ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 43, Number 5
JKCSEZ 43(5)
October 20, 1999 

The purpose of this study is to help an improvement of conceptional learning about the properties of gas based on molecular kinetics for secondary school students and to help an improvement of teaching method for reducing misconceptions regarding the molecular kinetics in gas phase for teachers. The subjects of this study were l00 students of 9th grade and 150 students of 11th grade students. The results showed that students had various misconceptions about the properties of gas. The major misconceptions are as follows. First, the energy is released due to the collision of the molecules, and also the direction of action of pressure is related to the direction of gravity. Second, as molecule is heated, the size of molecule is increased, and the molecule is more active because the number of moIecules is increased. Third, the pressure is reduced because of decreasing the temperature at the higher altitude and the pressure of gas molecuIes is inversely proportional to the collision number of gas molecules. Forth, the numbers of molecules of two different molecules in two same containers differ because the size of molecules differ each other. The results suggest that these problems ought to be addressed in chemistry textbooks and in the classroom teaching of chemistry. If teachers are more aware of students' misconceptions they wilI be better able to remove them.