Modelagem atômica: o elo entre experimentação e simulações virtuais no ensino de química

Abstract

In high school, the teachers explain about atomic models often follows a chronological order and they do not relate atomic models with other chemical concepts. Due to this, it is not clear how far you can work with a particular model and when it needs to be replaced to improved atomic model. Based on this, the present work is an educational proposal to elaborate and apply a Didactic Sequence (SD): Experiments and Simulations, The Case of Combustion. It was worked the representations that students assimilated about Fire (macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic) with concepts about atomic models in interaction with other chemical concepts, such as: chemical reactions, chemical formulas, equation balancing and electronic transitions. To developed this, it was using, experiments and virtual simulations. After SD application it was noted better interaction of the students in the experimental classes and they associated the symbolic level (chemical phenomena) with macroscopic representations. Many questions presented by students reveal that they associate this symbolic level with macroscopic representations, and many conceptions brought by them make sense within the proposal of combustion study. It assumes that students were an effective learning of atomic modeling when it was approached with combustion theory and other chemical concept. Virtual simulations allowed the creation of environments that expanded the possibilities of interaction and representation, allowing students the ability to understand the atomic level, approaching the submicroscopic representational level, through the visualization and in interactivity of the models.