The Impact of 3-Dimensional Molecular Models on The Elucidation of Structures of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons

Science students of Colleges of Education find it difficult to write structural formulae and give IUPAC names of aliphatic hydrocarbons. This study was, therefore, aimed at finding out the impact of 3-D molecular models on the elucidation of structures of aliphatic hydrocarbons. Purposive sampling was used to select 130 students, 65 each in the control group and the experimental group. A questionnaire and tests were used to collect data. Data collected was analysed using a two-tailed unpaired t-test in inferential statistics. The study revealed that when students are asked to draw structures of aliphatic hydrocarbons, they find it difficult to represent atomic symbols; write chemical formulae; identify all the carbon atoms in linear structures; identify parent chains; number carbon atoms with respect to the functional groups present; and to identify the tetravalent nature of carbon. The mean scores for the control group and the experimental group were 19.28% and 62.15%, respectively, and the test statistics value (-28.63) was less than the critical value (1.99), (P=0.000).Therefore, there is a significant difference in students’ performance and achievement when lessons are taught by board illustrations and by 3-D molecular models, and the use of the 3-D molecular models had a positive impact on the elucidation of structures of aliphatic hydrocarbons. It is recommended that further research is carried out on the topic using computer-generated structures, especially in schools where the number of computers is sufï¬ cient.