ONLINE ISSN 1821-7249

2013: Volume 4, Issue 1, 575-581

Research Article
High school students misconceptions about colligative properties in
chemistry

Neno E. Luoga1, Patrick A. Ndunguru1 and Stelyus L. Mkoma2*

1
Department of Education, Faculty of Science, Sokoine University of Agriculture,
Morogoro, Tanzania
2
Department of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Sokoine University of Agriculture,
Morogoro, Tanzania

Received: 26 April 2013, Accepted: 14 June 2013 Published: 21 June 2013

ABSTRACT
This study aimed at identifying students misconceptions about boiling point
elevation, freezing point depression, and boiling and freezing temperature change
(colligative properties) in high school chemistry. The study was carried out in
Songea municipality in Tanzania and involved high school students taking
chemistry as one of their subject combinations. A diagnostic test composed of four
open-ended questions was used. The test was administered to 105 students from
three high schools namely Songea boys, Songea girls and Msamala. Eleven
different misconceptions were identified and showed to have implications for
teaching colligative properties in high school chemistry. This suggests that a
substantial review of teaching strategies and the way chemistry books are written is
needed.

KEYWORDS: Chemistry, Misconception, Boiling point, Freezing point, High school

students, Tanzania

INTRODUCTION
In order to enhance learning in science researchers have to discover what ideas students hold about
scientific concepts and how these understandings impinge on their learning. The current trends on the
students performance on science subjects in secondary school national examinations in Tanzania
indicates that most students lack scientific understanding of basic science concepts. The reason behind
this is that, from an early age, students hold and develop their own ideas of the natural world before
any formal teaching or learning in the classroom begins (Driver et al., 1994).

When students are learning science at school they sometimes make inappropriate links to their prior
knowledge, and hence the meanings they construct are not those intended by the teacher (Heyworth,
1998). These inconsistencies between the students views and the scientifically accepted views are
called misconceptions (Driver et al., 1994). Misconceptions may be highly resistant to change and
essentially unaffected by classroom teaching and thus impact negatively on the process of learning of
chemistry.
Although there has been considerable research into students misconceptions in chemistry topics
around the world (Sozbilir, 2004; Pinarbasi et al., 2009; Sozbilir et al., 2010; Cinici et al., 2011), no
such research has been reported in Tanzania. The content of the colligative properties are covered in
most conventional general chemistry and physical chemistry textbook (e.g. Atkins and Paula, 2002;
Petrucci et al., 2002; Atkins, 2004). In Tanzania, colligative properties are taught in both genera

* Corresponding author 2013, St. Johns University of Tanzania

Email: stelyusm@gmail.com http://www.sjut.org/journals/ojs/index.php/tajonas
 LUOGA et al. 576

chemistry and physical chemistry during their two years of study in high school. Therefore,
the objective of this study was to explore the misconceptions concerning colligative
properties with emphasis on boiling point (b.p) elevation, freezing point (f.p) depression as
well as boiling and freezing temperature change among high school students in Songea,
Tanzania.

METHODOLOGY
The study employed qualitative approach (Densin et al., 2000) and a case study research
design to allow generalization of information obtained beyond the particular case studied
(Gerring, 2005). The study was conducted in Songea (1041'S, and 3539'E), a municipal
with a population of about 130,000 people (Ndembwike, 2006). In this study, the target
population was form V and form VI students who were taking chemistry subject
combinations, that is, CBG, PCB and PCM in their high school studies. A total of 105
students (60 male and 45 female students) from three high schools namely Songea boys,
Songea girls, and Msamala located within Songea Municipality were involved.

Data were collected through a piloted diagnostic test comprising of four open-ended
questions. The content validity of the test questions was assessed by four chemistry teachers.
The test was conducted for 80 minutes under normal class conditions without previous
warning in the last semester of their high school education. However, students were informed
that the results of the test would be used for research purposes only and would be kept
confidential. The test identified various misconceptions on colligative properties of solutions
and determined their frequencies and percentages.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

For each concept tested, identified selected misconceptions were presented and discussed
descriptively. Table 1 shows results for students misconceptions on various concepts.

TABLE 1: Students Misconceptions as Identified by the Diagnostic Test (n=105)

Colligative properties Frequency (n) Percent (%)
1. Boiling point elevation and freezing point depression
a. B.p elevation and/or f.p depression occurs due to 43 41
interactions between the water and salt particles
b. Boiling/freezing temperatures of liquids with higher 23 22
density would be lower/higher than liquids with lower
density.
c. B.p elevation and/or f.p depression occurs because salt 27 26
prevents evaporation
d. The f.p of water does not change or increase with 56 53
addition of alcohol.
2. Boiling temperature
a. Boiling temperature does not stay constant as density 21 20
of water increases after boiling starts
b. Boiling temperature is not constant as water boils first 19 18
followed by boiling of salt.
c. Boiling temperature does not stay constant as some of 41 39
the heat will be spent on the salt
d. Boiling temperature does not stay constant due to 39 37
presence of added salts.
3. Freezing temperature
a. Freezing temperature does not stay constant as the 27 26
density of water increases during freezing
b. Freezing temperature is not constant as water freezes 24 23
first following by freezing of salt
 LUOGA et al. 577

