Development of the idea of chemical element in high school students

Abstract

The development of the idea of chemical element in Spanish high school students is analyzed in this paper. Specifically, we shape their understanding around the difference between a chemical element and a compound, the identification of metallic and non-metallic elements, the nuclear identity of the elements, the calculation of the constituent particles, the identification of elements in our surroundings, the identification of properties differentiating the chemical elements, and the justification of the existence of regularities in the properties of the elements. The results show that students who finish the compulsory secondary education (16 years old) have serious deficiencies in the comprehension of the idea of chemical element. Such deficits remain, largely, at the end of high school (18 years old). These data suggest some difficulties and obstacles in the understanding of these topics showing a little impact of the studies in the learning. An important part of these difficulties are due to the usual manner under which these issues are taught, along with the structure of the Spanish curriculum.