The relationship of visual spatial ability to performance in solving stoichiometric problems in a high school chemistry class

This study explores the relationship between visual spatial ability and performance on stoichiometric problems in a high school chemistry class. Prior research at the college level has indicated that students with high visual spatial ability will perform better on stoichiometric problems than students with low visual spatial ability. Minimal research has been done on this relationship at the high school level. A total of 136 students from three different public schools in Riverside and Orange counties in California were selected for this study. At the beginning of the academic year, the students were given the Purdue Rotation of Visualizations Test (ROT) to measure visual spatial ability. The students all received instruction on stoichiometry. At the end of the academic year, the students were given the Knowledge Space Theory Test (KST) to measure their ability to solve stoichiometric problems. After analysis, it was found that there is a correlation between students' visual spatial ability and the ability to solve stoichiometric problems in a high school chemistry class. SRJ...