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The effect of case-based instruction on 10th

grade students’ understanding of gas concepts
Cite this: DOI: 10.1039/c4rp00156g
Eylem Yalçınkayaa and Yezdan Boz*b

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of case-based instruction on
Published on 06 November 2014. Downloaded on 07/12/2014 00:03:57.

Received 22nd July 2014,
Accepted 28th October 2014
DOI: 10.1039/c4rp00156g
www.rsc.org/cerp
remedying 10th grade students’ alternative conceptions related to gas concepts. 128 tenth grade students
from two high schools participated in this study. In each school, one of the classes was randomly assigned
as the experimental group and the other class, instructed by the same chemistry teacher, was assigned as
the control group. The students in the experimental groups were instructed by case-based instruction
based on conceptual change conditions while the control group students received traditionally designed
chemistry instruction. As pre-tests, the science process skills test, the attitude and motivation towards
chemistry and the gas concept test were applied to both groups of students. As a post-test, the gas
concept test was administered to both groups of students to determine their alternative conceptions and
understanding of gas concepts. One-way ANOVA was used to assess the effect of case-based instruction
on students’ understanding of gas concepts. The results revealed that case-based instruction was an
effective method for overcoming students’ alternative conceptions about the gas concepts.

Introduction no reported research study investigating the effectiveness of

Constructivism explains learning as an active process, where
students construct their own knowledge by making links between
their existing and new concepts. In the case of a contradiction
between new knowledge and existing ideas, it is hard to make
sense of it since learners cannot make meaningful connections.
This indicates that a person’s prior knowledge plays a critical role
in the process of learning (Driscoll, 2005). Research studies on
science learning indicated that students come to classes with their
own conceptions, which are often different from the scientifically
accepted view. These alternative conceptions hinder students’
subsequent learning since they interpret new knowledge in the
light of these alternative conceptions (Gilbert et al., 1982). There-
fore, instruction that considers students’ prior knowledge and
that allows students to modify their conceptions of scientific ideas
would be beneficial to remedy students’ alternative conceptions.
As Wassermann (1994) states, case-based instruction serves this
purpose by embedding learning in a realistic and social environ-
ment where students are actively involved in the process of
knowledge construction. Although case-based instruction has
been used in medicine, law, and business, there have been few
research studies in science education. Moreover, there is almost
a
Tunceli University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering,
Tunceli, Turkey
b
Middle East Technical University – Faculty of Education, METU Üniversiteler Mah.
Dumlupınar Blv. No:1, Ankara çankaya 06800, Turkey.
E-mail: yezdan@metu.edu.tr
case-based instruction for overcoming students’ alternative
conceptions about the gas concepts. The present study aims
to contribute to the literature by finding out whether case-based
instruction is effective in enhancing students’ understanding of
gases and remedying their alternative conceptions. The related
research questions are;
1. Is there a significant mean difference between the groups
exposed to case-based instruction based on conceptual change
conditions and traditionally designed chemistry instruction
with respect to tenth grade students’ understanding of gas
concepts and alternative conceptions?
2. What are the tenth grade students’ alternative conceptions
about gases after being exposed to case-based and traditional
instruction?
Literature review
Most of the studies in science education indicated that students at
all levels have difficulty in understanding the basic properties and
behavior of gases (Novick and Nussbaum, 1978, 1981; Ben-Zvi
et al., 1982; Brook et al., 1984, 2003; Gabel et al., 1987; Stavy, 1988;
Benson et al., 1993; Hwang, 1995). For example, research studies
showed that students face problems in understanding the notion
of empty space between particles. Students stated that dust, other
particles, gases such as oxygen and nitrogen, air, dirt, unknown
vapors exist between particles (Novick and Nussbaum, 1978, 1981).
In addition, students thought that gases have no mass or that

