ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 47, Number 1
JKCSEZ 47(1)
February 20, 2003 

Misconceptions of students for a Voltaic cell were studied and their contents described in the high school chemistry II textbooks were analyzed. This study shows that students have many misconceptions and a few of chemistry textbooks contain some false description in a Voltaic cell. In the most textbooks, the reasons why the measured cell voltage of a Voltaic cell is near 1.1 V at the initial stage and then it decreases with time are not explained clearly. The emf of a Voltaic cell at a standard state is 0.76 V but in some textbooks it is described as 1.1 V of a Daniel cell. Even after learning the Voltaic cell or performing the experiment of textbooks, most students still have some misconceptions. These may be due to at least two following facts: the first is that the measured cell voltage of a Voltaic cell at the initial stage is very similar to that of a Daniel cell. The second is that the most experiment of a Voltaic cell is not performed under the condition of a standard state. Therefore, we have suggested a model of the modified experimental setup of a Voltaic cell that could reduce misconceptions of students.