Boiling Point Elevation and Freezing Point Depression

Questions 1 which tested on boiling point elevation /freezing point depression reasoning
ability, revealed four (4) misconceptions. Question 1(a) demanded the students to explain
reasons for high boiling point and lower freezing point of NaCl solution as compared to pure
water at atmospheric pressure. The most common misconception was that; boiling point
elevation/freezing point depression occurs due to interaction between the water and salt
particles. Out of 105 students, 41% had this misconception in the following quotation:
Presence of solute such as NaCl causes the increase of particles, these particles interact
with water, therefore boiling point elevation or freezing point depression is due to
interactions between the water and solute particles.

The quoted written response suggests that students thought that salt added to water would
undergo ionization. The produced salt ions would interact with water molecules and it was
these interactions that caused boiling point elevation and freezing point depression.
According to Chang (2005) boiling point occurs when vapour pressure is equal to the
atmospheric pressure. The idea of interaction cant hold the truth.

Also 22% of the students had misconception in question 1(b) that boiling and/or freezing
temperatures of liquids with higher density would be higher and/or lower than the liquids with
lower density. The quotation bellow exemplifies the case:
This occur according to the presence of impurities in the solution, once the impurities
are added to the solution increases the boiling point and reduces the freezing point. These
impurities increase the density of water.

Advanced level students who held these views asserted that changes occurring at boiling and
freezing points were due to impurities which caused an increase in density of water. It appears
that students are confusing the density of pure water with that of salt or water solutions. Salt
or water solution has been considered as high density liquid rather than as a mixture, and
therefore they thought higher density of the liquid means higher boiling or lower freezing
point. It is difficult to locate the source of these misconceptions, perhaps the way teaching and
learning process are carried in schools might be the source since learning is influenced by
what a learner already knows (Ausubel, 1968). Also having a coherent internal structure and
being used consistently in different contexts makes students free from misconceptions as
suggested by Driver (1989).

Another misconception based on question 1(c) was that boiling point elevation/freezing point
depression occurred because salt prevented evaporation hence blocked surface area. About
26% of students had this misconception presented by the following quotation:
Addition of solute (NaCl) to the water to make solution will block a fraction of the
surface area and hence no evaporation will occur. This lowers the freezing point and
increase boiling point.

Based on this response, students thought that NaCl present in the solution prevented
evaporation of molecules. It is the prevention of evaporation which lowers freezing point and
elevates the boiling point. It is with no doubt that students who had this view did not
understand well the concepts of mixtures particularly solutions. They thought that NaCl added
to water would cover the surface of water where evaporation was taking place. They also
associated freezing process with evaporation. According to Wesley (1995) freezing is
independent of the evaporation process.

Question 1(d) aimed at comparing freezing points of alcohol or water mixture with that of
pure water. The result showed that 53% of the students had misconception on it. The most
noted misconception of students responses was that alcohol did not change or increase the
freezing point of water:
 LUOGA et al. 578

Ethanol is a volatile solution it does not change or increase the freezing temperature of
water. Thus equilibrium is made due to equal relative freezing temperatures of water and
aqueous ethanol.

This quotation from the students shows that only non-volatile solid solute has effect in
decreasing the freezing point. Alcohol as a non-solid volatile liquid has no effect on freezing
point of solvent (water). The reason behind this misconception is perhaps due to emphasis
given to involatile nature of solutes in the definition of colligative properties in many
advanced level chemistry textbooks (Atkins, 1996; Chang 2005).

Perhaps this emphasis given to involatile solute in definition of colligative properties led
students to generalize in all cases related to colligative properties including freezing point
depression which is in fact not the case.
Another misconception based on the same question is that;
A beaker containing pure water has lower freezing temperature because of the small
surface area to allow temperature to penetrate easily, while aqueous ethanol which is a
volatile solution has large surface area hence high freezing temperature.

Students who had that view thought that alcohol or water mixture had higher freezing point
compared to pure water. This is completely wrong since pure water has high freezing point
compared to solutions (Atkins, 1996; Chang, 2005). Some students answered this question in
terms of hydrogen bond; however they had little knowledge on hydrogen bonding. This is
proved in the following quotation.
There is no hydrogen bond formed in alcohol hence alcohol does not change or increase
freezing point but in pure water there is hydrogen bond hence high freezing point
This quotation shows that students could not distinguish the effect of hydrogen bond on
boiling point and freezing point. According to Chang (2005), hydrogen bond has effect on
boiling point and not on freezing point.

