Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of

Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic “Solutions”

Pavlo P. Nechypurenko

1 a

, Tetiana V. Selivanova

1 b

, Maryna P. Chernova

, Olga O. Evangelist

Yevhenii O. Modlo

and Vladimir N. Soloviev

1 d

Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, 54 Gagarin Ave., Kryvyi Rih, 50086, Ukraine

State University of Economics and Technology, 5 Stepana Tilhy Str., Kryvyi Rih, 50006, Ukraine

Keywords:

Experimental Problems in Chemistry, Virtual Chemical Laboratories, Solutions, Learning Research Activity.

Abstract:

The article discusses the importance of student research activities for the effective formation of the key com-

petencies of a future specialist in the ﬁeld of chemistry, the importance of the skills of primary school students

to solve experimental problems in chemistry and the conditions for the use of virtual chemical laboratories in

the process of the formation of these skills. The concept of “experimental chemical problem” was analyzed.

The essence of the concept of “virtual chemical laboratories” is considered and their main types, advantages

and disadvantages that deﬁne the methodically reasonable limits of the use of these software products in the

process of teaching chemistry, in particular, to support the educational chemical experiment are described.

The main advantages and disadvantages of the virtual chemical laboratories on the modeling of chemical pro-

cesses necessary for the creation of virtual experimental problems in chemistry are analyzed. The features of

the virtual chemical laboratory VLab, the essence of its work and the creation of virtual laboratory work in

it are described. It is determined that to support students’ research activities, two types of virtual chemical

laboratories are used: distance and imitation. The combination of these types of virtual chemical laboratories

in the study of the topic “Solutions” provides an opportunity to take advantage of each of them and increase

the level of support for learning research activities of students. Examples of developed virtual chemical works

and their essence are given. Based on the implementation of virtual chemical laboratories in the educational

process of various educational institutions, it is justiﬁed the assumption about the effectiveness of using the

developed virtual experimental chemical problems to develop students’ research activities when studying the

topic “Solutions”.

1 INTRODUCTION

Electronic learning tools are widely used in the edu-

cational process of teachers from different disciplines,

but it is in the chemistry lessons of their use that is

perhaps the most appropriate. A chemist should not

so much accumulate knowledge as discover some-

thing new. Electronic learning tools, in particular vir-

tual chemical laboratories, can bring the process of

knowledge of chemical laws to a qualitatively new

level: to facilitate the involvement of all participants

in the educational process in active search and re-

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5397-6523

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2635-1055

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2037-1557

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4945-202X

search activities, self-expression; to ensure the forma-

tion of critical and associative thinking, imagination;

promote the development of the ability to argue, ana-

lyze data, justify and argue the conclusions.

One of the important means of developing chem-

ical thinking and checking the strength of learning is

the experimental problems in chemistry. However,

now this kind of problems is practically not used in

the educational process at school, but it is used at high

levels olympiads in chemistry. One of the reasons for

this phenomenon is the lack of time for the organi-

zation of experimental problems, the risk associated

with possible harm to the health of students, the in-

sufﬁcient provision of schools with chemical reagents

and equipment, and the like. Virtually all of the above

problems can be solved with the help of appropriate

means and tools of information and communication

Nechypurenko, P., Selivanova, T., Chernova, M., Evangelist, O., Modlo, Y. and Soloviev, V.

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistr y of 9th Grade Students While Studying the Topic "Solutions".

DOI: 10.5220/0010924100003364

In Proceedings of the 1st Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology (AET 2020) - Volume 1, pages 319-335

ISBN: 978-989-758-558-6

319

technology (ICT).

That is why the purpose of our work is to deter-

mine the capabilities of the virtual chemical laborato-

ries to ensure the possibility of solving experimental

problems in chemistry and developing the appropriate

set of virtual computer problems.

To achieve this goal it is necessary to solve the

following tasks:

• to analyze the concept of “experimental problem

in chemistry” and ﬁnd out the meaning and place

of experimental problems in the school chemistry

course;

• analyze the opportunity of using virtual chemical

laboratories in pre-proﬁle training;

• to ﬁnd out the advantages and disadvantages of

using different types of virtual chemical laborato-

ries in the creation and implementation of virtual

chemistry problems;

• apply the results of research in practice in the form

of creating a set of virtual experimental chemistry

problems for students in grade 9;

• to analyze the results of the virtual chemical lab-

oratories introduction in the process of studying

chemistry (topics “Solutions” in 9 grades).