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substances in the gas phase are lighter than in the liquid or solid
state (Stavy, 1988, 1990; Mas et al., 1987; Lee et al., 1993). Another
common misconception is that students attribute macroscopic
properties to particles, such as ‘‘expand’’ and ‘‘contract’’, ‘‘get
hot’’, and ‘‘melt’’ (Brook et al., 1984, 2003; Novick and Nussbaum,
1981; Gilbert et al., 1982; Lee et al., 1993). For example, students
believed that gas particles increase in size with the change from
solid to liquid to gas (Haidar and Abraham, 1991).
Students believed that air flows from one place to another
like water but is unevenly distributed. According to some
students, atmospheric pressure pushes the gas molecules down
(Lin et al., 2000); air does not exert the same pressure in
different directions (Brook et al., 2003); and gas particles are
unevenly scattered in any enclosed space (Novick and Nussbaum,
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1981; Lee et al., 1993; Cho et al., 2000). Moreover, students
supposed that when the air is compressed, particles are compacted
like a solid and do not move or they stick together (Lonning, 1993).
Some of the students thought that when the air is compressed in a
syringe, air moves toward the opening of the syringe (Lee et al.,
1993). She (2002) examined the process of conceptual change
related to air pressure and reported that most of the students
believed that air cannot be compressed. They also thought that air
pressure has a direction.
Moreover, some naive conceptions have been identified
regarding cold and warm air. Most students thought that a
balloon would blow up or get larger due to hot air or heat
instead of thermal expansion. Hence, they believed that hot air
would rise and cold air would go down in a bottle, so there was
hot air or heat in the top and cold air in the bottom. In addition to
these, some students believed that when a substance evaporates, it
becomes invisible and it no longer exists (Lee et al., 1993). Moreover,
the stereotypical views like ‘air is everywhere’ and ‘hot air rises’ were
often stated by pupils (Séré, 1986). Related to the kinetic theory of
gases, students had some major alternative conceptions; for exam-
ple, they considered that atmospheric pressure pushes gas mole-
cules down; gas molecules rise and stay away from heat; and
molecules expand when they are heated (Lin et al., 2000). Students
believed that when the temperature is lowered, gas particles sink to
the bottom of a container and the majority of the high school
students explained the decrease in volume of a gas on cooling not in
terms of decreasing particle motion but in terms of increasing
attractive forces (Novick and Nussbaum, 1981). Sometimes students’
intuitive thinking can be one of the sources of misconceptions; for
example as a cause of deflation of the balloon students said, ‘‘The
energy gradually dies, so the gas motion stops and balloon deflates’’
(Haidar and Abraham, 1991). Accordingly, most of the students
were not able to draw the appropriate representation of gas particles
inside a flask (Lin et al., 2000). Nussbaum (1985) asked how the
distribution of gases would be after evacuating some of the air from
a flask. While some of the students (14 years old) thought that the
upper part of the flask is filled with air, the others believed that the
lower part of the flask is filled with air.
Students also had difficulties in understanding and applying
the ideal gas law appropriately. Students memorized the ideal
gas formula, PV = nRT without understanding it conceptually
(Lin et al., 2000). Many of the students focused on the
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relationship between two variables in the ideal gas law regard-
less of the others. For instance, they assumed that ‘‘Pressure is
always inversely proportional to the volume’’ and ‘‘Pressure is
always directly proportional to the temperature’’ (Kautz et al.,
2005a). From the microscopic viewpoint, some of the students
believed that the density of a gas decreases as a result of
expansion and so in order to keep the pressure constant, the
speed of the particles must increase. Some of them thought
that when a gas is enclosed in a smaller volume, gas particles
are more likely to come together and collide with each other
frequently. Consequently, the temperature and then average
kinetic energy increases; that is, they ‘‘Mistakenly assume that
molecular collisions generate kinetic energy’’ (Kautz et al., 2005b).
Some students even thought that these collisions may result in a
change of atomic size (Griffiths and Preston, 1992). Similarly, in the
context of the diffusion concept, students thought that molecular
motion of gases stops at an ending point in the diffusion. In
addition, students believed that the diffusion rate of gases
increases with increasing molecular weight (Cho et al., 2000).
Consequently, research findings about students’ conceptions
of gases indicated that gases are one of the abstract subjects in
which students have difficulties in understanding. As stated
before, the constructivist approach considering the students’
prior knowledge and stressing the active engagement of students
in the learning process is influential in providing meaningful
learning (Mayer, 1999). Accordingly, case-based learning
environments providing both real life examples and social
experience promote constructivist learning (Jonassen, 1994).
Case-based instruction aims to teach the topic through cases.
Cases are composed of two main parts: one of them is the case
situation for the study and the other is the questions related to
the case. Cases are complex teaching instruments in the form
of narratives. The narratives are generally based on real life
situations. Teacher and students study the problems related to
daily life cooperatively (Wassermann, 1994). Cases can vary
from a paragraph or two to a dozen pages but it is suggested
that long cases be distributed and read before the class to
prevent students getting confused and becoming lost in details.
Learners solve the presented problem using their background
knowledge (DeYoung, 2003).
At the end of each case, some study questions related to the
cases help students to evaluate outcomes, concepts, and sub-
jects of the case. The purpose of the study questions is to
facilitate student understanding, rather than simply asking for
the names, dates, or labels. Case-based teaching provides
opportunities for students to study in small groups and discuss
their responses before the whole-class discussion session
occurs. During examination of the case, the teacher manages
the class discussion by promoting the critical analysis of the
real life problems with the students and helping students to
discover the meaning. The teacher avoids imposing his or her
own thoughts. Rather s/he lets students interpret their own
understanding during the period of discussion (Wassermann,
1994).
Though studies regarding case-based instruction in science
education are limited, some research studies showed that
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Chemistry Education Research and Practice
case-based instruction was effective in improving students’
critical thinking skills and increasing their interest in learning
science (Gabel, 1999); making laboratory courses interesting and
relevant to daily life (Frerichs, 2012); establishing a link between
science and non-science classes (Richmond and Neureither,
1998); and increasing students’ performance and academic
knowledge regarding the nervous system (Çakır, 2002) and the
human reproductive system (Saral, 2008). Moreover, case-based
learning was found to be an effective method for remediating
students’ misconceptions in the context of solubility equilibrium
(Çam, 2009); solids, liquids and gases (Ayyıldız and Tarhan,
2013); and gene biodiversity (Gallucci, 2007). Consequently, it
can be said that case-based instruction is a teaching strategy for
promoting students’ engagement in learning science and mak-
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ing improvements toward conceptual change. In the present study,
the aim was to provide four conditions for conceptual change that
Posner et al. (1982) identified; dissatisfaction, intelligibility, plau-
sibility, and fruitfulness.
Although the related literature suggests that case-based
instruction would be more effective compared to the traditional
instruction, the success of any teaching instruction depends on
several issues. To illustrate, both students and teachers in
Turkey are not accustomed to any active teaching methods,
i.e. case-based instruction. Teachers in Turkey are used to
teaching in a traditional way. However, in case-based instruction,
the role of the teacher will change from the disseminator of
information to the facilitator that guides students to construct
their own knowledge. Similarly, the role for the students will
change from listening passively to participating in discussions to
reveal their ideas explicitly. As Airasian and Walsh (1997) suggest, it
would take some time for students and teachers to get accustomed
to these roles. Woods (1994) observed that teaching habits can
make it difficult for teachers to accept change. Moreover, Gallucci
(2007) claimed that instructors’ enthusiasm using the case-method
is an important factor contributing to the effectiveness of this
method. In addition, more class time is needed for students to
construct knowledge, and this presents a difficulty for teachers who
need to complete a topic in an allocated period of time determined
by the curriculum. This also affects the application of case-based
instruction. If a teaching method was not applied genuinely in
the classroom, even if it is effective theoretically, one cannot
obtain positive results in practice. Similarly, success of a
teaching approach may depend on the nature of the topic
and the characteristics of students. Students with an external
locus of control, where success or failure is attributed to
external issues such as luck, fate etc., rather than their personal
control, tend to do better when instructed in a teacher-centered
way (Peterson, 1979). Moreover, it is not clear if suggested
teaching methods based on constructivism would be successful
for different subjects or contents (Airasian and Walsh, 1997).
Cobern et al. (2010) also mentioned the nature of a topic does
influence the choice of the most effective method of instruction.
Therefore, we thought that it would be meaningful to compare
case-based instruction with traditional instruction in order to
reveal which one would be more effective for the students in our
country in the context of the gases topic.
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Methodology
Design of the study
Non-equivalent control group design was used in this study. In
this design, although the groups being compared are randomly
assigned as control and experimental, the subjects are not
randomly assigned to these groups; instead already formed
groups are used (Gay and Airasian, 2000). Two schools participated
in the current study; one of them was a public high school, the
other was an Anatolian high school. In Turkey, after elementary
education, students enter a nation-wide examination to be placed
at different high school types. Based on the scores achieved from
this exam, students make some preferences. Students getting
higher scores were placed at Anatolian high school; however, there
are also score differences among Anatolian high schools. In the
present study, students enrolled in the Anatolian high school
scored more than the public high school students, but there was
not a big score difference between these students. The same
National Curriculum is followed in these schools and schools
were similar in terms of the school facilities and the way teachers
deliver chemistry lessons. Moreover, these schools were in the
same district and the socio-economic backgrounds of students
were similar. To control for the various variables that can influence
students’ achievement, students’ pre-scores regarding attitude,
motivational beliefs, understanding of gas conceptions and
science process skills were taken into account (Pintrich et al.,
1993; Brotherton and Preece, 1995; Harlen, 1999; Koballa and
Glynn, 2007). Therefore, prior to the treatment, a science process
skills test (SPST), an attitude scale towards chemistry (ASTC), the
motivation section of motivated strategies for learning question-
naire (MSLQ) and the gas concept test (GCT) were administered to
both experimental and control group students before instruction
to determine whether there was a significant mean difference
between two groups in terms of students’ knowledge about gas
concepts, students’ attitude towards chemistry, science process
skills and their motivation. After treatment, the gas concept test
(GCT) was distributed to both groups of students in order to reveal
whether there is significant mean difference in terms of students’
conceptions of gas concepts.
Sample
All 10th grade students in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey,
were determined as the target population. However, since it is
hard to get in touch with the whole target population, all the
10th grade students in Çankaya, which is the one of the
districts in Ankara, were identified as an accessible population.
After conversations with high school chemistry teachers in
Çankaya, the schools in which the teachers volunteered to use
a new teaching method in their chemistry lessons were chosen
as implementation schools. Therefore, one public high school
and one Anatolian high school were selected from the identified
accessible population by the convenience sampling technique.
In each school, one of the classes was randomly assigned as the
experimental group and the other class instructed by the same
chemistry teacher was assigned as the control group. Therefore,
two classes from each school were assigned randomly as the
Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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experimental and the control group. Random selection was done
by flipping a coin. In each school, classes were labeled as class A
and class B. Heads side of the coin was matched with the
experimental group while tails side of the coin determines the
control group. For example, for class A, we flipped a coin and if it
were heads, that class was assigned as the experimental group.
Two instructional methods; case-based instruction on conceptual
change conditions (CBCC) and traditionally designed chemistry
instruction (TDCI) were assigned to the experimental and control
groups respectively. Forty five tenth grade students (22 boys and
23 girls) from the Anatolian high school and 83 tenth grade students
(44 boys and 39 girls) from the public high school participated in this
study. There were 63 students instructed by CBCC in the experi-
mental groups (31 girls and 32 boys) and there were 65 students
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(31 girls and 34 boys) instructed by TDCI in the control groups in
total. The age range of the participants was 15–16. In each school,
students were instructed by the same chemistry teacher for 12 weeks.
Instruments
The science process skills test (SPST), the attitude scale towards
chemistry (ASTC), the motivation section of the motivated
strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ) and the gas con-
cept test (GCT) were used as pre-test measuring instruments in
order to determine the pre-existing differences between control
and experimental group students before instruction. After
treatment, in order to determine the effect of case-based
instruction on overcoming alternative conceptions about gas
concepts, GCT was administered to both groups as a post-test.
In addition to GCT, after instruction semi-structured interviews
were conducted with students from both groups in order to
obtain deeper information regarding their conceptions about
gas concepts. Finally, after treatment, a feedback form for case-
based instruction was used as a research instrument in order to
reveal experimental group students’ opinions about the effec-
tiveness of case-based instruction.
Gas concept test (GCT)
The Gas concept test included 26 multiple choice questions
with five alternatives. Many of the questions in GCT were taken
and adapted from the earlier studies related to the gas topic
(Azizoglu, 2004; pek, 2007). These questions were based on
common alternative conceptions about gas concepts in the
literature (Novick and Nussbaum, 1978, 1981; Brook et al.,
1984; Séré 1986; Mas et al., 1987; Stavy, 1988, 1990; Rollnick
and Rutherford, 1990; Benson et al., 1993; Lee et al., 1993;
De Berg, 1995; Cho et al., 2000; Lin et al., 2000; Niaz, 2000;
Sanger et al., 2000; She, 2002; Givry, 2003). At the beginning of
the development stage of the test, the instructional objectives
for gas concepts were stated based on the national curriculum.
This test covered the following subtopics: (1) properties of gases,
(2) volume of gases, (3) kinetic theory of gases, (4) diffusion of
gases, (5) pressure of gases, (6) gas laws (Charles law, Boyle
Marriott, Dalton, Avogadro, Gay Lussac), (7) ideal gas laws, (8)
partial pressure of gases.
Each item of the GCT was examined in detail by four
chemistry educators and six chemistry teachers in terms of
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content validity and format. Based on these recommendations,
the corrections on the test were made. Afterwards, GCT was
piloted with 332 high school students from different schools
who had learned the gas concept previously. The Cronbach-alpha
value of the multiple-choice test was 0.70 in the reliability analysis.
There was not any major change to the items on the test after the
pilot study. Some questions involved diagrams related to represen-
tations of submicroscopic particles in order to make the questions
more comprehensible. The final form of the test was administered
to both group of students (control & experimental) as a pretest and a
posttest in order to evaluate their understanding of concepts related
to gases (see some examples of test items in Appendix I). Please note
that all questions in the GCT were written in Turkish and the present
article reports translated versions. The first author, who was a PhD
candidate in chemistry education at the time of the study, translated
questions in the GCT into English independently. Then, the equiva-
lence of the translated and original version was checked by the
second author, who is an instructor in the chemistry education
department. They discussed any disagreements together in order to
reach a consensus for the final English version of the GCT.
The science process skills test (SPST)
The test, which included 36 multiple choice questions related
to identifying variables, operationally defining variables, iden-
tifying appropriate hypotheses, interpreting data and designing
experiments, was originally developed by Okey et al. (1982). It
was adapted into a Turkish version by Geban et al. (1992) found
Cronbach’s alpha to be 0.85 which indicated that the instru-
ment is reliable enough. Some sample items are as follows
(Table 1).
The motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ)
MSLQ is a self-report questionnaire developed for a college
course by Pintrich et al. (1991) to evaluate students’ motivational
orientations and their use of different learning strategies. It uses
a 7-point Likert scale from ‘‘not at all true of me’’ to ‘‘very true of
me’’ measuring students’ motivational and learning strategies
constructs. Basically there are two main sections in MSLQ, a
motivation section and a learning strategies section. In the
current study, only the motivation section of MSLQ was used
for both experimental and control group students to determine
students’ perceived motivation before treatment. In the motiva-
tion part, students’ goals and belief values for a course, their
beliefs about their skills to succeed, and their anxiety about tests
in a course were evaluated by 31 items. MSLQ contains six sub-
headings: (1) intrinsic goal orientation (IGO), (2) extrinsic goal
orientation (EGO), (3) task value (TV), (4) control of learning
beliefs (CLB), (5) self-efficacy for learning and performance
(SELP), (6) test anxiety (TA). Sungur (2004) adapted and trans-
lated MSLQ into Turkish for a biology lesson. In the current
study, minor changes were made to the instrument developed by
Sungur (2004) and it was used for the chemistry lesson. Table 2
shows sample items for each sub-section of the questionnaire.
This instrument was piloted with 324 tenth, eleventh and twelfth
grade science students. As seen from Table 3, the instrument was
found reliable enough.
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Table 1 Sample items of the science process skills test

