Understanding the NYS Chemistry Reference Table
1
Tables, Diagrams and Graphs Oh My! Understanding the NYS Chemistry Reference
Table
Kathleen C. Mancuso
Manhattan College
Spring 2015
Understanding the NYS Chemistry Reference Table
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Abstract
High school students are challenged to interpret data and reference tables to
answer questions. Although this is a common occurrence, especially in chemistry,
students still struggle to use diagrams to solve the problems and answers the questions on
exams. A major concern for the disconnect between the information from the diagram
and the interpretation of the student could be the lack of understanding for the “hints” or
context clues found in the questions. Students often do not understand the vocabulary of
the question and therefore cannot fully identify not only what the question is asking but
also where the information can be found. This major problem of having students not
identify the key terms and context clues was a significant issue at Dobbs Ferry High
School in New York in an eleventh grade classroom. To change to results of these
questions, I decided to have students take apart the components of a common New York
State Chemistry regents exam question to identify first the “key terms”, second the “table
used” and third the “context clues” to figure out exactly how to answer each question and
use information given to make the appropriate connections to identify the answer.
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Tables, Diagrams and Graphs Oh My! Understanding the NYS Chemistry
Reference Table
“Teaching to the test” is a far too common term used to describe education in the
United States, especially in the higher-level classrooms. Teachers far to often do not
allow student to make their own connections to the material and interpret the data. They
instead have students memorize how to answer a question for the sole purpose of getting
the answer correct. If it is not hard enough to have students understand the concepts
discussed in a chemistry classroom, adding a reference table with almost twenty different
tables, diagrams and graphs only complicates the material further. Far too often students
are intimidated by the dense amount of information packed into this reference table and
cannot get the full understanding of how beneficial this tool is to not only getting the
most out of their learning but also making connections and inferences. In one research
study, it was acknowledged that many students, both on level and those with learning
disabilities, struggle to use a diagram effectively and apply the concepts to a word
problem. When two fourth grade students were interviewed by the teacher to determine
the understanding of a math diagram and how students chose to use it to answer
questions, the teacher was made aware of how each student approaches a problem
differently and not all students use the diagram in the same way to establish their own
answers. By having students verbalize their own interpretation of the diagram they each
summarized their learning and connected their prior knowledge with the material at hand.
(Poch, van Garderen &Scheurmann, 2015) In science, the major concern is to have
students inquire about the material and draw conclusions and by having each child justify
their steps and verbalize their findings, learning has been taken out of the teachers hands
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and placed in control of the learner. The issue is not only found within the study of the
diagram but also on the type of questions asked in regards to the tables. (van Garderen,
Scheurmann, Jackson, 2013) Upon observation of approaching, on level and beyond
students, after giving each student time to study the diagram, each type of student was
asked to answer both prompted and non-prompted questions and define what a diagram
is. The findings indicated that for prompted questions, both the on level and beyond
students scored lower and for the non- prompted questions, these students scored higher.
The majority of both on level and beyond students could correctly identify the definition
of a diagram. For the approaching students tested the most difficulty was found when
trying to identify the definition of a diagram. Approaching students also scored lower
than both the on level and beyond students for both types of questions. These reports are
not surprising, yet they lead to the conclusion that no matter the type of student in the
classroom, the struggle to correctly use a diagram will always be relevant and must be
correctly taught before students can draw their own conclusions.
Although it is easy to recognize that students struggle to use the diagrams and find
the correct answers from the tables, there must be a change in the way teachers are
showing students how to use this material. For students studied in a secondary biology
classroom, first the focus was on the prior knowledge and then the students were allowed
to use a diagram to answer questions. (Kragten, Adimiraal, and Rijlaarsdam, 2015) Upon
testing these forty-two high school students, a test of prior knowledge was first assessed
and secondly a test using solely the diagrams given in biology was assessed. For the
students who scored higher on the prior knowledge exam, they also were found to have
higher scores on the diagram-based exam. As teachers the first question we must ask is “
Understanding the NYS Chemistry Reference Table
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what do these students already know?” When have students tackle questions based on
tables and diagrams the first idea is to have students take apart the problem and asses
what terms they understand and have a full concept of before they can move on to the
diagram in the hopes of finding the right answer. Although ideally we want students to
find the “right answer” finding the right answer truly means nothing if the student cannot
explain how they determined the answer and justify why they could find the information
in the table.