2 THEORETICAL

FOUNDATIONS OF USING

VIRTUAL CHEMICAL

LABORATORIES IN

TEACHING THE SOLUTION OF

EXPERIMENTAL PROBLEMS

IN CHEMISTRY AND

DEVELOPMENT OF

STUDENTS’ LEARNING

RESEARCH SKILLS WHILE

STUDYING THE TOPIC

“SOLUTIONS”

2.1 Experimental Problems as a Means

of Teaching Chemistry

Chemistry is an experimental science, and that is why

a chemical experiment in student’s develops a chem-

ical style of thinking – the ability to understand the

essence of chemical processes, their signiﬁcance and

how to manage them. The modern pedagogical pro-

cess should be aimed at the child’s mastering the very

techniques, methods, ways of thinking, that is, the

student must master the technology of carrying out

appropriate mental actions.

From the studies of famous teachers, didactists,

psychologists, the formation of learning abilities is a

complex process, the essence of which is to create op-

portunities for performing work related to learning.

In particular, the competence-based approach (Modlo

et al., 2018) focuses on the acquisition of skills, expe-

rience, and practical application of acquired knowl-

edge in chemistry. Therefore, despite the fact that

the content of educational material in chemistry is di-

rected to students mastering practical skills in work-

ing with substances, provides for observation and

experiment, solving computational and experimental

problems, establishing causal relationships, the use

of algorithms helps students in solving a number of

problems, over time, develop into the ability to solve

life problems (Savchyn, 2015).

Thanks to the educational chemical experiment,

students acquire practical experience in obtaining

facts and their preliminary synthesis at the level

of empirical concepts, concepts and laws. Under

such conditions, the chemical experiment performs

the function of the method of educational cognition,

thanks to which new connections and relationships

are formed in the consciousness of the student, per-

sonal knowledge is formed. It is because of the educa-

tional chemical experiment that the activity approach

to teaching chemistry is effectively implemented. But

it is impossible to carry out an experiment without

ﬁrst considering the result and not drawing up an ac-

tion plan. That is why the experimental problem solv-

ing as a kind of simulator are offered to students.

The solution of chemical problems is an impor-

tant aspect of mastering the knowledge of the basics

of chemical science. The inclusion of tasks in the ed-

ucational process allows the following didactic teach-

ing principles to be implemented: 1) ensuring the in-

dependence and activity of students; 2) the achieve-

ment of the strength of knowledge and skills; 3) im-

plementation of the connection of learning with life;

4) the implementation of polytechnic chemistry train-

ing, vocational guidance (Zarubko, 2015).

The ability to solve problems develops in the pro-

cess of learning, and this skill can be developed only

in one way – to solve problem constantly and system-

atically.

Algorithmic actions of students in solving chemi-

cal problems in most cases is not at all in strict adher-

ence to a speciﬁc procedure, guaranteed to lead to the

correct result. But the learning algorithm, according

to Savchyn (Savchyn, 2015), ﬁrst of all means a cer-

tain variability of actions in search of the optimal way

to solve the problem. In many cases, this variation

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

320

in the course of isolation is inherent in experimental

chemical problems.

Among the arsenal of chemistry teaching meth-

ods occupies a special place by the solution of exper-

imental problems in the classroom and the execution

of home experiments by students. Experimental prob-

lems are problems whose solution is accompanied by

experiments. Pak (Pak, 2015) considers experimen-

tal chemical problems as a type of cognitive problems

in chemistry. In contrast to laboratory work, students

solve experimental problems on their own without ad-

ditional instructions from the teacher. All students’

work in solving experimental problems is built on an

attempt to apply acquired theoretical knowledge and

practical skills to solve a speciﬁc problem in condi-

tions are close to real. In its content, the experimental

problems can be directed to:

• observation and explanation of phenomena;

• preparation of solutions;

• execution of characteristic and qualitative reac-

tions;

• recognition of substances.

You can also give another classiﬁcation of exper-

imental problems, according to which they are based

on the activities of (Brajko and Mushkalo, 1982):

• familiarization with the properties of substances;

• determining the qualitative composition of sub-

stances;

• separation of mixtures;

• phased conversion of substances;

• determination of the quantitative composition of

substances, mixtures;

• release of substances from the mixture in its pure

form;

• quantitative problems on the laws of conservation

of mass of substances and the stability of their

composition;

• preparation of solutions of a given concentration

and determination of the concentration of an un-

known solution.

To solve any experimental problem, a certain

sequence of actions is characteristic (Grygorovych,

2016):

1) drawing up an experiment plan (action algorithm),

within which it is necessary to determine which

speciﬁc question should be answered and which

experiments should be carried out for this pur-

pose;

2) the implementation of the experimental part;

3) the formulation of conclusions about the possibil-

ity of using the obtained experimental data to an-

swer the question posed, and reasonable evidence

or refutation of the initial assumptions.

