Analysis of the students’ discussions about chemical equilibrium during a laboratory class

Abstract

This work studies the discussions from students in their first year of two university careers while carrying out a practical laboratory work about chemical equilibrium. The arguments constructed by the students are analyzed when they connect the experimental data and the observations with the chemical knowledge they possess. Group work was recorded in audio and videotape when students developed the laboratory class; the argumentative pattern of Toulmin was used as the instrument of analysis. One of the most relevant aspects of the classes under analysis is that students’ discussions are rare during the development of the laboratory work; on the other hand, students do not make the notion of system in equilibrium they are elaborating explicit. It can be concluded that, in general, the development of the practical laboratory work did not make the appropriate contributions to the fact that students should develop a more thorough conceptualization about what a system in chemical equilibrium is.