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Abstract
The concepts of purity and of states of matter are fundamental ideas in science, especially chemistry. Well defined states of matter are exhibited by chemically pure materials and so for accurate classification, learners must use an accepted framework for purity. This work attempts to provide a description of student teachers' frameworks of purity and the related concepts of the states of matter. Data were collected by asking subjects to sort everyday materials firstly by state of matter, and secondly by perceived purity. Subjects also gave their criteria for the sorting. The tasks were followed by group discussion which was recorded on videotape. The results show that most of the subjects used ‘natural’ as their criterion of purity. Difficulties in classifying states of matter relate to the macroscopic properties of the materials. Few subjects used a particulate theory in either of their classifications. Implications for teaching are drawn from the results.
∗This is a revised and extended version of a paper first presented at the Second International Congress for Research in Teaching Mathematics and Science, Valencia, Spain, 22-24 September 1987.
Notes
∗This is a revised and extended version of a paper first presented at the Second International Congress for Research in Teaching Mathematics and Science, Valencia, Spain, 22-24 September 1987.