Sample items in SPST

A police chief is concerned about reducing the speed of autos. He thinks several factors may affect the automobile speed. Which of the following is
a hypothesis he could test about how fast people drive?
(A) The younger the drivers, the faster they are likely to drive.
(B) The larger the autos involved in an accident, the less likely people are to get hurt.
(C) The more policemen on patrol, the fewer the number of auto accidents.
(D) The older the autos the more accidents they are likely to be in.

A science class is studying the effect of wheel width on ease of rolling. The class puts wide wheels onto a small cart and lets it roll down an inclined
ramp and then across the floor. The investigation is repeated using the same cart but this time fitted with narrow wheels.
How could the class measure ease of rolling?
(A) Measure the total distance the cart travels.
(B) Measure the angle of the inclined ramp.
(C) Measure the width of each of the two sets of wheels.
(D) Measure the weight of each of the carts.
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Table 2 Sample items of the questionnaire

Sub-headings Sample items

Intrinsic goal orientation
Extrinsic goal orientation
Task value
Control of learning beliefs
Self-efficacy for learning and performance
Test anxiety
In a class like this, I prefer course material that arouses my curiosity, even if it is difficult to learn.
If I can, I want to get better grades in this class than most of the other students.
I think the course material in this class is useful for me to learn.
If I try hard enough, then I will understand the course material.
I’m confident I can learn the basic concepts taught in this course.
When I take tests I think of the consequences of failing.

Table 3 Reliability coefficients of MSLQ
N (sample size) IGO EGO TV CLB SELP TA
ENG 356 0.74 0.62 0.90 0.68 0.93
TUR (Sungur’s) 488 0.73 0.54 0.87 0.62 0.89
TUR (current) 324 0.69 0.75 0.64 0.69 0.70
Attitude scale towards chemistry (ASTC)
This scale included 15 items and was developed by Geban et al.
(1994) to determine students’ attitude toward chemistry as a
school subject. It is a 5-point Likert scale as follows: ‘‘strongly
agree, agree, undecided, disagree, and strongly disagree’’.
Cronbach’s alpha was found to be 0.88 indicating that ASTC
has good reliability. Some sample items from ASTC are: ‘‘I like
reading books related to chemistry’’, ‘‘Chemistry is not important
in our daily life’’ and ‘‘I get bored when I study chemistry.’’
Interview questions
After treatment, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a
total of sixteen students from both experimental and control groups.
Eight students from the control group (3 girls, 5 boys) and eight
students from the experimental group (4 girls, 4 boys) were inter-
viewed. The criterion for selecting interviewees from each group of
students was based on post-GCT scores. Two high, four medium
and two low scorers from each group attended the interview.
Interviewees were selected using the technique that Thompson
and Soyibo (2002) used in their study in order to categorize
students’ attitudes into categories using the mean of the posttest
scores and standard deviations. Similarly, in the present study,
students whose scores were above one standard deviation from the
mean were regarded as high achievers. Students whose scores were
within one standard deviation below the mean and one standard
deviation above the mean were considered as being moderate or
neutral achievers. Students with scores below one standard devia-
0.80 tion from the mean were classified as low or poor achievers. From
0.62
0.77
the pool of high, moderate and low achiever students, two high
achievers, two low achievers and four moderate achievers for both
experimental and control groups were randomly selected by using
the option (select random sample of cases) in SPSS. Extra questions
were not prepared; instead test items used in GCT were used
during the interviews. The purpose of the interviews was to probe
the questions asked in the concept test and detect the reasons for
selecting the wrong alternative. Also, both control and experimental
group students were compared after treatment in terms of their
conceptions about the gas topic in the light of the interviews. The
elapsed time between the gas concept test and the interviews was
about one to two weeks. The first author of the present study who
was not a teacher of the students interviewed the students. Each
interview was conducted individually and lasted about 50 minutes.
All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed later.
Treatment (CBCC vs. TDCI)
Before the implementation of the current study, necessary legal
permissions were received and all the materials used during
the instructions were examined by the ethics committee of
the university. During the implementation of the study, students
were not harmed in any way (physically or mentally). All the
students consented to participate in the study. Besides, the issue
of confidentiality was emphasized in a way that names of the
students would not be reported anywhere and the accessible
data would be seen just by the researcher. Students were told
that they would not be graded according to their responses and

