Content analysis of studies on chemical rate, equilibrium, and energy

This research is based on the general characteristics of the articles published in the field of chemistry education on the topics "rate equilibrium and energy in chemical reactions" between 2010-2022 in education journals in Turkey indexed by Dergipark and Google Scholar databases and the subjects of the students about teaching their subjects. It aims to determine in which direction their general tendencies are in terms of the issues determined for their understanding. In the research, 41 articles selected by purposive sampling method were subjected to content analysis. The studies reached, publication year, type of article, characteristics, levels and number of the sample/study group, where the studies were carried out, research methods and designs, data collection tools, the aim of the studies, methods for determining students' comprehension, students' general knowledge claims, students' comprehension and the current situation has been tried to be revealed by analyzing it in terms of criteria such as learning difficulties and how the conceptual change approach is applied. The numerical values of the research findings are presented with percentage and frequency tables. According to the research findings, the most publications were made in 2010, research articles were frequently preferred in terms of article type, the most studies were conducted with prospective teachers at various levels in terms of the characteristics of the sample/study group, undergraduate and secondary school students were preferred in terms of sample/study group levels, sample size, it was identified that the number of participants in the sampling groups ranged from 26-100 to 0-25 people, were preferred and the most studies were carried out in Ankara. While the quantitative research methods were mostly used in the studies, it was revealed that tests are frequently used tools for data collection. In terms of the purposes of the studies, it was seen that mostly researches were carried out for the students to comprehend the topics and to learn meaningfully, and multiple-choice questions were often preferred in terms of the methods to determine the comprehension and exploration of the students. Among the general knowledge claims of the students, it was determined that the claims about the mathematical expressions used and originating from the symbolic language of chemistry, the inability to relate macroscopic observations with microscopic explanations, the inability to relate chemical events to daily life, and the deficiencies in prerequisite information were seen. It was observed that the most common comprehension difficulties in the students were the difficulties arising from the quality/inadequacy/lack of prerequisite knowledge about chemistry concepts. In studies which the conceptual change approach is adopted, it has been determined that the active learning approach is mostly preferred in order to realize the conceptual change in students.