Medical school students’ misconceptions regarding concept of density

Abstract

Throughout the years, scientific research has increasingly aimed to identify students' misconceptions and alternative views regarding fundamental concepts and principles of chemistry. Valuable international bibliographic information was created, including details on teaching density and gaining respondent acceptance. The study aimed to explore alternative ideas about density among Lyceum's honours graduate students attending medical school. Moreover, the gender parameters of the participants were examined. A multiple-choice questionnaire was administered to students to collect data on their gender, age, interest in chemistry, and basic knowledge of chemistry concepts, notably density. Furthermore, we analysed participants' answer accuracy to determine if gender influenced responses or if they were due to statistical fluctuations. In particular, the statistical analysis of the data collected shows that many honours students in the Greek educational system retain a large percentage of the alternative ideas about chemistry concepts. Additionally, the misconceptions recorded in the questions did not correlate with parameters such as grades in the Panhellenic exams, gender, or the student's interest in the chemistry course. Our study's results could improve science teaching by transforming curriculum design and teacher training and enhancing the quality of science instruction in schools.

Keywords

• Chemistry
• Density
• Misconceptions
• Alternative ideas