Experimental problems in chemistry can be solved

by the following methods: analytical-synthetic, hy-

potheses, and attempts. But mainly experimental

problems in chemistry are solved by the analytical-

synthetic method.

The use of experimental problems in the educa-

tional process allows us to solve a number of impor-

tant pedagogical problems, in particular, to develop

students’ creative abilities and the ability to analyze

the condition of the problem and select an experimen-

tal model, improve the skills of applying the laws of

chemistry, and the like (Brajko and Mushkalo, 1982).

The choice of problem solving method depends on

the students having theoretical knowledge and practi-

cal skills.

Students should be taught to choose a rational way

of solving experimental problems. At the same time,

students form the ability to analyze problems, make

plans for decisions and reports.

In the class of studying new educational material,

experimental problems can be used in various aspects:

at the beginning of a lesson, to nominate a problem

and arouse students’ cognitive activity; during the les-

son – in the study of the chemical properties of sub-

stances or substances; at the end of the lesson - to

consolidate new knowledge.

In the lesson of consolidation of knowledge and

the formation of practical skills, experimental prob-

lems can be used at its different stages in order to

teach students to apply their knowledge to solve prac-

tical problems, or to study the device and the principle

of the device and acquire the ability to use it.

In the lessons of generalization and deepening of

knowledge, solutions to experimental problems are

organized to specify the content of physical concepts

and to establish new methods for measuring physical

quantities and establishing new information about the

phenomenon studied.

In knowledge control lessons, solving experimen-

tal problems will help test students’ ability to apply

knowledge in familiar and unfamiliar situations, an-

alyze facts and take a critical look at the results of a

chemical experiment.

At the lessons of control and accounting of stu-

dents’ knowledge, as well as at the lessons of gener-

alization and deepening of knowledge, a signiﬁcant

part of the lesson and even the entire lesson can be

devoted to solving experimental problems. It is ad-

visable to solve complex problems, in particular the

combined ones, which require knowledge of various

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

321

sections of chemistry.

The ability to solve problems is one of the main

indicators of the level of students’ mastery of knowl-

edge in chemistry. However, students often can-

not solve a difﬁcult task, although they discover the

knowledge of theoretical material, they know the def-

inition, the basic formulas, the laws, and solve stan-

dard problems. The reason is that students are used

to solving typical tasks, and problems of an unknown

type cause them to be confused (Mukan, 2002). The

tasks are useful, as a result of which students get

new information or acquire skills, tasks that make you

think logically, based on theoretical knowledge, but

with a creative approach. These criteria are exactly

the experimental problems.

Selecting experimental problems, it is necessary

to take into account the age of students, their psycho-

logical characteristics and the level of knowledge in

chemistry. Experimental problems are highly effec-

tive when students have sufﬁcient knowledge of the

relevant material. The form of the problem statement

should be convenient for solving at each stage of the

lesson.

Today there are many manuals and periodicals in

which you can ﬁnd a selection of experimental prob-

lems on a particular topic and are ready to solve them.

However, the current trend is the introduction of infor-

mation technology training in the process of forma-

tion of the subject competence of students. It can be

said with conﬁdence that students’ performance of ex-

perimental problems using information and commu-

nication technology tools will be more interesting for

students and more productive (Brajko and Mushkalo,

1982).

2.2 Development of Students’ Learning

Research Skills While Studying the

Topic “Solutions”

The educational institution must prepare a student

who thinks creatively, has theoretical and fundamen-

tal knowledge, appropriate skills for the independent

work and the ability to process and explain the results

of their research.

One of the most important competencies that stu-

dents acquire in the learning process is research com-

petence – it is the formed quality of personality, which

is ex-pressed in the mastery of knowledge, skills and

methods for the effective research and the ability of

independently acquire new knowledge (Mindeyeva,

2010; Nechypurenko et al., 2016; Leshchenko et al.,

2021).

The formation of students’ research competence

takes place in the process of independent creative re-

search activity and is a necessary condition for the

professional development and self-improvement of

the individual. Learning research activity is practi-

cally the only means for the formation and develop-

ment of research competencies.

Modern specialized education should initiate and

develop the individual’s ability to carry out research

activities, higher education institutions – to consoli-

date and deep these skills, as well as bring them to

the highest level – the ability to conduct independent

research.

Thus, research skills should be formed in school,

which takes place in the form of the learning research

activities. This is done by involving students to the

implementation of the educational research, projects,

introduction to the educational process the elements

of research activities.

