Virtual Periodic Table for Dynamic Visualization of Atomic Structure and Hierarchical-Based Interaction: A System to Enhance Student’s Learning

The Periodic Table (PT) serves as the fundamental basis of chemistry, often commencing classroom discussions led by chemistry teachers. Mastery of its structure empowers students to anticipate variations in the chemical and physical traits of the elements. This study presents a Hierarchical-Based Interactive Virtual Periodic Table (HBIVPT) aimed at enhancing comprehension and learning outcomes. The HBIVPT offers a hierarchical interface, dynamically illustrating atomic structures, with electrons orbiting the nucleus in designated orbitals. Utilizing multimodal feedback (both visual and auditory), users can improve their knowledge related to different elements of the PT. To evaluate the effectiveness of the HBIVPT, pre- and post-tests were conducted to measure learning improvements. During the evaluation process, forty-five (45) students participated and they were divided into three groups (G1, G2, and G3). G1 used the textbook for chemical elements, G2 used the proposed HBIVPT, and G3 used the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Interactive VPT. The students in G2 who used HBIVPT were significantly better as compared to G1 and G3. This is evidenced by the observed average increase in learning: 15% for students using textbooks (G1), 20% for those studying online Periodic Tables (G3), and, notably, 37% for those utilizing HBIVPT (G2). The study results demonstrate that the use of the proposed HBIVPT system significantly improved students’ learning and comprehension of the Periodic Table, resulting in enhanced academic performance compared to students using other methods.