For example, one student argued that
sodium could only form six ionic bonds with the surrounding anions, if it became
Na6+.
Students have also been found to hold the conception that chemical bonds are
either covalent or ionic (Robinson, 1998); other types of bonding such as metallic
bonding and hydrogen bonding are regarded as just forces and not actual bonds
(Taber, 1998, 2003). Covalent bonds have also been thought to be relatively weak as
discrete molecules usually have low melting and boiling points (Barker & Miller,
2000). Another related student conception is that covalent bonds break during
changes of state (Peterson et al., 1989; Tan & Treagust, 1999).
Purpose and Research Questions
Research findings indicate that secondary school students generally experience difficulty in understanding the concept of chemical bonding. This study was undertaken
in order to determine the extent to which students lack of understanding of the
nature and behaviour of particles influences their understanding about chemical
bonding. The specific research questions for this study were: (1) What are students
alternative conceptions about the particulate nature of matter? (2) What are students
alternative conceptions about chemical bonding? (3) What is the correlation between
students understanding of the particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding?

Methods and Procedures

Identification of Concepts and Propositional Statements
Following the procedure advocated by Treagust (1995) in developing diagnostic
instruments for identifying students conceptions in science, the content framework
on which the instrument is based was first established. The steps involved in defining the content are: (1) identification of propositional knowledge statements, (2)
development of concept map(s), (3) relating of propositional knowledge to the
concept map(s), and (4) validation of the content.
The propositional knowledge statements and concept map for the content on
chemical bonding used for this study were modified from earlier work by Tan
(1994) and Tan and Treagust (1999) who developed a two-tier diagnostic test to
evaluate students understanding of chemical bonding at the secondary school level
in Singapore.
Concept maps for the topics, particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding,
were constructed based on the procedure prescribed by Novak and Gowin (1984).

1536 J. Othman et al.

The concept map for chemical bonding that was developed is a modified version of
the one produced by Tan and Treagust (1999). The concept map for the particulate
nature of matter is presented in Figure 1, while that for chemical bonding is given in
Figure 2 (Othman, 2006). As a reliability check that the propositional statements
and concept maps encompassed the same topic area, the relationship between the
propositional statements and the concept maps were made explicit by linking them
directly. The propositional knowledge statements and concept maps were then
content-validated by two tertiary academics not involved in this research.
Figure 2.
1. The concept map on chemical
particulatebonding
nature of
(adapted
matter from Tan & Treagust, 1999)

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Instrument Development
The items used in this study were developed from students misunderstandings
about the particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding reported in the research
literature as well as from students answers to past free response examination questions used in the first authors teaching. The two-tier multiple-choice items
comprised a first tier that requires a content response and a second tier that solicits
the reason for that response (Treagust, 1995). Areas of alternative conceptions
addressed by each item are given in Table 1.
Most of the items in the instrument for this project were constructed based on two
previous studies by Mulford and Robinson (2002) and Tan and Treagust (1999).

Figure 1.

The concept map on particulate nature of matter

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Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

Figure 2.

1537

The concept map on chemical bonding (adapted from Tan & Treagust, 1999)

Other items were constructed based on students conceptions reported in the literature as well as from the first authors own teaching experience. An example of one of
the items (Item 5) from the instrument is shown in Figure 3. A copy of the instrument
may be obtained from the first author.
Figure 3. Item 5 from the diagnostic instrument

Table 1.

Areas of alternative conceptions addressed by each item

Item no.

Areas of alternative conceptions

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Phase changes
Phase changes; conservation of matter
Phase changes; conservation of matter
Dissolving
Particle attributes
Ionic lattice
Bonding; phase changes
Bonding; ionic lattice; electrical conductivity
Dissolving; electrical conductivity
Intermolecular forces; phase changes

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1538 J. Othman et al.

Figure 3.

Item 5 from the diagnostic instrument

The Sample Group

The sample comprised 260 students (1516 years old) from an autonomous government-aided, SAP (Special Assistance Plan) boys school in Singapore. The school
offers only special and express streams1. Of the 260 students, 140 students were
from five Grade 9 classes and 120 students from four Grade 10 classes taught by a
total of four teachers. All the students in this sample group were highly achieving
students and studied chemistry as a single subject in the school. As chemical bonding is considered a difficult yet important concept, revision of the concept is
conducted at Grade 10 so as to prepare students for the GCE O level examinations
that will be taken at the end of the year. In addition, further emphasis on the topic is
given by setting questions on chemical bonding frequently for common tests and
examinations in Grade 10.