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that it was important to respond to the presented tests as
sincerely as possible.
One hundred and twenty-eight tenth grade students from
a public high school (N = 83) and an Anatolian high school
(N = 45) were the participants in the present study. In each
school, one of the classes was randomly selected as experi-
mental and one class as the control group. The experimental
group students were instructed by case-based instruction based
on conceptual change conditions (CBCC) whereas the control
group students were instructed by traditionally designed
science instruction. All groups of students in the two schools
followed the same National Curriculum and the same concepts
for the same amount of time. For example, similar daily life
examples and alternative conceptions were mentioned in both
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groups, and no laboratory work or demonstrations was con-
ducted in both groups. However, in the control group, the
teacher transmitted information while in the experimental
group the students tried to construct this knowledge. In each
school, the same teacher instructed both control and experi-
mental group students. The teacher was male in one school
while the other teacher was female.
A month before treatment, a teacher manual containing
theoretical information about case-based instruction and the
conceptual change model, cases that students will carry out in
groups, and some directing questions for the teacher to guide
students’ discussion were given to the teachers. After a week,
for three weeks, approximately one-hour meetings were con-
ducted with the teachers. In these meetings, case-based instruc-
tion, the conceptual change model, the roles of the teacher and
the students in case-based instruction were again explained to
the teachers. Teachers were trained about the new method and
how to implement case-based instruction based on conceptual
change conditions for the gas unit in chemistry. For this
purpose, the researcher explained a sample lesson using the
atmospheric pressure case. Moreover, how the teachers would
provide four conditions of conceptual change was discussed in
teacher training sessions. To clarify, it was mentioned that
discussion of study questions in the case was designed to create
dissatisfaction among students. Therefore, the teacher should
take students’ opinions about these questions and discuss the
reasons for different answers with the class. At that stage, the
teacher may ask some more questions to promote students’
dissatisfaction with the ideas. For the intelligibility and plausibility
steps, the teacher was to ask some prompting and challenging
questions and guide students to find the intelligible and plausible
conclusion. For the fruitfulness step, the teacher was to encourage
students to link the concept with daily life. Actually, classroom
observations showed that teacher training sessions were successful
because teachers took these suggestions into account and could
apply the conceptual change conditions successfully in the
classroom.
Experimental group students received case-based instruction
based on conceptual change conditions. Prior to treatment, in
each school experimental group students were divided into
groups of four or five students by their chemistry teachers so
as to be as heterogeneous as possible in terms of their chemistry
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achievement and general attitude toward chemistry. Then, the
teachers gave information about the new teaching method; what
the case-based instruction is and how it is applied in classroom
settings emphasizing the roles of students in detail. The role of
students in each group was to read and discuss the given
problem and scenario under teacher guidance. The role of
teachers was to provide an arrangement of groups and avoid
giving the direct answers of the case-based learning questions
during group discussions. The same content was covered in
experimental group classes as in control group classes but
experimental group students were instructed basically by means
of the presented cases, problems or scenarios working in small
groups. Students’ alternative conceptions of gas concepts and
remedies based on conceptual change conditions were taken
into account while preparing the cases. In this study, a total of
fifteen cases generally based on real-life events and experiments
were used for gas concepts (see a case example in Appendix II).
The cases were about atmospheric pressure, Avogadro’s law,
Boyle’s law, Charles’s law, Gay-Lussac’s law, Dalton’s law, a
combination of Boyle–Avogadro–Charles’s laws, diffusion rate
(two cases), partial pressure, properties of hot and cold air, and
properties of gases (four cases) (for more information on cases,
please see Appendix III). For the preparation of cases, research-
ers investigated daily life applications and some experiments
related to gas concepts from the chemistry books and internet
resources. Then, case scenarios were developed from these
sources. Three cases were taken from the studies of İpek
(2007) and Bilgin et al. (2009). Similarly, study questions related
to them were prepared based on students’ alternative concep-
tions about gas concepts found in the literature. To illustrate,
some examples of the study questions related to the case given in
Appendix II were: ‘‘Compare the inside pressure of a deflated
bicycle tire with the outside pressure’’; ‘‘What can be said about
the motion/state of gas particles in the deflated bicycle tire?’’;
‘‘Can using up the energy of the gas particles in time and ceasing
their motion be the reasons for deflation of the bicycle tire?
Why?’’; ‘‘Draw the distribution of the gas particles in the inflated
and the deflated bicycle tire.’’ These study questions were
formed in the light of the alternative conceptions: ‘‘the pressure
inside a deflated bike tire or balloon is different from the
pressure outside’’: ‘‘the energy gradually dies, so the gas motion
stops and balloon deflates’’: and ‘‘gas particles are unevenly
scattered in any enclosed space.’’
After the preparation, for the content validity, these case
materials were given to two teachers who were involved in the
implementation of them and two chemistry educators. After the
feedback, cases were reorganized if required. Before treatment,
the cases were discussed with the chemistry teachers to decide
where the cases will fit in the class schedule.
In experimental groups, students in small groups analyzed
the given cases and answered the related questions. Afterward,
group members shared their ideas with the whole class and
class discussion began. Discussion continued until a reasonable
or plausible answer(s) were found to the case questions. Mean-
while, experimental group teachers guided students by asking
open-ended and challenging questions and prompting further
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thinking. Since the discussion of cases began and ended in class,
students did not have opportunities to search or investigate the
subjects from different resources such as books, internet, and
library. Therefore, sometimes the needed information or clues
was provided in the class materials required to solve the given
problem. For example, during the implementation of the air bag
case, the reaction equation (2NaN3(s) + heat - 2Na(s) + 3N2(g))
was given by the teacher after students’ discussion about swelling of
the air bag. And then one of the group members wrote the answers.
This active learning environment allowed students to work in
groups, identify learning issues, share related information with their
classmates and develop critical thinking ability about events.
Since one of the purposes of the present study was to remedy
students’ alternative conceptions about gas concepts by case-based
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instruction based on conceptual change conditions, scenarios or
problems were prepared by considering these alternative concep-
tions. The teaching strategy was planned by considering the
conceptual change principles needed to assist students in removing
their alternative conceptions, the conceptual change principles
being dissatisfaction, intelligibility, plausibility, fruitfulness.
For example, experimental group students were presented
with the atmospheric pressure case and asked why water boils
faster above sea level. The dissatisfaction created in students’
minds by this case and learning environment provided students
opportunities to discuss the given scenario or event with both
their group mates and classmates. While studying the case about
atmospheric pressure, each group began to discuss the reasons
for boiling water faster on the mountain. At first, some groups
could not relate that event to the atmospheric pressure; they just
said that the boiling point should be lower. At that point, the
teacher tried to prompt students’ further thinking, making them
think about the relationship between the reason for boiling
water faster on the mountain and atmospheric pressure using
an open-ended, challenging question: Teacher: Think about the
atmospheric pressure. How does it change with the altitude?
After this clue, students stated their reasoning
Some students: Water boils faster at the mountain since atmo-
spheric pressure increases with increase in altitude.
Most of the students: Water would boil faster due to the
decrease in atmospheric pressure with altitude.
After group discussions, each group revealed its ideas and tried
to convince the other groups with different viewpoints to accept its
viewpoints. Most of the group had the correct reasoning
Most students: In the mountains, there is less atmospheric
pressure, in order to boil faster, water should boil at a lower boiling
point, less atmospheric pressure causes the water boil faster.
Some students: As you go towards the mountains, pressure
increases. Since pressure increases, water molecules collide
more and water boils at a lower temperature, that is why water
boils faster at the mountain
A group told: You are confusing vapour pressure with atmo-
spheric pressure. You say that pressure increases on the mountains,
this is atmospheric pressure not vapor pressure. Atmospheric
pressure is the pressure exerted by air
Teacher: What is boiling?
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A student: Boiling occurs at the temperature where atmo-
spheric pressure is equal to the vapor pressure
Teacher: What do you say; in order to boil faster, water
should boil at a lower temperature or higher temperature than
100 1C, right?
Students: Lower temperature
Teacher: If you say that boiling occurs when atmospheric
pressure is equal to vapor pressure. Should we decrease or
increase atmospheric pressure in order to make water boil at a
lower temperature
Students: Decrease
Teacher: So what do you think? What should atmospheric
pressure be for the water to boil faster at the mountain?
Students: If the water boils faster, the pressure on it should
be lower hence the atmospheric pressure should decrease when
you go higher
The whole class discussion continued until the intelligible and
plausible answer(s) were found by the students. As understood from
the dialogues, the teacher had an important role in guiding the
discussion and helping students to construct the knowledge cor-
rectly. Sometimes students gave extraneous or irrelevant responses.
In this case teachers asked challenging questions to extend the
thinking about the topic without changing the direction of the
discussion. In order to make the information more meaningful
and permanent, other questions related to the topic were asked. For
example, the teacher asked another question ‘‘why do the climbers
make a camp at certain altitudes while climbing the mountain or why do
their nose bleed while climbing?’’. Besides, he asked them whether
they have had such an experience or not. None of the students had
such an experience but one of them said that he saw it in a movie
and explained the cause of this event as pressure change. After that,
students were asked ‘‘Why people living in uplands or plateau are
ruddy-cheeked?’’ The responses were interesting. While some groups
of students thought that it was the consequences of the healthy diet,
most of them specified it was due to the atmospheric pressure. The
teacher also initiated several discussions about the oxygen amount
in uplands as well as adaptations and transport of oxygen in human
blood. Through this case, students not only learned how the
atmospheric pressure changes with altitude, they gave an
explanation to some real life events. In this way, the fruitfulness
(or usefulness) stage of the conceptual change was provided. At
the end of the instruction, GCT was administered to both
groups of students as a posttest to measure the change in
