Student Understanding of the Volume, Mass, and Pressure of air within a Sealed Syringe in Different States of Compression

Abstract

Problem‐solving strategies in the physical sciences have been characterized by a dependence on algorithmic techniques often devoid of any reasoning skills. The purpose of this study was to examine student responses to a task relating to Boyle's Law for gases, which did not demand the use of a mathematical equation for its solution. Students (17‐ to 18‐year‐olds) in lower sixth form from two colleges in the Leeds district of Yorkshire in England were asked to respond to a task relating to pressure and volume measurements of air within a sealed syringe in different states of compression. Both qualitative and quantitative tasks for the sealed syringe system were examined. It was found that 34% to 38% of students did not understand the concepts of volume and mass, respectively, of a gas under such circumstances. Performance on an inverse ratio (2:1) task was shown to depend on gender and those students who performed well on the 2:1 inverse ratio task did not necessarily perform well on a different inverse ratio task when an arithmetic averaging principle was present. Tasks which draw upon qualitative knowledge as well as quantitative knowledge have the potential to reduce dependence on algorithms, particularly equation substitution and solution. The implications for instructional design are discussed. Copyright © 1995 Wiley.