Independent acquisition of new knowledge about

the environment is the purpose of learning research

activities, in contrast to the usual educational activi-

ties (explanatory and illustrative).

We are most impressed by the opinion of Nefe-

dova (Nefedova, 2012), who interprets the research

activities of students’ as “the process of solving a

creative problem that does not have the result, based

on mastering the features of the environment through

the scientiﬁc methods, during which the translation of

cultural values”.

Therefore, the research is characterized by an ac-

tive cognitive position which is based on the inter-

nal search for answers to any question, through com-

prehension and creative processing of data, action

through “trial and error”, the activation of critical

thinking.

The work on the formation of research skills in

chemistry lessons can be divided into four interrelated

areas (Zabolotnyi, 2007):

1) inclusion of research elements in the structure of

the lesson while studying new material;

2) organization of laboratory and practical work as

research, which will provide an opportunity to in-

crease the level of interest of students in obtaining

and interpreting the results of these works;

3) formulation of homework in the form of research

can diversify this form of work and make it more

interesting;

4) planning and conducting extracurricular activities

(research group, project work), using problems

with active research activities.

The current state of the most schools in Ukraine

does not allow students to carry out research activi-

ties on a large scale – covering the whole classes, and

is implemented, as a rule, only with children in the

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

322

category of “gifted” and, mainly, in the form of ex-

tracurricular activities.

Solutions is the most common objects of students’

research in chemistry. Because the solutions surround

a person in nature, everyday life, industry and other

areas of activity, students get acquainted with them

in childhood. In the course “Natural Science” (5th

grade) this acquaintance is more substantive and sci-

entiﬁc. Solutions be-come the main object of study

and research in the 9th grade during the study of the

relevant topic in the course of chemistry (Velychko

et al., 2017).

The chemistry curriculum in 9th grade (Velychko

et al., 2017) provides for solving experimental prob-

lems at this topic, as well as the equations of reac-

tions using solutions with a certain mass fraction of

solute; using of demonstration experiments, labora-

tory experiments, practical work, preparation and de-

fense of educational projects.

Most of these forms of work directly or indi-

rectly contribute to the development and improvement

of learning research skills of students. However, it

should be noted that a number of planned laboratory

experiments and practical work will be performed in

an abbreviated or demonstration form. If we talk

about the development of research skills of students,

then there is a need for additional chemical experi-

ments, which aim to reveal the essence of the phe-

nomena studied, to provide students with a creative

approach to solving research problems, to consoli-

date theoretical knowledge through multiple empiri-

cal conﬁrmation.

The most important and most complex semantic

parts of this topic are the solubility of substances,

its dependence on various factors; saturated and un-

saturated, concentrated and diluted solutions; ther-

mal phenomena accompanying the dissolution of sub-

stances; the concept of crystal hydrates; electrolytic

dissociation. Therefore, the learning research activi-

ties should be directed to the study of these semantic

parts of the topic.

The topic “Solutions” is the central in the study of

chemistry, because it is inter-twined with important

sections of inorganic and organic chemistry, chemi-

cal technology; the processes of dissociation, ion ex-

change reactions and other types of reactions are also

somehow related to this topic.

The prevalence and availability of solutions also

makes them as the unique object for students’ learning

research activities. A signiﬁcant number of classes at

this topic can be organized in the form of educational

research, both laboratory and home (applied).

While studying the topic “Solutions”, students

acquire skills in working with chemicals, chemical

equipment (including measuring equipment), the abil-

ity to observe, measure, calculate. At the same time,

learning research activities provide an opportunity to

do this at a better level, while developing the ability to

make assumptions, build algorithms for testing them,

conduct experiments and formulate conclusions.

The problems of effective organization of the

learning research activities of students while studying

the topic “Solutions” are:

• insufﬁcient time to conduct a large number of

different learning experiments (especially long-

term);

• imperfections in the material support of school

chemical laboratories (lack of scientiﬁc equip-

ment, potentially dangerous substances and pre-

cursors, insufﬁcient number of utensils, etc.);

• limitations related to the physical abilities and

health of individual students, features of psychical

and mental development, cognitive activity, etc.

2.3 Virtual Chemical Laboratories as a

Tools of Teaching Chemistry

When studying chemistry at school, one of the most

difﬁcult tasks facing the teacher is to familiarize stu-

dents with real chemical objects and processes. This

difﬁculty is due to the simplicity and lack of equip-

ment in school chemical laboratories, restrictions on

the use of certain chemical compounds in them, re-

duction of time to study certain topics in curricula,

and the like.