Boiling temperature
Question 2 of the diagnostic test demanded students to give reasons for temperature change of
the salt water solution during boiling. This question identified 4 misconceptions as shown in
Table 1.
Most students had significance misconceptions on the following aspects;
Question 2(a). Temperature change during boiling is due to increase in density (20%).
Question 2(b). Temperature change is due to the fact that water boils first followed by the
salt (18%).
Question 2(c). Temperature change during boiling is due to some heat which spent on salt
(39%).
Question 2(d). Temperature change during boiling is due to impurities added (37%).

These misconceptions are observed in the following quotations;

As the solution boils there is an increase in density; the increase in density causes the
higher boiling point Thus liquid with higher density has higher boiling point than the liquid
with lower density.
Another misconception identified in this section is noted in the quotation below;
The boiling temperature does not stay constant because during boiling of the solution,
some of heat is spent on the salt hence water boils first followed by the salt.
and;
The boiling temperature of salt solution does not stay constant because during boiling of
the solution, heat given is not used only to evaporate the water but also taken by the
salt.
The students here thought that the components in the solution boiled at their boiling
temperatures independently. This misconception is consistent to that reported by Blanco and
 LUOGA et al. 579

Prieto (1997) which suggested that during the boiling of a solution containing an involatile
solute, a certain amount of solute evaporates and escapes the solution together with the
solvent.

Another quotation which proves misconceptions based on a particular question is that;

If boiling of dilute salt takes place in an open container there is addition of some
impurities from the air, for example the gaseous, oxygen, carbon dioxide and dust thus
causing the boiling of dilute solution not to stay constant.

Students who had this view thought that the presence of impurities in salt-water solution
caused the increase in boiling point. This does not explain the reason for temperature change.
The misconceptions quoted above shows that advanced level students have little
understanding about the reasons for the temperature change during boiling. According to
Atkins (1997) boiling temperature change occurs due to increase in concentration of the
solution as the result of evaporation of the solvent during boiling. The boiling temperature of
a solution is dependent on the concentration of a solution. Thus colligative properties are
dependent of the concentration of the solute (Atkins, 1996; Chang, 2005; Mkayula, 1998).
Students were supposed to explain the reasons for temperature change during boiling in terms
of concentration of solute with relation to boiling point elevation as a colligative property.

Freezing temperature
Question 3 of the diagnostic test demanded students to give reasons for temperature change
during freezing. This question identified two (2) misconceptions. First, students postulated
direct relationship between density of matter and the freezing temperature. This
misconception is similar to that in question 2a. According to this view, liquids with higher
densities have higher boiling point and lower freezing point (3a). This can be seen in the
following quotation;
The density of water increases as water freezes and therefore freezing temperature does
not stay constant; the higher the density the lower the freezing temperature

Another misconception is that students thought change in freezing temperature was due to
solvent bond cleavage. When solute is added to a solvent, they tend to break the solvent
bonds as the results the freezing temperature of the solvent rises. This view is supported by
the following quotation from students.
Freezing temperature is not constant because of the bond cleavage when solute is allowed
to mix with the solvent to form a solution, freezing temperature may rise

Students argued that the temperature change during freezing was due to the difference in
freezing point of the components of the solution (3b). This can be seen in the following
quotation;
Freezing temperature does not stay constant as water freezes first then salt freezes
Focusing on this quotation, students viewed the components of solution (solute and solvent)
to freeze at different temperature. Thus water with lower freezing temperature started to
freeze followed by the salt. According to Chang (2005) freezing involves a transition from the
disordered state to the ordered state. A solution is more disordered than the pure solvent
hence energy is removed from both solute and the solvent.

CONCLUSION
The findings of this study which examined students misconceptions about colligative
properties in high school chemistry: Boiling point elevation and freezing point depression,
suggest that students have significance misconceptions about colligative properties. The
misconceptions obtained are under three aspects. The first aspect is on the reasons for boiling
point elevation and freezing point depression. Under this category of misconceptions most of
the students thought that boiling point elevation/freezing point depression was caused by
intermolecular attractions, increase in the density of water and prevention of the evaporation.
 LUOGA et al. 580

The second aspect is based on the effect of a volatile solute on the freezing point of a solution.
A significant number of students thought that a solute had to be involatile in order for the
freezing depression to occur. As the result of this, some students argued that alcohol did not
change or increase the freezing point of a solution. The third aspect of misconceptions
identified falls under the reasons for the change in temperature of a solution during boiling or
freezing. It was found that students were not able to produce explanation at the molecular
level. Majority of them thought that heat supplied to solution was absorbed by the salt; hence
water boiled first followed the salt. Also the density of water increased during boiling.
Generally, the result of this study indicates that advanced level students are having
significance learning deficiencies at the conceptual level. For Students to have consistent and
correct conceptual understanding, they have to be able to develop meaningful understanding
of colligative properties concepts. It is believed that the findings of this study may provide
some insight for meaningful learning of colligative properties for students and teachers as
well.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Authors acknowledge special research funds granted to the first author from the Higher
Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB) of Tanzania. We gratefully acknowledge the
cooperation of heads of schools and chemistry teachers, and to students who willingly took
part in this study. Thanks to Sokoine University of Agriculture for logistics support.

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