This study aimed to reveal pre-service chemistry teachers' misunderstandings in phase equilibrium. An open-ended test was developed in the light of the findings obtained from the related literature, interviews with instructors and investigation of physical chemistry course examination papers belonging to the last three educational years. The instrument was administered to 59 pre-service chemistry teachers in the Faculty of Education in a public university in Turkey. Eighteen misunderstandings were identified through analysis of the answers. The results indicated that some misunderstandings originated from a misuse of Le Chatelier's principle and the ideal gas law. Other reasons for the misunderstandings were incorrect interpretation of graphs and inappropriate generalizations of facts or formulae.
Supplement
The concept test discussed in the paper is available.
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