Method
This study focused on 23 male and female 11th grade students preparing to take
the NYS chemistry regents in June of 2015. The study was conducted over a ten-hour
observation period, under the supervision of the classroom teacher. The school itself is
located in a suburban area, Dobbs Ferry, New York, with students ranging from
approaching, to on level and some beyond. The majority of the class is on level and no
student in the classroom was an English language learner. The class meets every day, one
day for 46 minutes and the next day for a double period of 92 minutes. The study was
performed in one day for a double period session of students. At the beginning of class,
students were given an admit slip with three NYS regents questions to solve. Students
were given the NYS reference table to use any of the diagrams required to solve the
question. All questions used in this study were on topics that had already been presented
and studied in class with no new information. When finished with the three questions,
the admit slips were collected to be reviewed before students were given the opportunity
to explain their findings. This was done to compare whether dissecting each question
would have any impact on finding the right answer. Before beginning the next set of
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questions, students were handed a chart with three columns, one column for “key terms”
the next column for “context clues” and the final column for “table used”. On the smart
board another multiple-choice question was assigned, this time though students were to
work as a class and discuss the best way to find the answer. Before beginning the
problem, it was explained that in order to solve the next few problems, steps to find the
answer must be justified on their charts. I read aloud the question and allowed students to
write the questions on a sheet of paper or just read the question from the smart board.
Students then were asked the raise their hands and give the “key terms” they feel are
important to solving the problem. Before students were asked to volunteer their answers
as a class, key terms were identified as “science words” or “chemistry words”. Students
were able to give the words needed and add them to the key terms column. The next
question asked was what context clues from the problem could be identified? Before
giving the answer, students were asked to correctly identify terms that explain, “What the
question is asking” when finding a context clue. Students again were able to define the
context clues as a class and add them to the appropriate column. The final step for the
class was to identify the correct part of the reference table to identify the answer.
Students were eager to share their answer however the students were not able to identify
the table correctly on the first try. Upon further inspection of the question, when
reminded to use the key terms and context clues to determine the table, students could
identify the table and were led to the right answer.
By having students break down the questions and define the components of the
question and answer, students built their own graphic organizer. Although not all students
may be visual learners, the use of this visual aid to teach vocabulary and incorporate the
Understanding the NYS Chemistry Reference Table
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diagrams allowed students to not only find the information and explain how they found
their answer, but also made finding the right answer a step by step process and a great
way to control their learning through discussion and personal growth. (McLaughlin,
2010).
Not all students enjoy breaking down the questions and multiple choice answers,
and not all students may benefit from these tools, however, exposing students to another
strategy to find the answer will allow them to apply this concept to another content area
or on a question they may find more challenging. After reviewing two questions together
as a class, three more questions were assigned to the students to work individually, filling
in the three columns and answering the questions. Again the data was collected and
reviewed to compare the results with the lack of exposure. Finally, a last question was
assigned and students were asked to complete the questions in pairs and fill in their charts
with the correct answer. By having the students perform the task individually, as a whole
class and in pairs, students were differentiated so they could perform to the best of their
abilities. Student results could be examined and the type of group work or individual
work performed could be compared with the results of the data. Not all students learn the
same way so exposer to class work in groups gives every student the chance to excel and
show what they understand. Having the class work as a whole to build confidence then
try again individually recognized the students who were stressed about their individual
performance. For those students who still needed the reassurance, the final question in
pairs should have fulfilled their doubt on using the organizer and finding the right
answer.
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Within this study students were exposed to the material with no help from their
peers to see what level student knowledge was at before this concept was applied. The
next concept was explained and demonstrated to the students as an entire group. Next,
students applied this concept individually, and finally students practiced with another
student to hopefully clarify any misconceptions about this new tool to use. When
assigning this type of understanding, the student was exposed to a new thought process of
understanding the material at hand. Students were “breaking down” questions and
answering one step at a time, but with further practice students would hopefully master
their understanding and not need to use the organizer but instead do this type of analysis
on every question in their head.
