Conceptual learning of the topic concentration of solutions: image analysis from university textbooks

Abstract

This article offers a brief discussion about the impact of images in learning and the role they play in textbooks. A review of the main difficulties and alternative conceptions presented by middle and university students in learning of the topic concentration of solutions is also carried out and, on this basis, the desirable conceptual aspects to be addressed in teaching this topic are specified. Subsequently, it is examined whether these aspects are taken into account in explanations or exercises that use images in textbooks of the first year of university. Twenty five general chemistry books published between the years 2000-2020 were analyzed, finding that the texts published in the last 10 years have doubled the number of images on conceptual aspects of concentration, compared to the previous ten years, and that the use of diagrams of particles  has increased.  The educational implications of the results found are discussed.