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Balancing chemical equations: The role of developmental level and mental capacity
Author(s) -
Niaz Mansoor,
Lawson Anton E.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660220104
Subject(s) - independence (probability theory) , balance (ability) , structural equation modeling , psychology , simple (philosophy) , test (biology) , field (mathematics) , sample (material) , mathematics , statistics , chemistry , ecology , philosophy , epistemology , chromatography , neuroscience , pure mathematics , biology
Why are some students able to learn to use the trial and error method to balance chemical equations while others are not? To test the hypothesis that formal reasoning is required to balance even simple one‐step equations, while formal reasoning and a sufficiently large mental capacity are required to balance more complex many‐step equations, a sample of science students was tested to determine level of intellectual development, mental capacity, and degree of field dependence/field independence. Students were then given classroom instruction in using trial and error to balance equations. As predicted, a posttest revealed significant correlations between developmental level and equation balancing ability for both simple and complex equations. Also, as predicted, mental capacity correlated significantly with complex equations but not with simple equations. Field dependence/field independence played no significant role in performance. Educational implications are drawn.