Results
Data was recorded for the nine questions and then used to compare the results
from the graphic organizer and the questions answered prior to the introduction of the
strategy. Students seemed to have a solid understanding of the strategy by the end of the
session and scores did improve from the initial three questions asked to the three
questions asked individually. When asked to reflect on the use of the chart and whether
they found the organizer useful when answering questions, students gave mixed reviews.
Some students found the strategy helpful, however, not realistic to use on the actual exam
and too time consuming. Another student expressed that it was helpful and as a result
now looks at the questions exactly that way making mental note of each key term and
context clue and finally if a reference table can be used to answer. Although some
students did find the use of the table tedious and unnecessary, all the students did say the
Understanding the NYS Chemistry Reference Table
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organizer was easy to use, leading to my own conclusion that it could be applicable to
approaching, on level and beyond students in any chemistry classroom.
The chart below shows the scores on each individual question for the total of the
23 students who were there and answered the questions. Each questioned is labeled with
when the question was answered.
Correct Student Resonses for NYS
Reference Table Questions
25
In pairs
As a class As a class
Individually
Individually
before strategy
Individually
20
Correctly
answered
questions
before strategy
before strategy
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Questions asked
7
8
9
Discussion
As can be seen within the chart, correct choices do increase after the strategy has
been implemented. Ideally it would be nice to assume that the strategy directly correlates
to the increase in the correct choice, however, it cannot be directly related to the break
down of each question. Other factors to consider could be the direct content of each
question. Some students may be more familiar with the material on a specific question
asked and therefore knew the correct answer. Some students may also be more
confortable with a specific table form the New York State reference Table and therefore
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were more confident in a question that pertained to that specific diagram. Students could
have taken the last three questions more seriously assuming that these questions would be
collected just as the first three were collected and therefore more thought and effort went
into these three. Even if the use of the strategy to break down each part of the multiple
choice question was not helpful, students demonstrated that they still had a solid
understanding of how to use the diagrams through topics that were prior knowledge from
lessons done in class in preparation for the exam.
Conclusion
Through this research it can be shown that students can adapt to the material or strategy
at hand and improvements can be made toward student understanding versus student
memorization. With such a strong attraction towards passing standardized tests, this
strategy will not only have students discover the right answer through their diagrams but
also have students make sense of the information in front of them and therefore draw
conclusions from the material. Students should not be memorizing to find the correct
answer but instead should be learning and connecting ideas based on their prior
knowledge and ability to understand what is being asked of them. Students do face the
challenge of “not testing well” and by teaching these students how to divide a question to
conquer the task at hand, students are supported in their journey to mastering how to read
and interpret a data table to get the most information possible. Having students correctly
use the reference table for chemistry is not only a valuable skill in the classroom but
being able to use a diagram or picture to make connections is a skill that can be applied to
reading and to personal experience when analyzing the subject matter in front of them.
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The information expressed from this study will expose teachers to the diversity
that truly lies in the classroom to recall when creating a lesson plan, the content not only
needs to be expressed in multiple contexts, but the way students are asked to express
understanding must also be varied. Students will always be faced with summative
assessments in the form of standardized tests, so by taking this challenge head on and
showing students how to read and understand questions, both the student and teacher
have allowed for the most internalization of knowledge to occur.
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References
Kragten M., Admiraal W., & Rijlaarsdam G (2015) Students’ Ability to Solve Processdiagram Problems in Secondary Biology Education, Journal of Biological
Education
McLaughlin, M. (2010). Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning in an Age of
Multiple Literacies. Boston: Pearson.
Poch, A., van Garderen, D., Scheuermann, A.,(2015) Teaching Exceptional Children.
Jan 2015, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p153-162. 10p. Students’ Understanding of Diagrams
for Solving Word Problems: A Framework for Assessing Diagram Proficiency.
Van Garderen, D., Scheuermann, A., Jackson, C., (2013) Learning Disability Quarterly.
Aug2013, Vol. 36 Issue 3, p145-160. 16p. Examining How
Students With Diverse Abilities Use Diagrams to Solve Mathematics Word
Problems.
