The Effects of Chemical Element Symbols in Identifying 2D Chemical Structural Formulas

This study aims to explore the effect of chemical element symbols in students’ identification of 2D chemical structural formulas. A chemical conceptual questionnaire, event-related potential experiments and interviews were administered to fifty university students in this study. The results revealed that high achieving students performed different brain activities and strategies to identify 2D figures (without chemical elements symbols inside) and 2D chemical structural formulas. However, low achieving students ignored the existence of chemical element symbols and performed similar brain activities and strategies when identifying 2D figures and chemical structural formulas. This paper discusses implications for new education.