An Investigation into Senior High School Students’ Difficulties and Understanding in Naming Inorganic Compounds by IUPAC Nomenclature

Abstract

This study assesses the difficulties that students have when naming inorganic compounds by IUPAC nomenclature. It uses a cross-sectional survey comprised of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The sample for the study consisted of 334 elective science Senior Secondary School (SSS 3) students in 2008/2009 academic year. Students were drawn from all schools offering elective science in the New Juaben Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana in that year. Of the sample population, 252 students were male and 82 were female with a mean age of 17 years and a standard deviation of 1.8 years. The instruments used for data collection were an achievement test and an interview. Some of the key findings include: students’ inability to write the correct names of certain elements in compounds, students’ inability to determine the central atom in compounds, students’ inability to determine or calculate the oxidation numbers of central atoms in compounds, students’ inability to write the correct names of radicals, and students’ lack of knowledge about valency. This study recommends that teachers pay particular attention to assisting students in locating central atoms of compounds and hence calculating their oxidation numbers. This study also recommended that chemistry teachers focus more intently on helping students to name radicals correctly.