History reincarnated in students' ideas?

摘要

For chemistry students, the mention of the word 'history' in relation to their subject triggers images of dusty alchemical laboratories and pale photographs of intelligent old men. On reflection, some may vaguely recall Lavoisier's biography whenever combustion was covered or even Aristotle's classification of matter into air, earth, fire and water. Many students will have some exposure to the history of chemistry throughout their education but how do students' own conceptions about the material world compare to those of historical characters? I will address this question by highlighting examples of students' ideas in acid-base chemistry. These examples will suggest some remarkable similarities between student ideas and those put forward by chemists in the 17th century.