A solution to these problems is to use information

and communication technologies in the educational

process, in particular spreadsheets (Semerikov et al.,

2018), augmented reality tools (Nechypurenko et al.,

2018; Kharchenko et al., 2021; Midak et al., 2021)

and virtual chemical laboratories (VCL) (Nechy-

purenko et al., 2019; Lytvynova and Medvedieva,

2020).

According to Trukhin (Trukhin, 2002), a virtual

laboratory “is a hardware-software complex that al-

lows experiments to be carried out without direct con-

tact with a real installation or in the complete absence

of it. In the ﬁrst case, we are dealing with a so-called

laboratory setup with remote access, which includes

a real laboratory, software and hardware to control

the installation and digitization of the data, as well

as means of communication. In the second case, all

processes are modeled using a computer”.

So, under the virtual laboratories understand two

types of software and hardware systems (Trukhin,

2002):

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

323

• laboratory installation with remote access (remote

laboratories);

• software that allows to simulate laboratory exper-

iments – virtual laboratories (in the narrow sense).

Thus, we can distinguish two types of virtual lab-

oratories: remote and simulation.

Remote virtual chemical labs provide remote ac-

cess to real lab equipment either in real time or by

playing relevant videos. The remote virtual labora-

tory includes:

1) a real laboratory with real equipment and

reagents;

2) software and hardware for control of the corre-

sponding equipment and digitization of the re-

ceived data;

3) tools of communication to connect users with the

ﬁrst two components.

Virtual laboratories, in which the relevant equip-

ment, substances and processes are modeled using a

computer or other gadgets, are a set of programs de-

signed to simulate laboratory work in the laboratory

(Trukhin, 2002). Simulation virtual chemical labora-

tories can be represented by a set of immutable mod-

els, as well as mathematical interactive models that

can adequately reﬂect the effects of various user ac-

tions associated with changes in the conditions of the

experiment, in its results. The main advantage of such

virtual chemical laboratories is the ability to imple-

ment a creative approach to the implementation of vir-

tual experiments by users and the formation of users

a more holistic view of the simulated processes and

phenomena.

Both types of VCL have common advantages:

• no need to purchase expensive equipment and

reagents. Due to inadequate funding, many

school chemical laboratories have old equipment

installed that can distort the results of experiments

and serve as a potential source of danger for stu-

dents. Also, in addition to equipment, consum-

ables and reagents are required, the cost of which

is quite high. It is clear that computer equipment

and software are also expensive, but the univer-

sality of computer equipment and its wide distri-

bution and availability somewhat compensate for

this disadvantage.

• the possibility of modeling processes, progress or

observations of which are fundamentally impos-

sible in the laboratory. Modern computer tech-

nologies by means of visualization on the moni-

tor screen provide an opportunity to observe pro-

cesses that cannot be observed in real conditions

without the use of additional equipment, for ex-

ample, due to the small size of the observed par-

ticles or difﬁcult to achieve conditions (ultra high

or ultra low temperatures, pressure, etc.).

• the possibility of penetrating into the subtleties

of processes and observing the details of a phe-

nomenon that occurs on a different time scale,

which is important for processes occurring in a

fraction of a second or, on the contrary, last for

several years.

• no immediate danger to the lives and health of stu-

dents. Safety is an important advantage of using

VCL, especially in cases where the work involves,

for example, the use of hazardous chemicals or

devices associated with the use of high tempera-

tures, pressures, electric current, etc.

• saving time and resources for transferring the re-

sults into electronic format.

• the possibility of using VCL for informal educa-

tion and distance learning, is to ensure the possi-

bility of performing laboratory work in chemistry

for the lack of access to school laboratories, in-

cluding when working with children with limited

physical abilities who miss classes due to illness

or under quarantine time.

• the development of skills to ﬁnd the optimal so-

lution, the ability to transfer the real problem in

model conditions and vice versa.

Perhaps the disadvantage of using virtual chemi-

cal laboratories is that the model objects created by

the computer are completely supplanted by the ob-

jects of the child in the real world. But working with

sign systems is the basis of analytic-synthetic activity,

that is, thinking does not exist outside of abstraction

and symbolization. Also, signiﬁcant shortcomings of

the VCL are the limited information that they transmit

to various users’ senses, and the inability of students

to develop skills in working with real laboratory ob-

jects.

By the way of visualization, laboratories are dis-

tinguished using two- and three-dimensional graphics

and animation.

Also, virtual laboratories are divided according to

the way they represent knowledge of the subject area.

In one case, virtual laboratories are based on individ-

ual facts, limited to a set of pre-programmed exper-

iments. They represent a speciﬁc set of laboratory

studies, compiled in accordance with the curriculum.