Regents Prep Chemistry. Oswego City School District Regents Exam Prep Center, 1999.
Web. 2015.
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Appendix A
The review questions were as follows;
(With teacher prepared notes for the student table to be filled in for each)
Questions prior to strategy
1) (Matter) What is Kelvin temperature equal to at 25°C?
a. 248 K
b. 298 K
c. 100 K
d. 200 K
Reference Table T for formula
2) (Chemical Bonding) Which formula represents a molecular substance?
a. CaO
b. Al2O3
c. Li2O
d. CO
Use Ref. Table S to determine the electronegativity difference of each of the choices. The
difference between C (2.6) and O (3.4) is 0.9 or in the range of covalent bonding
(covalent bonds have electronegativity differences of less than 1.7). The other three
compounds have differences in the ionic bond range or over 1.7.
3) (Organic Chemistry) Which class of organic compounds can be represented as ROH?
a. Alcohols
b. Acids
c. Esters
d. Ethers
Questions answered as a class
4) (Moles/Stoichiometry) Which of the following is a binary compound?
a. Hydrogen sulfide
b. Hydrogen sulfate
c. Ammonium sulfide
d. Ammonium sulfate
See Ref. Table E. Hydrogen sulfate has 3 kinds of atoms (H, S, O). Ammonium sulfate
has 3 kinds (N, H, S). Ammonium sulfate has 4 kinds (N, H, S, O).
5) (Kinetics/Equilibrium) Which compound forms exothermically?
a. Ethyne
b. Ethene
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c. Hydrogen Fluoride
d. Hydrogen Iodide
See reference table I. Based on the + heat of reaction for the other three reactions, the
only possible answer would be choice c.
Questions answered individually
6) (Atomic Concepts) Which Atom contains exactly 15 protons?
a. O-15
b. P-32
c. S-32
d. N-15
An atom with 15 protons also has an atomic number of 15. Refer to the Periodic Table for
element 15 (phosphorus).
7) (Acid/Bases/Salts) Which solution changes litmus red to blue?
a. HCl (aq)
b. NaCl(aq)
c. CH3OH(aq)
d. NaOH(aq)
Red litmus turns blue when a base is present. Hint: blue for base. Choice 1 is an acid;
choice 2 is a salt and salts neutralize acids and bases. The litmus does not change color
with salts. Choice 3 is an alcohol not a base. It is not found on Ref. Table L. NaOH is a
strong base and will change red litmus to blue.
8) (Solubility) A temperature change from 60°C to 90°C has the least effect on the
solubility of
a. KClO3
b. KCl
c. SO2
d. NH3
See Table G. Steep curves reflect the greatest effect. Solubility curves that change the
least (y axis) reflect compounds for which temperature has the least effect. Notice how
solubility of SO2 decreases with an increase in temperature.
Question answered with a partner
9) (Nuclear Chemistry) Which sample will decay least over a period of 30 days?
a. 10 g of Au-198
b. 10 g of I-131
c. 10 g of Rn-222
d. 10 g of K-37
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See reference table N. Based on each type of nuclide the half-life with the largest number
will decay the least.
Appendix B
Student Table Example for question Break down
Question Number
4) Which of the following is a
binary compound?
a. Hydrogen sulfide
b. Hydrogen sulfate
c. Ammonium sulfide
d. Ammonium sulfate
5) Which compound forms
exothermically?
a. Ethyne
b. Ethene
c. Hydrogen Fluoride
d. Hydrogen Iodide
6) Which Atom contains exactly
15 protons?
a. O-15
b. P-32
c. S-32
d. N-15
Key Terms
“Binary
Compound”
meaning a
compound made of
2 elements
Context Clues
“Which is”- find
the direct
answer
Table Used
Reference Table E
“Compound”
“Exothermically” A
compound is 2 or
more elements
together.
Exothermically
means + ΔH
“Atom” “Proton”
“Which”- of the
choices decide
on one that does
this action
Reference Table I
“Which”- decide
on one answer
from the choices
give
“exactly 15”the answer must
be precisely 15,
no more, no less
Periodic Table
Diagram
Questions provided from Regents Prep Chemistry. Oswego City School
District Regents Exam Prep Center.