An analyses of multiple representation about intermolecular forces

Abstract

Intermolecular forces (IMFs) is an abstract concept. Therefore, to understand this concept requires understanding of concepts from various chemical representations. This study aims to analyze the topic of IMFs in term of three representation of chemistry such as: Macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic. This study use descriptive method involving document analyses including 5 general chemistry textbooks. The result of this study present various ways of explaining the IMFs concept in three different levels of representation. All chemical representations presented in those chemistry textbooks are dedicated to provide comprehensive explanations about the concept of IMFs. This kind of study is essential for formulating a concept correctly which can avoid the raise of students' misconceptions. Furthermore the results of this study will be beneficial for further study about developing an effective strategy to teach the topic of IMFs to the students.