Instrument Psychometrics
Instrument reliability was determined by calculating the Cronbach alpha reliability
coefficient. The reliability coefficient for the sample (n = 260) was 0.66, which is
greater than the threshold value of 0.5 quoted by Nunally (1978).
Difficulty and discrimination indices were computed for students responses to
each of the items for the two grade samples. Difficulty indices for the total combined

Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1539

sample (n = 260) ranged from 0.37 to 0.72. Items with difficulty indices lower than
0.4 are considered difficult while items with difficulty indices greater than 0.6 are
considered easy (Tan, 1994). According to Tan (1994) ideally an item should be of
moderate difficulty and have a difficulty index between 0.4 and 0.6. The discrimination indices for the total combined sample (n = 260) ranged from 0.19 to 0.38.
According to Lien (1971), items with discrimination indices greater than 0.40 are
very good, while those between 0.20 and 0.40 are satisfactory. Based on these
criteria, all items can be considered as having satisfactory discrimination indices.

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Results and Discussion

Students performance on the diagnostic test (see Table 2) indicates that although
only the Grade 10 students achieved satisfactory understanding of the concept
involved in Item 2 (i.e. more than 75% of students answered the item correctly
(Gilbert, 1977)), student understanding of the concepts involved in all other items is
less than satisfactory for both grade levels. However, although overall understanding
of the concepts involved is not satisfactory enough, teachers efforts to reinforce
understanding among Grade 10 students has resulted in these students performing
better than the Grade 9 students in seven of the 10 items.
Similar to other studies that have used the two-tier diagnostic instrument (e.g.
Peterson et al., 1989; Tan & Treagust, 1999), students in this study performed better
in the content part (first tier) of an item, than in both tiers when the content and
reason were both considered. Some items reflected a greater difference in scores
between both tiers than others (refer to Table 2). Based on these data alone, a teacher
can make some conclusive diagnosis as to the extent of students understanding. In
this case, Items 5 and 6 do not show a significant difference between the scores for
the first tier of the item and for both parts of the item. This finding indicates that
Table 2.

Percentages of students answering the first tier and both tiers of the items correctly in
the diagnostic test
Grade 9 (n = 140)

Item number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Grade 10 (n = 120)

first tier only

both tiers

first tier only

both tiers

71.4
77.9
80.0
84.3
44.3
59.3
95.7
92.9
95.0
94.3

64.3
69.3
64.3
46.4
35.0
52.9
58.6
50.0
58.6
66.4

68.0
81.5
73.6
88.2
46.2
63.8
94.1
95.8
97.5
92.5

58.3
75.8
60.8
50.0
39.2
63.0
65.0
44.2
74.2
74.0

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1540 J. Othman et al.

students are lacking knowledge about the content aspect for these two concepts. Item
5 addresses the relationship between the macroscopic and submicroscopic properties
of matter, while Item 6 tests students understanding of the structure of sodium chloride. It might also mean that teachers have not explicitly addressed the two concepts
in class. In the case of other items where there is a large difference between the two
scores, it is likely that students may have known the correct content but have not
understood why it is so, indicating a lack of understanding of the concept (Peterson
et al., 1989).
It is noted that students from both grades performed poorly on Item 5, and that
there is not much difference in the scores between the sample groups. Item 5 was the
most difficult item in the instrument for students; only 35% of Grade 9 and 39.2% of
Grade 10 students answered this item correctly. Item 5 tests students understanding
of the relationship between the macroscopic properties of a substance and the properties of its particles. Although understanding of this aspect of the particle theory is
fundamental to understanding other aspects of the particulate nature of matter (e.g.
in explaining phase changes) it is not explicitly addressed in the Singapore school
science syllabus in Grades 9 and 10. The low achievement of students in this item
could, therefore, be due to teachers not emphasising the difference between the
macroscopic and particulate properties of substances during classroom instruction.
Item 4, assessing students conception of the dissolving process, proved to be the next
most difficult item involving conceptions of matter. Only 46.4% of Grade 9 students
and 50% of Grade 10 students could answer this item correctly.
Common Alternative Student Conceptions
Following the procedure by Peterson et al. (1989), evidence of an alternative
conception was based on students selection of an incorrect response to the content
part of an item (i.e. the first tier) and/or an incorrect reason choice (i.e. the second
tier). An incorrect response given by more than 10% of the student sample was
considered an alternative conception as using a higher value might exclude some
valid alternative conceptions (Peterson et al., 1986; Tan, 1994). In order to make a
comparison of the understandings of students in Grades 9 and 10, their alternative
conceptions have been grouped separately. Students alternative conceptions as
identified in this study are listed in Tables 3 and 4 and discussed with reference to
Research Questions 1 and 2 that were formulated at the outset of this study.
Students Common Alternative Conceptions about the Particulate Nature of Matter
Boiling/Evaporation. The identified alternative conceptions for Item 1 are: that
oxygen/oxygen and hydrogen/air, is/are present in the bubbles of boiling water. In
the case of evaporation (Item 3), 20% of Grade 9 students believed that during
evaporation oxygen and hydrogen are produced.
For Item 3, 13.6% of Grade 9 students and 25% of Grade 10 students correctly
chose the model for gaseous water (choice E), but incorrectly accounted for the

Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1541

more widespread arrangement of molecules by selecting reason 2water molecules

have escaped into the air. These students provided an explanation by description
that Taber and Watts (2000) have described as a pseudoexplanation. According to
Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer, and Scott (1994), students using such phenomenon-based reasoning do not distinguish between a description and an explanation.
According to the category given by Driver et al., this group of students makes up the
lowest level of understanding about explanations.

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Conservation of matter during phase changes. The identified alternative conception

relating to conservation during phase changes was that mass decreases when a solid
changes to a gas; 15% of Grade 9 students and 16.7% of Grade 10 students held the
conception that the mass decreases when solid iodine changes to a gas.
Dissolving. A number of alternative conceptions were identified from the results for
Item 4 that relate to the dissolving process, an indication that students have not
clearly understood this concept. A significant number of students (16.4% Grade 9
and 14.2% Grade 10) held the conception that when sugar dissolves it melts forming a liquid that mixes with water. About the same proportion of students indicated
that when sugar dissolves it fills the air spaces in water (17.9% Grade 9 and 18.3%
Grade 10). Another alternative conception identified among the students was that
sugar only dissolves when stirred as stirring causes the crystals to break into smaller
particles that will spread in the water and can no longer be seen (14.3% Grade
9 and 10.8% Grade 10).

Attributing macroscopic properties to particles. Students performance in Item 5 which

tests students understanding of the relationship between the macroscopic properties
of a substance and that of its particles indicated that students had not yet acquired
an adequate understanding of the particle theory. A prevalent alternative conception
identified was that an atom shares some of the macroscopic properties of the
substance. More than half of the students from each grade (55.7% Grade 9 and
54.2% Grade 10) were of the opinion that an atom of sulphur shares some physical
properties as a sample of sulphur. A large proportion of these students (34.3%
Grade 9 and 25.8% Grade 10) believed that an atom is the smallest particle of an
element that has the same properties as the element.
As noted earlier, the tendency for students to extrapolate the bulk macroscopic
properties of substances to the particulate level could be due to the fact that there is
no explicit mention in the syllabus regarding this concept. The role of models in
chemistry has also not been given due emphasis in the syllabus, and hence by
teachers as well. Taber (2001) suggests that students generally have a very simplistic
view of the role of models in science. In the case of the particle model of matter,
when the role of the model is not understood, the properties to be explained at the
molar scale are simply transferred to the molecular level (p. 132). This appears to

1542 J. Othman et al.

Table 3.

Alternative conceptions about the particle theory held by Grades 9 (n = 140) and 10
students (n = 120)
% of students

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Alternative conceptions
Boiling/Evaporation of water
Oxygen and hydrogen gas are present in the bubbles
of boiling water.
Oxygen is present in the bubbles of boiling water.
During boiling, the air between the particles is
released as bubbles.
During boiling, oxygen that is dissolved in water is
expelled as air bubbles.
Water decomposes into oxygen and hydrogen when
it evaporates.
Conservation of matter during phase changes
Mass decreases when a solid changes to a gas.
Dissolving
When a solute dissolves, it melts forming a liquid
that mixes with the water.
When a solute dissolves, the solute fills the air spaces
in the water and disappears.
A solute only dissolves when stirred as stirring causes
the crystals to break into smaller particles that will
spread in the water and can no longer be seen.
Attributing macroscopic properties to particles
An atom is the smallest particle of an element that
has the same properties as the element.
An atom of an element shares some physical
properties as a sample of the element.

