Students' use of concepts to describe chemical bonding: Changes from first to third year of their university studies

Chemical bonding is one of the most important and fundamental ideas of Chemistry, but it is also a concept that students struggle with. Research on university students’ conception of chemical bonding have focused on documenting alternative conceptions. This presentation aims to illuminate how university students describe chemical bonding, and how their understanding may progress during their studies of chemistry. First-, second-, and third-year chemistry students (N = 392) at a Norwegian university have provided written descriptions of chemical bonding, that have been analysed using conceptual content analysis. The results show that some concepts (e.g. atom, electron, and share) are frequently used by students in all student groups. Other concepts seem to lose or gain popularity as students progress through their university studies. Energy is one of the concepts used more frequently by upper-years students, and students’ use of this concept and their conception of the role of energy in bond formation will be discussed in more detail. Examples of student answers will be included to illustrate how students use the concepts.