Conceptual Reorganization of Phenomena Involved in the Transformation of Matter during Higher Education

Abstract

The study involved the understanding of 26 students (15 undergraduate and 11 postgraduate students) in the conceptual change on the transformations of physical and chemical matter through the identification of 19 physical and chemical phenomena that occur in people's everyday lives. The information was collected based on the Free Categorization Task (FCT) [1]. The results show how the students organize their conceptual knowledge according to their levels of education. Thus, it is possible to verify that the increase in the level of education collaborates positively with the understanding and identification of the phenomena involved in the process.