Students' understanding of mathematical expressions in physical chemistry contexts: An analysis using Sherin’s symbolic forms

Abstract

Undergraduate physical chemistry courses require students to be proficient in calculus in order to develop an understanding of thermodynamics concepts. Here we present the findings of a study that examines student understanding of mathematical expressions, including partial derivative expressions, in two undergraduate physical chemistry courses. Students participated in think-aloud interviews and responded to a set of questions involving mixed second partial derivatives with either abstract symbols or thermodynamic variables. The findings describe students’ ability to transfer mathematics knowledge to chemistry problems and how students use symbolic forms described by Sherin (2001) to make sense of mathematical expressions in physical chemistry contexts.