RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Chemistry Graduate Students' Problem Solving With Quantum Mechanical Models: "What Do I Plug in for Delta?"
Page: 1347
In the chemistry curriculum, physical chemistry stands out as one of the most challenging given its reliance on calculus, particularly when using quantum mechanics to describe atomic and molecular structure. Though there is literature in chemistry education research that investigates students' conceptions of quantum chemistry, few of these studies focus on students' use of mathematics in this context. To this end, we interviewed graduate students (N = 23) about the "particle-in-a-box", one of the first quantum models discussed in physical chemistry. Preliminary analysis investigates phenomenographical categories of students' problem-solving strategies and their affective responses to the problem-solving task.