How Do Inorganic Students Represent Molecular Orbitals? A Multi-Institutional Study from the Foundation-Level Inorganic Chemistry Course
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Barbara A. Reisner [1] ; Melissa M. Kinkaid [1] ; Justin M. Pratt [2] ; Anne K. Bentley [3] ; Joanne L. Stewart [4] ; Sheila R. Smith [7] ; Jeffrey R. Raker [5] ; Shirley Lin [6]
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[1] James Madison University
James Madison University
Estados Unidos
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[2] University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
Town of South Kingstown, Estados Unidos
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[3] Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College
Estados Unidos
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[4] Hope College
Hope College
City of Holland, Estados Unidos
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[5] University of South Florida
University of South Florida
Estados Unidos
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[6] United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
Estados Unidos
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[7] University of Michigan─Dearborn, United States
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 101, Nº 2, 2024, págs. 456-466
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
This investigation of student and instructor representations of molecular orbitals (MOs) uses the knowledge from a community of practice to build collective pedagogical content knowledge of student understanding of molecular orbital representations in the foundation-level inorganic chemistry course. Participants were asked to sketch the bonding and antibonding MOs of a lithium hydride molecule. The student-generated images of MOs were analyzed and characterized according to five criteria: the atomic orbitals chosen, the sign of the wavefunction, the relative contribution of the atomic orbitals to the molecular orbitals, the overlap of atomic orbitals, and the shape of the MOs. While most students correctly chose a basis set and accurately represented the sign of the wavefunction for the MOs, they were less successful at sketching the relative contribution of the atomic orbitals to the molecular orbitals, the overlap of atomic orbitals, and the shape of the MOs. Students have an incomplete understanding of the information encoded in MO sketches and may not attribute meaning to these pictures in the same way that instructors may. These results suggest that instructors need to help students develop representational competence in order to achieve a more expert-like understanding of MO representations and to connect these depictions to the properties of molecules.