Choice combination

Grade 9

Grade 10

Item 1 [B]

14.3

6.7

Item 1 [C]
Item 1 [A2]

9.3
2.9

13.4
10.8

Item 1 [C5]

5.0

10.8

Item 3 [1/3/5]

20.0

9.1

Item 2 [A]

15.0

16.7

Item 4 [A1]

16.4

14.2

Item 4 [A2]

17.9

18.3

Item 4 [B4]

14.3

10.8

Item 5 [A1]

34.3

25.8

Item 5 [A/B/C]

55.7

54.2

(The figures in bold indicate alternative conceptions held by more than 10% of the students)

be the case for the students referred to in this study. The alternative conceptions
discussed above are summarised in Table 3.
Students Common Alternative Conceptions about Chemical Bonding
Structure of sodium chloride. The most prevalent student conception (40.7% Grade
9 and 36.1% Grade 10) relating to the structure of sodium chloride was that it exists
as molecules (Item 6). Most students correctly identified the presence of sodium and
chloride ions but thought one sodium ion and one chloride ion form an ion-pair
molecule (22% Grade 9 and 16.8% Grade 10) (see also Taber, 1994). Still there
were others who despite identifying that sodium chloride exists as a lattice

Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1543

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consisting of sodium ions and chloride ions, at the same time believed that sodium
chloride exists as molecules (14.3% Grade 10 students).
Intermolecular and intramolecular forces. Three alternative conceptions relating to
intermolecular and intramolecular forces were identified. The first alternative
conception was that intramolecular forces are broken during melting/boiling; 17.9%
of Grade 9 students and 18.3% of Grade 10 students indicated this conception in
Item 7. The second alternative conception identified from Item 7 was that the covalent bond is weak18.6% of Grade 9 students indicated this conception. Grade 10
students apparently had a better understanding of the nature of the covalent bond,
with a lower percentage (10.8%) indicating that the covalent bond is weak. The third
alternative conception is that the difference in states of substances is due to the difference in the strength of the covalent bonds. This was indicated in Item 10 by 14.3%
of Grade 9 students. Grade 10 students however, displayed better understanding of
this concept with only 6.7% displaying this alternative conception.
In each of the two items (Item 8 and 10) that involved the above conceptions,
students had correctly identified from the content part of the items that low melting/
boiling points and differences of state between substances are due to the strength of
intermolecular forces in the substances. For the second tier of the items, however,
they selected reasons pertaining to intramolecular forces (e.g. reference to the
covalent bond). This result therefore shows that students are still unclear about the
two terms: intermolecular and intramolecular forces.
Electrical conductivity of ionic compounds. An alternative conception that was
identified pertaining to electrical conductivity of ionic compounds was that there
were atoms in ionic compounds and these became ions on melting, hence making it
possible for the substance to conduct electricity (Item 8). Surprisingly a higher
percentage of students indicating this conception involved Grade 10 (44.2%)
compared to Grade 9 students (27.1%). The thinking that electrical conductivity
could only be due to free electrons was also evident from students answers. In Item
9, 22.1% of Grade 9 and 15.8% of Grade 10 students indicated that an ionic
compound is able to conduct electricity when aqueous but not when solid because
free electrons are produced when the ionic compound is dissolved in water.
Some students also indicated correctly from the content part of Item 8 that molten
calcium fluoride conducts electricity when molten as it has freely moving ions, but
gave the reason for this as calcium fluoride is an ionic compound; therefore it has
free electrons (15.7% Grade 9 students). This is not a justifiable reason for the
content answer, but indicates that students could hold the conception that there are
free electrons in ionic compounds, perhaps due to electron transfer during ion
formation. Another possible conception could be as in Item 9 that electrical conductivity could only be due to free electrons. Students generally are aware that electrical
conductivity in wires is due to the movement of electrons, and thus could have
extended this notion to the way electrical conductivity takes place in ionic

1544 J. Othman et al.

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compounds. Further evidence for this could be drawn from the lower percentage of
Grade 10 students with this alternative conception (7.5%); the topic on electrolysis
is taught to students only in Grade 10, and in this topic the nature of electrical
conductivity in molten and aqueous ionic compounds is clarified when students
learn about the effect of an electric current on ionic compounds. It is also interesting
to note that although fewer Grade 10 students indicated this conception, a much
higher percentage of them (44.2%) believed that when melted atoms of calcium
and fluorine become free moving ions. Could this be the result of a misunderstanding of some other concept that was taught only at the Grade 10 level? The alternative
conceptions discussed above are summarised in Table 4.
Correlation between Students Understanding of the Particulate Nature of Matter and
Chemical Bonding
To establish if there are correlations between students understanding of the concept
of the particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding, students total scores for
items on the particulate nature of matter (Items 15) and their total scores for items
Table 4.