alternative conceptions about gases.
Students in the control group were instructed by traditional
instruction in which a teacher-centered learning strategy was
adopted. In traditionally designed classes, teachers defined and
explained the concepts and solved related or similar questions
for students. For example, during teaching the atmospheric
pressure concept, a control group teacher mentioned that
atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude. At that point,
he asked whether water boils at the mountain at a lower or
higher temperature or the same temperature. Different answers
came from students. The teacher told the students that water
boils at a lower temperature than 100 degrees Celsius on the
mountains. Further questions used in experimental group
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classes were also asked but a discussion platform was not
created in these classes. In some cases, students failed to
respond to the questions. In this case, the teacher, himself, gave
the answer to the question. For instance, he clearly defined that
the people living in the uplands look pink since the number of
red blood cells in their blood increases after a while. In control
groups, students were only motivated by teacher-directed ques-
tions, and there were not any activities like group work included
during the teaching of a gas topic. Students in traditional classes
asked very few questions. They generally responded to the
questions asked by the teacher. Teachers allowed a certain
amount of time to solve the presented question. Meanwhile he or
she sat on his or her table or walked around the class. Then
students’ opinions about questions were usually taken verbally and
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their questions were solved on the board by the teachers. When
students asked any questions about the subject matter, the teacher
answered them. However, students simply acted as passive listeners
taking notes. Instruction in the control group was based on
informing students about gas concepts. Similar daily life examples
and alternative conceptions to those presented to the experimental
groups were also mentioned in the control groups by the teachers.
After completing the case activities, the researcher and a PhD
student in chemistry education observed the instruction in the
experimental classes once a week and completed the treatment
verification checklist which was prepared by the researcher in order
to check whether the case-based instruction method was applied as
required. The treatment verification checklist consisted of two parts:
the first part included ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ type items and the second part
included items with a 5-point Likert-type scale (always, usually,
sometimes, rarely, and never). The percentages of items marked as
‘‘usually’’ and ‘‘yes’’ were 75%. This checklist indicated that case-
based instruction was implemented in accordance with the purpose
of the study. Thus, treatment fidelity was provided with the help of a
treatment verification checklist.
Limitations of the study
As limitations, the students were not randomly assigned to the
groups. This may affect the representativeness of the sample.
Another limitation may be that the GCT was not distributed to
students as a delayed test so we could not assess the effect of
case-based instruction on knowledge retention. Moreover, it should
be noted that the novelty effect, which means the increased interest,
motivation, or engagement of participants because of doing some-
thing different, not because it is effective or better may threaten the
external validity of the study. In addition, the expectancy effect,
where researchers expect the effectiveness of case-based instruction
to be greater than traditional instruction, may have an influence on
the effect level of case-based instruction (Taber, 2008).
Results
Statistical analysis of pre-scores
All statistical analysis was carried out at the 0.05 significance
level by using the statistical package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS) 18. Before treatment, pre-ASTC, pre-SPST, pre-GCT and
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pre-MSLQ scores of students in both control and experimental
group were compared to check the equality. After meeting the
assumptions of normality, independence of observations and
equal variances, independent samples t-test was used in order
to check the equality of both experimental and control group
students’ pre-ASTC, SPST and GCT scores. Before treatment, it
was found that experimental and control group students were
not significantly different from each other with respect to their
pre-attitude towards chemistry (ASTC) scores t(126) = 0.95,
p = 0.34, their science process skills (SPST) scores t(126) = 0.45,
p = 0.65, and pre-existing knowledge about gas concepts (pre-GCT)
scores t(126) = 0.24, p = 0.16. Table 4 gives information about
mean values of pre-ASTC, pre-SPST, pre-GCT and post-GCT scores
for both control and experimental group students.
Moreover, after meeting normality, homogeneity of covar-
iance matrices and independence of observations assumptions,
one-way MANOVA was conducted before treatment to check
whether control and experimental students were different with
respect to motivational variables. It was found that there was no
statistically significant mean difference between experimental
and control group students with respect to the students’
motivational collective dependent variables of intrinsic goal
orientation (IGO), extrinsic goal orientation (EGO), task value
(TV), control of learning beliefs (CLB), self-efficacy for learning
and performance (SELP), test anxiety (TA), Wilks l = 0.92,
F(6,121) = 1.68, p = 0.13. Table 5 describes mean values of students’
pre-motivational scores across both groups of students.
Statistical analysis of post-GCT scores
After meeting normality, homogeneity of variance and independence of
observations assumptions, one-way ANOVA was performed to
answer the first research question. A significant mean difference
(F(1,126) = 49.91, p = 0.000) between experimental and control
group students with respect to the treatment effect on students’
understanding of gas concepts was found. The Eta-Squared
value of 0.28 indicated the difference between experimental
and control groups was not small. In other words, 28% of the
variance of the dependent variable was associated with the
treatment. Also, the power value of 1.000 showed the difference
between experimental and control groups aroused from the
treatment effect. As seen from Table 4, mean scores of post-GCT
scores were 11.74 and 16.84 for control and experimental group
students respectively. In sum, case-based instruction based on
conceptual change conditions was an effective method for
promoting students’ understanding about gas concepts.
Results of gas concept test (GCT) and interview
Eight experimental and eight control group students were the
interviewees. Frequency analysis of students’ responses for
Table 4 Mean values of pre-ASTC and pre-SPST, pre-GCT and post-GCT scores
Pre-ASTC Pre-SPST Pre-GCT Post-GCT
Group Mean Mean Mean Mean
CG 54.50 17.18 10.21 11.74
EG 52.88 17.60 10.33 16.84
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Table 5 Mean values of pre-IGO, pre-EGO, pre-TV, pre-CLB, pre-SELP
and pre-TA scores
CG EG
Dependent variables Mean Mean
Intrinsic goal orientation 19.31 20.68
Extrinsic goal orientation 22.11 21.73
Task value 30.38 30.82
Control of learning beliefs 22.06 21.63
Self-efficacy for learning and performance 40.20 40.01
Test anxiety 20.95 19.63
each item in GCT and interview results indicated that experi-
mental group students had better understanding of gas concepts
than their control group counterparts and they performed better
reasoning in their answers than that given by control group
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students. However, some alternative conceptions were still pre-
sent for both groups of students. Table 6 shows some alternative
conceptions detected by GCT.
Substance between the particles of a gas
When students were asked what is present between the particles
of a gas, item analysis of GCT showed that 74.2% of the
experimental group students believed that there was nothing
between gas particles, however only 16.9% of the control group
students answered this question correctly. Interview findings
also confirmed the difference between experimental and control
group students’ understanding. For example, six out of eight
experimental group students knew that there is nothing between
the particles of a gas. On the other hand, six of the control group
students and two of the experimental group students believed
that since air is present everywhere, it might be also present
between the particles of a gas: ‘‘Air must be found among the
particles of a gas since it is available in everywhere.’’
Conservation of mass
For the conservation of mass, GCT results showed that 48.4% of
the control and 82.3% of the experimental group students were
aware that mass was conserved. Interviews with students indicated
that most of the experimental group students (six students) had
better understanding than control group students since they knew
that the total mass was conserved as a result of the burning of
paper in a closed container. They expressed their reasoning by
means of the law of conservation of mass in chemical reactions.
However, two of the control group students and two of the
Table 6 Percentage of alternative conceptions among experimental and control group students
Alternative conceptions
When the gas in the container is cooled, each of the gas particles shrinks or gets smaller
When the gas is cooled, gas particles accumulated at the bottom of the container like liquids
When the gas is heated in a constant-volume container, gas particles condense in the wall of the container
With decreasing temperature, air molecules are getting closer to each other and accumulated in the
middle of the container
Air molecules are accumulated at the bottom of the container with decreasing temperature
Heated air is accumulated on the walls of the balloon
Air is located between the particles of a gas
Hot air is lighter than cold air
Hot air is heavier than cold air
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experimental group students believed that the total mass of the
container was the smallest in condition III where ash was formed
after burning paper because they only paid attention to the picture
ignoring the chemical reaction inside the container: ‘‘If the mass of
the paper reduces while burning, the mass of the container also
decreases. So, condition III has less weight.’’
According to three control group students, condition III has
the biggest mass due to the increase in pressure in the
container: ‘‘In condition III, the container is the heaviest due to
the fact that it contains gas. Paper is not a heavy substance, and
when it is in gas state it accumulates, so it is likely to make an effect
on the pressure. The pressure would affect the mass of the
container, but we cannot measure the pressure within the container
and I think the mass of the container increased.’’
Partial pressure
From the interviews, it was noticed that control group students
were confused about the concept of partial pressure. They could
not select the correct figure that represents the partial pressure
of oxygen when a mixture of helium and oxygen gases was placed
in a closed container. Instead, four of them tried to remember
the related formula or have no idea about the concept of partial
pressure. In addition to these, three of the students from the
control group expected to see the chemical reaction as an answer
to the partial pressure of oxygen. GCT results also confirmed the
superiority of experimental group students’ understanding with
respect to the partial pressure concept. Majority of the experi-
mental (71.0%) and some control group (32.8%) students gave
the correct response by selecting the correct figure.
Distribution of air particles at 0 8C and 60 8C
For the distribution of air molecules at 0 1C and 60 1C, both
interview and GCT results showed that experimental students
had better understanding compared to control group students.
For example, analysis of GCT revealed that 66.1% of experimental
group students and 10.8% of control group students selected the
scientifically correct answer, which represents homogeneous dis-
tribution of air with decreasing temperature when the temperature
is lowered to 0 1C. Similarly, when the temperature is increased to
60 1C, a large difference between experimental (71.0%) and control
(28.1%) group students giving the correct answer was detected.
However, both groups of students had some alternative concep-