Experiments in such virtual laboratories can only be

viewed. Intervention in their course is impossible

(Derkach, 2008).

Otherwise, conducting virtual laboratory experi-

ments is based on a mathematical model of a real

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

324

chemical process. Such virtual laboratories provide

for the possibility of changing the experimental con-

ditions within certain limits and adequately reﬂecting

these changes in its results. Licensed versions of such

programs, as a rule, provide an opportunity to create

your own laboratory work. Such virtual laboratories

contribute to independent knowledge of the world by

students and provide an opportunity for the teacher to

realize their creative abilities regarding the chemistry

learning process.

The development of VCL, based on mathematical

modeling of real chemical processes, is more com-

plex and time-consuming, but signiﬁcantly expands

the possibilities of their application (Derkach, 2008).

Examples of such VCL are Yenka Chemistry

(Yenka, 2017), Model ChemLab (Model Science,

2019) and Virtual Lab (VLab) (ChemCollective,

2018). The only virtual chemical laboratory that

meets these requirements and is freely available is the

Virtual Lab, so we decided to implement the develop-

ment of a set of experimental problems in it.

Any of the VCL is only a model of the real world,

and therefore, like any other model, there is a cer-

tain limitation, simplicity. Different virtual chemical

laboratories have a different level of simplicity com-

pared to real chemical laboratories: different in de-

tail graphic display of objects, lack of transmission of

smells and tactile sensations of objects manipulated

in a virtual environment (Nechypurenko, 2012).

ChemCollective Virtual Lab software currently

covers more than 50 exercises and problems that help

in mastering chemical concepts, mainly related to the

study of solutions and the processes that take place in

them (Chemcollective.org, 2018b).

On the other hand, the use of remote virtual lab-

oratories provides an opportunity to observe high-

quality visualization of relevant processes occurring

with real objects – it is possible to conduct high-

quality chemical experiments and perform practical

work or experimental problems of a qualitative na-

ture. However, this type of virtual laboratories, at

least those that are publicly available, do not provide

the opportunity to interfere in the process and perform

quantitative experiments.

Remote virtual laboratories should be used in the

same types of lessons as other virtual chemical labo-

ratories: at the stage of learning or consolidating new

material, as independent or home research, in classes

of relevant electives or groups, and to test students’

knowledge (in the form of experimental problems).

Simulation virtual laboratories have the advantage

over remote ones in the ability to change the experi-

mental conditions many times and perform all the ex-

perimental operations almost instantly (saving time),

the advantage of remote virtual laboratories is a more

realistic reproduction of all details of the experiment.

Thus, in our opinion, it is possible to qualitatively

support the learning research activities of chemistry

students in the study of the topic “Solutions” by com-

bining the capabilities of two types of virtual chemi-

cal laboratories – remote (for qualitative experiments)

and simulation (for quantitative experiments).

In both cases, there is a need to develop their own

laboratory works, which will be implemented through

virtual chemical laboratories and will be adapted to

the content of the curriculum for secondary schools

in chemistry (topic “Solutions”, grade 9).

3 METHODICAL BASIS FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF A SET OF

EXPERIMENTAL PROBLEMS

IN CHEMISTRY FOR

STUDENTS IN GRADE 9 IN

THE CLOUD-ORIENTED

VIRTUAL CHEMICAL

LABORATORY VLAB

3.1 Features of the Virtual Chemical

Laboratory VLab

The most accessible of the modern VCL, providing

the ability of the user to intervene in the course of a

virtual experiment, as well as the possibility of devel-

oping their own virtual laboratory work is the Virtual

Lab (VLab).

The goal of the VLab virtual chemistry lab, which

is a ChemCollective product, is to create ﬂexible, in-

teractive learning environments in which students can

approach chemistry as practicing scientists.

ChemCollective began with work on the IrYdium

Project’s Virtual Lab in 2000. The project was to cre-

ate training exercises designed to provide interactive,

interesting materials that link chemical concepts with

the real world.

The project leader is Dr. David Yaron, Professor

of Chemistry at Mellon College of Science. Most of

the original exercises included in this virtual lab were

developed by a team at Carnegie Mellon University,

including Yaron, experienced software engineers, stu-

dent programmers, educational consultants, and edi-

tors (Chemcollective.org, 2018a).

Virtual chemical laboratory Virtual Lab is free to

install, use and distribute. It can be used both online

(by running the virtual lab plugin from the Chem-

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

325

Collective website using any browser) or locally by

downloading the installation ﬁles and installing the

program on the computer.