Alternative conceptions about chemical bonding held by Grades 9 (n = 140) and 10

students (n = 120)
% of students

Alternative conceptions

Choice combination

Structure of sodium chloride

Sodium chloride exists as molecules.
The sodium ion forms a molecule with a chloride ion.
Sodium chloride exists as molecules, yet its crystal
lattice consists of sodium and chloride ions.
Intermolecular and intramolecular forces
During melting/boiling, weak forces between the atoms
in simple discrete molecules are broken.
The covalent bond is weak.
The strength of the intermolecular forces is determined
by the strength of the covalent bonds present within
the molecules.
Electrical conductivity of ionic compounds
When melted, the atoms making up the ionic
compound become free moving ions.
Ionic compounds have freely moving electrons and ions.
When water is added the ionic compound melts,
producing free ions.
An ionic compound has free electrons when dissolved in
water but not when solid.

Grade 9

Grade 10

Item 6 [A]
Item 6 [A2]
Item 6 [A3]

40.7
22.1
7.1

36.1
16.8
14.3

Item 7 [A1]

17.9

18.3

Item 7 [A2]
Item 10 [A1]

18.6
14.3

10.8
6.7

Item 8 [A1]

27.1

44.2

Item 8 [A3]
Item 9 [A1]

15.7
14.3

7.5
7.5

Item 9 [A3]

22.1

15.8

(The figures in bold indicate alternative conceptions held by more than 10% of the students)

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Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1545

on chemical bonding (Items 610) were computed separately, and then compared
statistically by calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient.
The calculated Pearson correlation coefficients for students total scores for Items
1 to 5 (which relate to questions on the particulate nature of matter) and their total
scores for Items 6 to 10 (which relate to questions on chemical bonding) for the two
groups of students is about 0.42 (the correlation coefficients were 0.42 for the Grade
9 sample and 0.43 for the Grade 10 sample). According to Borg (as cited in Cohen,
Manion, & Morrison, 2005), correlations relating to a hundred or more subjects can
be considered statistically significant beyond the 1% level if the coefficient value
ranges from 0.35 to 0.65. Borg further states that correlations within this range can
provide crude group predictions, but advises against using correlations at this level
singly. Based on this information, it can therefore be concluded from this study that
although there appears to be some correlation between students understanding of
the two topics, the findings are not conclusive and more research into this area is
recommended.
Furthermore, in order to better understand the associations between students
understanding of the two concepts (particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding), students responses to specific (related) items were analyzed. The related (paired)
items are: (1) Items 1 and 7; (2) Items 1 and 10; (3) Items 3 and 7; (4) Items 3 and
10; (5) Items 1 and 3; and (6) Items 4 and 9. A summary of this analysis is shown in
Table 5. The percentages have been rounded off to the nearest whole number.
For each of these pairs of items, understanding of concepts relating to the particle
theory of matter that is required in the first item is considered a prerequisite for
understanding the concept(s) about chemical bonding incorporated in the second
item. A summary of this information is provided in Table 6.
The percentages shown in Table 5 are rather unexpected. One would have
assumed that with greater consolidation of particle concepts among Grade 10
students, these students would have acquired better understanding of particle
Table 5. Associations between concepts about the particulate nature of matter and chemical
bonding indicated by Grade 9 students (n = 140) and Grade 10 students (n = 120)
Correct responses
to both items (% of
students)
Item pairs Concepts incorporated in items
1&7
1 & 10
3&7
3 & 10
1&3
4&9

Phase changes (Item 1)Bonding & phase changes (Item 7)

Phase changes (Item 1)Intermolecular forces & phase changes
(Item 10)
Phase changes (Item 3)Bonding & phase changes (Item 7)
Phase changes (Item 3)Intermolecular forces & phase changes
(Item 10)
Phase changesboiling (Item 1) and evaporation(Item 3)
Dissolving (Item 4)Electrical conductivity of solutions (Item 9)

Grade 9 Grade 10
43
47

43
48

41
47

40
44

52
32

37
43

1546 J. Othman et al.

Table 6.