tions (see Table 6). Interviews with students showed that, as for the
Experimental Control
group group
25.8 27
8.1 42.9
3.2 25
16.1 52.3
9.7 36.9
9.5 14.1
12.9 55.4
30.6 28.1
1.6 12.5
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cooling of gas, four of the control group students believed that gas
particles are collected in the middle of the container due to some
reasons like temperature is not too cold for sinking, gravitational
force has no effect on them, or they stick to each other when cooled
down. Two experimental and four control group students thought
that gas particles sink to the bottom of the container when the
temperature was lowered to 0 1C though they were told that the gas
was still a gas at that temperature. Moreover, one of the interesting
answers came from experimental group lower achiever student. He
stated that; ‘‘When the gas is cooled down, the gas particles move
towards the upper part of the container since the upper part remains
warm, the particles move towards upward’’.When the temperature is
increased to 60 1C, two experimental and five control group
students thought that gas particles may condense on the walls of
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the container. They mainly think that when the temperature is
increased, gas particles move away from each other, they are
pushed towards the sides of the container and so the pressure
increases. Increase in the pressure in the container leads students
to have the idea that gas molecules may condense on the walls of
the container. One of the control group medium achievers
expressed the accumulation of particles on the walls like this:
‘‘The gas particles condense on the walls of the container when the
gases are heated because the middle part of the container will be firstly
affected from the heat since the heat is given from below’’.
Properties of cold and hot air
For the properties of cold and hot air, though experimental
group students had better understanding of the properties of
cold and hot air than control group students, both control and
experimental group students had some alternative conceptions.
For example, ‘‘Hot air is lighter than cold air’’ was found to be a
common alternative conception and it was resistant to change.
Apart from three students from the experimental group, none
of the students thought that hot and cold air have the same
mass but different volume. Students generally believed that
particles of hot air must be lighter than the cold air gas
particles: ‘‘Warm air rises and cold air sinks in a bottle, therefore
warm air is lighter since it rises’’. On the other hand, three
students (two experimental group students and one control
group student) thought that hot air is heavier than cold air
due to daily life experiences. To clarify, two experimental group
students thought that since the electric wires are loose in
summer and stretch in winter, hot air is heavier than cold air.
Additionally, one of the control group students stated, ‘‘Hot air is
heavier than cold air. I think from the example that foots of the
mountain are hotter, we feel the cold air more as we get upper and at
the top it is seen that snow does not melt easily in any way therefore
at the lower part of the mountain, there is hot air, at uppers there is
cold air. Hot air is at lowers because hot air is heavier than cold
air’’. This finding is also confirmed by the GCT results. In GCT,
54.8% of experimental group students and 6.3% control group
students selected the correct alternative stating that hot and cold
air may have different volumes but they have equal masses.
However, both groups of students still had some alternative
conceptions regarding hot and cold air (see Table 6).
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Fig. 1 Balloon in a non-constant volume container.
Gas pressure in a non-constant volume container
For gas pressure in a non-constant volume container, students
were asked to predict the shape of the balloon when the
cylinder is pushed downward without touch of elastic balloon
to the surface of the vessel (as shown in the Fig. 1).
The answers given to GCT indicated that most of the
experimental group students (51.6%) made correct interpretation
about the shape of the balloon when the pressure inside the cylinder
is increased compared to the control group students (34.9%).
Similarly, interviews revealed that experimental group students’
conceptions were more adequate. Experimental group students
had better reasoning when they stated that a gas exerts pressure
in each direction. On the other hand, about half of the control group
students (four students) and a few of the experimental group
students (two students) deduced that the balloon shrinks only from
the bottom or only from above because they thought that pressure
shrinks the balloon in the direction in which they exert the force to
the cylinder or the exact opposite direction to the force applied: Since
we push the piston downward, only the bottom of the balloon may
shrink, there will be no change on the sides.
Gas pressure in a closed constant-volume container
For the gas pressure in a closed constant-volume container,
students were asked to explain the reason for increase in the
gas pressure in a closed constant-volume container with
increase in temperature. Item analysis of GCT revealed that
most of the experimental (84.1%) and control group students
(60.9%) selected the scientifically correct response as stating
that when the gas is heated in a constant-volume container, the
number of collisions increase and so does the pressure. However,
interview findings indicated that both control and experimental
group students had some alternative conceptions related to the
reasons for increasing pressure with increasing temperature in a
constant volume container. For example, two of the experimental
group students believed that the size of the gas particles increases
due to heating and so does the pressure and three of the control
group students thought that the size of the gas particles decreases
with increase in temperature. Moreover, three of the control group
students supposed that gas particles might become heavier due to
taking heat. However, as with the other concepts, experimental
group students’ understanding was better.
Change in speed of particles with the change in the volume of
container
Interviews with students also revealed that when students were
asked whether the speed of gas particles changes with changing
the volume of the container, nearly all students gave incorrect
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responses. Only one of the high achievers from the experi-
mental group and one of the high achievers from the control
group associated the speed of the particles with the tempera-
ture. However, while five experimental and three control group
students believed that speed of the gas particles increases due
to the compression or increase in the number of collisions, two
of the experimental and three control group students thought
that speed of the particles of X(g) decreases with decrease in
volume. An alternative conception revealed by experimental
and control group students was that if the volume decreases,
the speed of the particles increases due to the increase in the
number of collisions. Students made a connection between the
volume and the change of the speed of the gas particles because
of the change in pressure in a container.
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Charles law
In the application of Charles’s law where students were asked to
select the environment that would decrease the volume of an
inflated balloon tied by a rope, GCT results indicated that relatively
more control group students answered this question more correctly;
76.9% of experimental and 79% of control group students gave the
correct response. However, interviews showed that experimental
group students’ understanding was superior compared to that of
the control group students. Interviews revealed that, though some
students gave the correct answer based on their daily life observa-
tions, they could not give any further scientific explanations. For
instance, one of the control group students stated: ‘‘The same
pressure and colder because I have done it at home and I saw the
balloon shrinking. In fact, I do not know the reason’’. Interview results
also indicated that some students provided the correct answer to this
question but sometimes with wrong reasoning. Some of the control
group students thought that in order to decrease the volume of the
balloon, external pressure must be increased. They believe that since
external pressure increases in a cold environment, the balloon
shrinks. One of the control group students thought that in the cold,
gas molecules accumulate in the middle and so the volume of the
balloon decreases. Some of the experimental group students (three
students) and one control group student gave the correct answer
with correct reasoning. They associated the reason for the decrease
in the volume of the balloon with the decrease of the speed, or
kinetic energy of the particles or the distance between them.
Gay Lussac law
For the Gay Lussac law, the following question was asked: there
is a drop of mercury in the glass container as shown in Fig. 2.
The mercury drop moves to the right or left depending on the
pressure and temperature changing inside the glass container.
Fig. 2 Drop of mercury in the glass container.
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The apparatus of the room temperature (25 1C) is put into
environment 5 1C, students were asked to predict the direction
of the movement of the drop of mercury.
Item analysis of GCT showed that most of the control (62.3%)
and some experimental group (42.6%) students gave the correct
answer by stating the direction of movement as a result of decreasing
pressure within the container with decreasing temperature. The
interviews related to the effect of temperature on gas pressure in a
constant volume container showed that though most of the experi-
mental (six students) and control group students (six students)
predicted the direction of movement of the mercury droplet cor-
rectly, some control group (three students) and some of the experi-
mental group students (two students) had the wrong reasoning. The
following excerpts indicate one of the control and experimental
group students’ ideas related to the direction of the mercury droplet
as shown in the above figure regarding the cooling of the system:
When the temperature is lowered, the pressure inside the
container decreases. Gas particles might be getting smaller or
clustered. Since the pressure decreases, the mercury moves to left.
I think it moves to the left because when the temperature
decreases, mercury droplet will move towards the particles due to
shrinkage. Mercury comes close to gas.
Students believed that gas pressure decreases in the container
due to the shrinking or getting smaller of the gas particles or
clustering of them in the container. As well, one student from each
group claimed that the volume changes due to a change in the
pressure ignoring the constant volume container in the given system
and misusing the ideal gas law. The results concerning the applica-
tion of Gay Lussac law indicated that some students were unable to
establish the relationship between temperature and the pressure of a
gas when all the other variables that affect the pressure of a gas are
kept constant.
To conclude, both GCT and interview results indicated that
experimental group students had superior understanding of
gas concepts compared to control group students. However,
some of the alternative conceptions were still existent among
students from both groups even after instruction.
Discussion and implications
In the present study of gas properties, case-based instruction based
on conceptual change conditions promoted students’ understanding
of gas concepts and was effective in remedying the alternative
conceptions of many of the students. This finding was supported
by other researchers (Çakır, 2002; Mayo, 2002, 2004; Rybarczyk et al.,
2007; Saral, 2008; Çam, 2009). In the current study, real-life events
and illustrations were used in the construction of the cases and the
list of study questions included alternative conceptions to create
contradiction in students’ minds related to the subject matter.
Concepts associated with real life may have facilitated students’
understanding and visualization of concepts. Furthermore in-group
and whole-class discussions helped to reveal alternative conceptions
because during those discussions, the existence of different ideas or
points of view stimulated students’ thinking and awareness and
hence played an important role in remedying alternative
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Paper Chemistry Education Research and Practice

