Difficulties of Students from the Faculty of Science with Regard to Understanding the Concepts of Chemical Thermodynamics

The origin of this work on the learning of chemical thermodynamics at university is the recurrent finding associated with the difficulty experienced by students, resulting in poor marks. The purpose of this study is to identify the difficult concepts in thermodynamics, to identify possible causes of these difficulties, and to try to offer remedies for this problem. For this we developed a three part questionnaire: - The general capabilities of the student. - The teaching conditions. - Difficulties of students in terms of chemical thermodynamics. We undertook a survey of chemistry students in the Faculty of Science at Ben M'Sik Casablanca. After analyzing the data we found that the difficulties encountered in association with chemical thermodynamics may be due to several factors: - The nature of the concept studied in terms of the difficulty of understanding. Inadequate basic knowledge, especially in mathematics. - The ability of low and middle level students with regard to the French language impedes their ability to follow the explanations of the teacher. - Curriculum overload. - Lack of concentration during the course. - Lack of motivation of students.