Teaching with a strong emphasis on the conceptual understanding of balancing equations needs to precede the delivery of the method itself and practical work on rearranging equations. Moreover, to foster a greater understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts, students need to be confronted with a variety of concept questions relevant to transposition. A good concept question should satisfy the following criteria:

• focus on a single important concept, ideally corresponding to a common student difficulty;
• require thought, not just plugging numbers into equations;
• provide plausible incorrect answers;
• be unambiguously worded;
• be neither too easy nor too difficult.

In relation to transposition of formulae, the thought process behind forming concept questions is shown in the figure below.

See some examples of concept questions on equations and transposition below. These questions can be used as a basis for peer discussion and teacher-students discussions in class as well as in diagnostic tests. More ideas on concept questions are here and here. 

If you have your own concept questions on transposition and would be happy to share these resources with others on this website please email us:  julie.crowley@cit.ie 

Question 1.

Question 2.

Question 3.