conceptions. This is parallel with Gallucci’s (2006, 2007) suggestions Q1. The distribution of hydrogen gas molecules in a closed
that small group discussions can be used to construct students’ own container at 25 1C and 1 atm pressure was given in the next.
conceptions. These features of case-based instruction seem to have (the circles (J) represent the distribution of hydrogen mole-
provided better understanding of gas concepts compared to tradi- cules), Which of the following diagrams illustrate the distribu-
tional instruction. tion of H2 molecules when the temperature of the container is
In addition, a frequency analysis of students’ responses for lowered to 15 8C? (note: before responding to this problem
each item in GCT and interviews with students indicated that students were told that at 15 1C hydrogen is still gas).
case-based instruction based on conceptual change conditions
helped to overcome students’ alternative conceptions and
remedied most of them compared to the traditionally designed
instruction. However, though most of the experimental group
students had better understanding on the gas concepts, it was
impossible to remedy all the alternative conceptions. This
means that students are persistent in their use of alternative
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conceptions even after instruction designed to address these

alternative conceptions (Champagne et al., 1985; Anderson and
Smith, 1987; Wandersee et al., 1994). However, still, case-based
instruction was found to promote students’ conceptual under-
standing of gas concepts.
This study has implications for chemistry teachers, teacher
education programs and textbook writers. Firstly, teachers
Q2. When a constant-volume closed container filled with a
should be aware of possible alternative conceptions students
gas is heated, increase in pressure is observed. In which of
may have and consider students’ existing knowledge when
following alternative explains the reason of this event most
designing lessons since new knowledge is constructed upon
accurately?
the existing one. Since this study reported the effectiveness of
(A) Increase the size of gas particles
case-based instruction on improving students’ understanding,
(B) Increase in the numbers of particles when the gas
we can recommend that teachers use case-based instruction to
is heated
support meaningful learning. So, teachers should be trained
(C) Becoming heavier of the gas when it is heated
about how to write and implement the cases in their routine
(*D) Increase in the number of the collisions when the gas
classes. They should also be encouraged to use new teaching
is heated
techniques like case-based instruction in order to enrich their
(E) When the gas is heated, gas particles condense in the
lessons. Secondly, teacher training programs in universities
wall of the container
should include this method of learning and present
examples of the implementation of cases so that graduate
pre-service teachers can know how to implement case-based
instruction in their future classes. Lastly, textbook writers
should include effective cases in textbooks since instruction
with cases was found to be effective in enhancing students’
understanding. Q3. A constant-volume container filled with air is connected
We can also make some recommendations for future study. to a balloon as shown in the figure. When the tap of the
In the present study, cases were not supported by use of container is opened and the container is heated, it is observed
laboratory work or demonstrations. As a future study, effectiveness that balloon is swelling. Which of the following illustrate the
of the use of laboratory work or demonstration with cases could be distribution of air the best after swelling the balloon? (dots (.)
evaluated with respect to written cases. Besides, as a future study, represent the molecules within air.)
we can suggest that the effectiveness of case-based instruction on
students’ retention of knowledge should be assessed.

