Densidade x forças intermoleculares - uma proposta de superação de um obstáculo epistemológico

Abstract

Using Gaston Bachelard’s epistemological assumptions we found that density is an epistemological obstacle type verbalistic which prevents the understanding of scientific concepts involved in the heterogeneity of the water and oil system, and that just showing these concepts to the students is not enough to understand them. The approach about mixtures given by the textbooks is confusing in many cases and this may be one reason for the misunderstanding observed in our study. With pedagogy contributions from Jean Pierre Astolfi, we developed a didactic sequence that aimed to weaken and overcome this obstacle, and to establish an understanding of scientific concepts involved in the mixing of liquids. We developed a qualitative research with students from the 1st year of high school in the city of Campo Grande-MS, characterized for being exploratory and descriptive. The collected data were processed using the technique of content analysis and showed the efficiency of the proposed teaching sequence, which becomes one more pedagogical mechanism for teachers.