Virtual Lab can also be integrated with the Moodle

system using a special plugin. This makes it possible

to apply the individual tasks of the virtual lab directly

to the speciﬁc topics of the Moodle course (Nechy-

purenko and Semerikov, 2017).

In each assignment of the virtual chemical labo-

ratory VLab, access to chemical reagents, which may

include general purpose reagents or compounds spe-

ciﬁc for a given job, as well as chemical glassware

(beakers, conical ﬂasks, graduated cylinders, pipettes,

volumetric ﬂasks of various volumes, also a 50 ml bu-

rette and plastic cup) and equipment (Bunsen burner,

weighing hook and scales).

A separate panel of the program window is de-

signed to provide information about a substance or a

mixture: name, volume, state of aggregation, amount

of substance (mol or g), concentration (mol/l or g/l),

spectrometer data, pH meter, and thermometer. Some

of these tools can be disabled if this is required by

the condition of the problem, which is solved in this

virtual laboratory (ﬁgure 1).

All actions with dishes and substances in it are

performed in drag and drop mode, that is, by sim-

ply dragging objects with the left mouse button. The

same operations, as well as some speciﬁc actions, can

be carried out through the menu that appears when

you click on an object with the right mouse but-

ton(Yaron et al., 2010).

The essence of the program is to download cer-

tain problems and solve them experimentally or cal-

culated with the subsequent experimental veriﬁcation

of the result. There are no restrictions on the number

of attempts to perform experience on restrictions on

the use of certain quantities of reagents and materials.

Using the exercises of the virtual laboratory VLab,

according to its developers, provide the ability to:

• help students who have missed class work in the

laboratory to do an experiment from their personal

computer, without the need to do work under the

supervision of a teacher;

• supplement current work and homework on paper

with exercises that allow students to use chemical

concepts to design and perform their own experi-

ments;

• monitor the correctness of the assignments of stu-

dents (students use a virtual laboratory to check

the results of their own calculations or qualitative

forecasting without risk to their own health);

• to supplement the demonstration experiment con-

ducted in the classroom (teachers ﬁrst carry out

a demonstration in the classroom so that students

can see the actual chemical processes, and the stu-

dents then study the chemical system and pro-

cesses independently, guided by the problems in

the virtual laboratory).

Virtual Lab software currently includes more than

50 exercises and problems that are designed to assim-

ilate chemical concepts, mainly related to the study of

solutions and processes in them: moths, stoichiome-

try and limiting reagents (problems for excess), den-

sity, dilutions, dissociation constant, acids and bases,

thermochemistry, solubility, chemical equilibrium,

redox processes (Chemcollective.org, 2018b).

The installation package of Virtual Lab contains

thirteen launch ﬁles for this program in different lan-

guages, among which Ukrainian since 2014 has been.

Running the local version of the program, as well

as the old online version, required the presence of a

Java plug-in. Recently, this plugin has been blocked

by most browsers and antivirus programs, it requires

separate settings on the system, therefore, in 2017,

the HTML5 version of the VLab was launched on

the ChemCollective website in 2017, which currently

supports only three languages: English, Spanish and

Italian.

On the old version of the ChemCollective site

(http://collective.chem.cmu.edu), you can download

a special problem editor, the Virtual Lab Authoring

Tool, which allows you to both modify existing prob-

lems and develop your own from scratch for the local

version of the program.

In the problem set, included in the standard ver-

sion of the VLab program, most of the virtual works

are oriented to a level higher than the level of the

basic school – core, or college and university. The

content of a certain number of problems is struc-

tured in such a way that all of them are full-ﬂedged

study and research problems (Nechypurenko and Se-

merikov, 2017). Our work was thus aimed at devel-

oping problems that can be classiﬁed as experimental

chemical problems on the “Solutions” topic, were co-

ordinated with the curriculum, and at the same time

were available for primary school students in terms of

complexity.

3.2 Creation of Laboratory Work in a

Virtual Laboratory VLab

In order to create your own laboratory work, you need

to understand how this virtual lab works. The virtual

laboratory is launched by running the default.xml ﬁle

(or default uk.xml for the Ukrainian version), which

is located in the assignments directory. This is the

default virtual lab ﬁle. This ﬁle contains individ-

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

326

Figure 1: VLab window with virtual laboratory work.

