Organic Chemistry Students’ Use of Electrostatics to Explain Reactivity

Organic chemistry instruction may presume students are proficient with identifying bond and molecular polarity and recognize the applicability of polarity within organic chemistry. This study explores the tenability of this presumption by examining how organic chemistry students invoke polarity when situated in an organic problem-solving context versus a general chemistry problem-solving context. Interviews of organic chemistry students were conducted to examine their utilization of polarity when identifying reactivity and reaction sites in reactions and intermolecular forces between molecules. The interview structure encompassed 5 sets of molecules, with each set students were asked to determine if there will be a reaction, predict the products, and determine the strongest intermolecular force occurring between the two. Some students used electrostatics consistently across the organic reactivity and intermolecular forces contexts, however most students varied their approaches between the two contexts. Students invoked only formal charges or memorized reaction patterns to explain organic reactivity and used electrostatics to explain intermolecular forces. Interestingly, the process of toggling contexts also led to some students who initially did not invoke electrostatic considerations in organic reactivity to begin integrating electrostatics into their reasoning. Findings here emphasize that chemistry courses may have limited opportunities for students to transfer chemistry knowledge across applications. Implications for promoting conceptual alignment and reasoning across these courses will be discussed.