Study on studen's Previous Background, Interest, Insight, Preferences and Success Rate in the Subject Chemistry in Several Engineering Degrees

Abstract

Several Degrees in Engineering taught at the Universitat Jaume I, such as Chemical, Industrial Technologies, Electrical, Mechanical and Agrifood and Rural, include in their curriculum program a subject on General Chemistry (as Basic Training), as well as one about enlargement of Chemistry (as optional). The groups are made of students from the five Degrees, randomly distributed. As in other Degrees, the students can get access without having studied Chemistry subjects in the pre-University education period (High School or Vocational Training), and then with a weak background knowledge on this topic. The subject “Chemistry for Engineering” (General Chemistry) consists in seven Thematic Blocks: Chemical link, Acid/base, Metal Complexes, Solubility, Redox, Bases of Organic Chemistry and Industrial Applications. A comparative study among the students from several Degrees in Engineering about their experience on studying “Chemistry for Engineering” was carried out during five academic years, considering the following points: previous background on chemistry, personal opinion, perception and interest on the subject and its didactic content, the acquired learning outcomes, the developed competencies, and the success rate. From the obtained data, extracted from 320 questionnaires and the corresponding final qualifications, which are calculated from the grades reached in the different evaluation parts (tutorials, practical, oral presentations and written exams), obtained by the students, we can highlight the following findings: first, 81% of the students of Chemical Engineering have previously pursued Chemistry subjects, face to 20-30% for the other Engineering Degrees; second, Industrial Technologies has the least percentage of students having pursued Chemistry courses in the pre-University education, as they preferred to choose Physics and Technical Drawing as optional subjects; third, 94% of the students of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering have previously studied the topic redox (oxidation-reduction) equilibria, wherein they are highly interested; four, most of the Engineering students, whatever the especialization, have great calculus skills, offering them many guarantees to pass the subject, as the final exam consists in the resolution of numerical problems. In fact, nearly 86% of the students pass the subject each academic year, taking into account the two calls.