Making Assumptions Explicit: How the Law of Conservation of Matter Can Explain Empirical Formula Problems

doi:10.1021/ED078P1050

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Making Assumptions Explicit: How the Law of Conservation of Matter Can Explain Empirical Formula Problems

Published Aug 1, 2001 · S. Demeo

Journal of Chemical Education

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Abstract

The law of conservation of matter plays an important part in the story of the determination of the empirical formula of a compound. Utilizing the law of conservation could promote student understanding of this subject by providing the rationale for many of the procedural steps used to solve empirical formula problems. This is an argument for linking theory to method. It is not pedagogically sound for students to simply go through a series of steps and arrive at an answer without knowing why these steps can be performed, what assumptions they rest on, and how they relate to other chemical concepts. With this in mind, a table was constructed that explicitly connects theoretical assumptions of conservation to the procedural steps followed by introductory students when determining the empirical formula of an unknown compound.

Study Snapshot

The law of conservation of matter can promote student understanding by providing the rationale for procedural steps used to determine empirical formulas of compounds.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

Making Assumptions Explicit: How the Law of Conservation of Matter Can Explain Empirical Formula Problems

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