Item pairs
1&7

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1 & 10

3&7

3 & 10
1&3
4&9

Summary of concepts relating to associations between the particulate nature of matter

and chemical bonding in six pairs of items
Prerequisite knowledge required in
the first item involving the
particulate nature of matter

Concepts identified in the second item involving

chemical bonding

Item 1:
Understanding of the processes (at
the particulate level) taking place
during boiling of water.
Item 1:
As stated above

Item 7:
Understanding of melting/boiling in terms of the
breaking of weak intermolecular forces between
discrete molecules of carbon dioxide.
Item 10:
Understanding that the difference in states of
substances with simple molecular structures
(H2O and H2S) is due to the strength of their
intermolecular forces.
Item 7:
As stated above

Item 3:
Understanding of the processes (at
the particulate level) taking place
during evaporation of water.
Item 3:
As stated above
Item 1:
As stated above
Item 4:
Understanding of the processes (at
the particulate level) taking place
during dissolving.

Item 10:
As stated above
Item 3:
As stated above
Item 9:
Understanding that aqueous sodium chloride
conducts electricity as it has free moving ions.

concepts that would have enabled them to correctly answer the items relating to
chemical bonding.
Conclusions and Implications for Teaching
Results from the study indicate that the instrument is able to diagnose the extent of
students understanding of several concepts in the two topics. Results also show that
students performed better when only the first (content) part of the items was
considered, than when both parts of the items were considered. This trend indicates
that students have not yet attained sufficient understanding of the concepts involved,
and could suggest that students have identified the correct content response through
rote learning without an understanding of the underlying reasons.
Analysis of students responses to the test items suggests possible correlations
between students understanding of the particle theory and chemical bonding. The
percentage of students having correct responses on item pairs is very similar for
Grade 9 and Grade 10 students. Students lack of understanding of the particle
theory is reflected in students not applying these particle concepts when answering
the items related to chemical bonding.

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Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter

1547

Generalisation of the findings of this study to other upper secondary schools in

Singapore should be made with caution as students from only one school have been
sampled. The findings therefore should be considered preliminary and studies with
larger samples are needed before making any generalisations. Nevertheless, this
study has important implications for teaching.
Almost every topic in chemistry relies upon the particulate nature of matter
(Harrison & Treagust, 2002), which lays the foundation for understanding of other
concepts. As noted by Taber (2001), many students problems in chemistry lie in
not understanding the relation between the molecular and macroscopic representations because students have not grasped the role of models in chemistry; students
simply transfer properties of the bulk substance to the particles that make up the
substance. Indeed, the present Singapore science syllabus does not explicitly address
these two issues (i.e. relationship between the molecular and macroscopic, and the
role of models). Nevertheless, the concept of the particulate nature of matter is
considered as one of the simpler topics to be dealt with quickly at the beginning of
the year and students generally do find questions on the particulate nature of matter
the easiest in the O level examinations. However, as indicated by the diagnostic test
in this study, the students have not understood the fundamental ideas of the theory.
Misunderstanding of this concept then cascades to other topics such as chemical
bonding, as it serves to establish an alternative framework in students minds that
causes them to misunderstand further material presented to them. This finding
attests to the earlier pointthat inaccurate prior knowledge would cause students to
make sense of new material differently from the way it is intended.
Students therefore need to be given time to develop an understanding of the particulate nature of matter, and as indicated by past studies, changes in students thinking
develop only over a period of time (Krnel et al., 1998). Many students probably would
not have developed an understanding of the actual implications of the particle theory
of matter by the time the students have completed the topic. Teachers therefore need
to emphasize the concept of the particulate nature of matter whenever the opportunity
presents itself in other chemistry topics. This inclusion should not prove too difficult
because as noted earlier, the particulate nature of matter is the basis for understanding
other chemistry concepts and in this manner, students have more opportunities to
develop a coherent understanding of the topic. Similarly, transitions between molecular and macroscopic representations as well as context shifts when teachers switch
between atoms and molecules in explanations, should be explicitly conveyed to
students. These practices should be consciously used by chemistry teachers. Finally,
chemical bonding should be taught together with structure of matter. There should
also be equal attention on ion formation from atoms and bonding as electrical
interactions in a three-dimensional lattice such as in sodium chloride crystals.
Note
1.

In the Singapore education system, students on entering secondary school are streamed into
Special, Express, Normal Academic or Normal Technical courses based on their performance

1548 J. Othman et al.

in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Special and Express courses are fouryear courses that lead to the GCE O level examination. Students in the special stream offer
Mother Tongue at a higher level (e.g. Higher Chinese). Normal Academic and Normal
Technical streams are four-year courses leading to the GCE N level examination. Students
who perform well in the GCE N level examination are offered a 5th year of study leading to a
GCE O level award.

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