Investigating the Relationship between Students’ Spatial Ability and Their Assumptions about the Structure and Motion of Matter

The particulate nature of matter is a fundamental concept in chemistry that defines matter as consisting of particles that are in constant motion. Unfortunately, students often have misconceptions associated with this concept that can lead to difficulties in learning more complex topics such as chemical reactions and organic chemistry. The structure and motion of matter associated with the submicroscopic domain requires students to consider both how particulates are spatially aligned and how they move through three-dimensional submicroscopic space. Spatial ability, or the ability to decipher spatial data such as spatial alignment and movement, has been found to play a role in student reasoning associated with chemistry topics, such as chemical reactions and molecular geometry. This study investigated the relationship between a student’s spatial ability and their assumptions associated with spatial components of the structure and motion of matter. The findings suggest that student spatial reasoning is moderately correlated with a student’s assumption about the structure and motion of matter. The implication of these findings on general chemistry education will be discussed.