Appendix I

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Chemistry Education Research and Practice Paper

Q4. What exists between the particles of a gas?

(A) Air
(B) Water vapor
(C) Other gases
(*D) Nothing
(E) Foreign substances (dust, dirt, etc.)
Q5. As shown in following figure, a piece of paper is put in a
closed glass container in condition I. In condition II paper is
burning and in condition III ash is formed. In all three cases,
glass container is weighted. Accordingly, which one of the
following is true?
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Fig. 3 Cycling tournament.

(A) Condition I has the biggest mass

(B) Condition II has the biggest mass
(C) Condition III has the biggest mass
(D) I and II has the same weight and III is less
(*E) All of them has the same mass
Q6. The following closed container, as shown in picture,
contains a mixture of oxygen ( ) and helium (’) gases at
25 1C. Which one of the following situations would lead to the
partial pressure of the oxygen gas if the pressure of only oxygen
gas was measured?

Fig. 4 Deflation of bicycle tire.

excitedly. Since the tournament will be international, there

Appendix II
As a cycling enthusiast, Onur does not miss the annual cycling
tournaments. After a long preparation time, he completes his
work for this year’s tournament. Once doing necessary main-
tenance of his bike, Onur waits for the tournament day
will be high level of participation and he will have many
challenging opponents. The expected day finally comes and
the tournament begins but it consists of tough stages (Fig. 3).
After a few miles while passing through wooded areas, Onur’s
bicycle tire deflates. He loses the chance of racing as a result of
this misfortune and he inflates the tire before leaving.
Although he pumps the air from the same point of the rubber,
tire inflation is the same in every point of the tire (Fig. 4).
Which feature(s) of the gases do you think is the reason for
this situation?
What can be said about the motion/state of gas particles in
the deflated bicycle tire?
Compare the inside pressure of deflated bicycle tire with the
outside pressure.
Compare the inner pressures of the deflated tire exerted to
the sides and to the bottom, please explain the reason.
Can using up the energy of the gas particles in time and
ceasing their motion be the reasons of deflation of the bicycle
tire? Why?
Draw the distribution of the gas particles in the inflated and
the deflated bicycle tire.
What exists between the particles of gas in the bicycle
tire?

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Paper Chemistry Education Research and Practice

Appendix III

Name of the cases Concept

Boiling of water on the mountains Air pressure
Ali likes to climb on the mountains in his free time. One day, during the camp, he realizes that water
boils faster on the mountain compared to the sea level and he decides to investigate the reason for this.
Why do you think that water boils faster on the mountains?

Heating of water in the bottle covered with a balloon Avagadro’s law

Children put some water in a glass bottle and closes the mouth of the bottle with a balloon. They begin
to heat the bottle slowly from its bottom. After a few minutes, they measure the circumference of the
balloon. After water in the bottle is heated, what happened to the balloon? What is the reason for this?

Air bag Properties of gases

Ayse experiences an accident while travelling, fortunately air bag in the car saves her life. Do you have
any idea about the working principle of air bags? Which properties should the gas filling in the airbag
have? Does the gas in the air bag exert the same pressure on all parts of the air bag?
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Cold and hot air Properties of gases

Mervan is curious about similarities and differences between cold and hot air and he decides to do an
experiment in order to find out the similarities and differences between cold and hot air. He closes the
glass container tightly, in which there is air. He weighs it before heating this container and he also
weighs it after heating. What can be said about the mass of the container after being heated?

Soda Properties of gases

When CO2 gas is dissolved in the liquid either by high pressure or low temperature, carbonated drinks
occur. When we open the bottle of soda and wait for a while, CO2 gas dissolved in liquid mixes into air.
In this case, is there a difference in the mass of soda? Why?
Bicycle tire (please see Appendix II) Gas behavior, gas pressure

Lung model Boyle’s law, Avagadro’s law

Breathing deeply can be associated with gas laws. When we breathe in, the muscles push the dia- and Charles’s law
phragm downwards and the chest broadens. What is the effect of this on the pressure inside and
volume of the lungs?
When we take too much air in, how does it affect the elastic texture and the volume of the lungs? At the
moment air taken in fills the lungs, if body temperature increases, what will happen to the volume
of lungs?

Book Partial pressure, gas pressure

As seen from the figure, Ozge placed half of a pipette in the plastic food storage bag with a zipper.
Mouth of the bag is sealed tight with a zipper. In order to prevent the air escaping from the plastic bag,
fingers were placed at each side of the pipette. Afterwards, a book was placed on the bag and air is
blowed into the storage bag by pipette. After a while, it is seen that the book rises. What causes the
book rise?

Bottle covered with balloon Charles’s law

Children closes the mouth of a glass bottle, in which there is air, with a balloon that does not leak air in
and out. First, they put the bottle in a cup that has hot water. After a while, what will be the shape of the
balloon and why? Afterwards, they put the bottle in a cup full of ice in it. What will be the shape of the
balloon after a while?

Air bubbles Boyle’s law

As it is known, divers use scuba tanks that have compressed air (nitrogen–oxygen) in them. When we
examine the actions of a diver swimming in the deep sea, we can observe that bubbles come out the
mouth of the diver and these bubbles rise upwards. While these bubbles are rising up, it is seen that
the volume of these bubbles increase gradually and they become several times bigger than they were at
the beginning, Matter inside bubbles as well as chemical structure of matter do not change during the
raise of bubbles. What may cause the change in the volume of the bubbles? (Assume that temperature
of sea water is constant at each point of the sea)

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Chemistry Education Research and Practice Paper

Name of the cases Concept

Vacuum pump Properties of gases

Dilek wants to remove some of the air in the flask by using vacuum pump in the laboratory. Figure A
shows the flask without the vacuum pump being attached. In figure B flask is connected to the vacuum
pump and some of the air in the flask is trapped in the vacuum pump. In figure C, process of eva-
cuation of some air finishes and the mouth of the flask is closed tightly.
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Dilek could not observe the evacuation process since she cannot see gas particles. She wants to show
the distribution of gases in the flasks by using dots. Could you please show these distributions in the
flasks?
Hot air balloon Gas behavior, gas pressure
Balloon can fly in the atmosphere by using heated air or light gases such as helium, hydrogen. How
does heated air cause the balloon fly? What is the working principles of hot air balloons? If air in the
balloon is cooled, what is the direction of the balloon? Is heated air in the flying balloon accumulated
at the upwards of the balloon? Why?

Competition of gases Diffusion of gases

In the competition where gases of He, H2, CH4, SO2 and SO3 race at the same conditions (same tem-
perature and pressure), He and H2 gases finish the competition earlier, then CH4, SO2 and SO3 gases
follow them respectively. What may be the reason for this? What type of information do we need to
know in order to decide the order of gases in the competition?

Formation of white ring Diffusion of gases

Two friends, Tugba and Aysel like to measure the diffusion rates of two different gases, NH3 and HCl by
the help of apparatus below.

They put cotton that is soaked into concentrated NH3 solution at one end of the apparatus and the
other cotton was put at the other end of the tube and this cotton was soaked in the concentrated HCl
solution (note that solutions are at the same environment) after a while, NH3 and HCl gases meet
somewhere in the tube (temperature is constant during the experiment). Near to which end of the tube
do these gases meet? Why?
(HCl = 36.5 g mol 1, NH3 = 17 g mol 1)

Boiling teapot Gay-Lussac’s law

Ozlem is watching her mother cook. Her mother wants Ozlem take care of the food for a while, but
when food begins to boil, Ozlem realizes that lid of the saucepan bounces up and she closes the cooker
in panic. In another day, during the boiling of water in the teapot, Ozlem sees that the lid of the teapot
moves similarly. She gets curious about this and wants to investigate the reason for this. What may be
the reason for this?

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