ual properties of the program’s working area: the

availability of tools (thermometer, pH meter, win-

dows with information about the chemical compo-

sition of substances and solutions) and the available

modes of substance transfer (accurate transfer, trans-

fer of rounded quantities and realistic transfer). These

tools and transfer modes can be either available for

work, all or some of them can be turned off depend-

ing on the needs of the problem scenario. Also in this

ﬁle are the ways in which the working area of the pro-

gram is ﬁlled with reagents, possible physicochemi-

cal processes with their participation, a description of

the work problem, and the like. These default paths

lead to ﬁles that are in a subdirectory with the same

name as the control xml ﬁle — that is, the ﬁles to work

with, are guided by the default uk.xml ﬁle, are in the

default uk directory (the path to it is in the program

directory assignments/default uk). The directory ref-

erenced by the control xml ﬁle contains typically four

ﬁles:

• ﬁlesystem.xml – contains information about the

solutions (reagents) planned for use in this vir-

tual laboratory work and the dishes in which they

are contained, their volume or mass, and a brief

description of this reagent (name, concentration,

etc.);

• reactions.xml – contains information on all pos-

sible (planned) chemical reactions with a speciﬁc

set of substances in this virtual laboratory work;

• species.xml – contains information on all sub-

stances available in this virtual laboratory work

and their properties (color, state of aggregation,

thermodynamic parameters, molar mass, etc.);

• problem description.html – contains a text de-

scription of the problem and instructions for per-

forming virtual lab work.

VLab versions higher than 2.1.0 may also contain

the spectra.xml ﬁle, which contains the spectral char-

acteristics of the substances that will be displayed in

the photocolorimeters window, if it is available for use

in this work.

Other laboratory works are started on the same

principle, only the control xml-ﬁles are located in sep-

arate thematic sub-subdirectories in the subdirecto-

ries of language localization, for example, the con-

trol xml-ﬁle of the localized Ukrainian work “Deter-

mining the solubility of CuCl2 at different tempera-

tures” CuClSolu.xml is located along the path assign-

ments/problems

uk/solubility.

The list of control xml ﬁles with the path to them

and a brief description of the work is in the Proble-

mIndex uk.xml ﬁle (ProblemIndex.xml for the stan-

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

327

dard English version) in the root directory of the pro-

gram. From this ﬁle that the list of laboratory works

available for execution is called up via the menu

“File” → “Load problem”.

Any of these ﬁles can be edited using Notepad (it

is important to save changes in the UTF-8 encoding)

or any xml ﬁle editor. But a more optimal option is

to use the special editor Virtual Lab Authoring Tool.

There are several options for creating a new labora-

tory work: from scratch, editing and saving the de-

fault xml ﬁle, and based on another work. The second

way is faster and more rational, since it allows par-

tially (and in some cases, possibly completely) using

those reagents, equipment and other necessary param-

eters of work, since they have already been entered

and are guaranteed to work. To make this change,

open the control xml ﬁle in the Virtual Lab Author-

ing Tool editor and select “Save As ...” in the “File”

menu, specify the new ﬁle name and its location. In

our case, it was the School catalog, which we created

speciﬁcally for this set of works. A directory with

content ﬁles is automatically generated.

Henceforth control xml-ﬁle in the editor Virtual

Lab Authoring Tool need to edit. The editor window

has several tabs, each of which changes a certain part

of the work data (ﬁgure 2):

• General – contains ﬁelds for entering the title of

the work, the last name of the author and a brief

description of the content of the work.

• Permissions – contains two tabs: Viewers to spec-

ify the tools for viewing the properties of sub-

stances and their chemical composition will be

available during the work; and Transfer Bars to

determine the substance transfer parameters avail-

able in the job.

• Species – contains tools for creating and editing

substances needed in this work. In addition to the

formula, the molar mass and the name of the sub-

stance, the state of aggregation, as well as its col-

oring parameters, its standard enthalpy of forma-

tion and entropy are obligatory characteristics –

these data will be used to simulate chemical reac-

tions between the corresponding substances.

• Reactions – contains tools for planning the ﬂow

of physicochemical processes, by deﬁning reac-

tive particles as reagents or reaction products, set-

ting appropriate coefﬁcients.

• Stockroom – provides the ability to create and

edit the contents of the “Stockroom” in the virtual

laboratory – add cabinets, dishes with reagents,

accompanying ﬁles (description of the problem,

etc.).

At the end of the work in the editor Virtual Lab

Authoring Tool you need to save the changes and

make the created work in the registry of works so

that it becomes available for use. To do this opera-

tion, a block is created in the ProblemIndex uk.xml

ﬁle (editing with a notepad or xml editor):

<DIRECTORY name="The name of the block

of laboratory works">

<PROBLEM url="assignments/problems_uk/

school/File_name.xml">

<TITLE>Problem title</TITLE>

<AUTHOR>Autors</AUTHOR>

A brief description of the problem

</DESCRIPTION>

</PROBLEM>

</DIRECTORY>

A block limited by <DIRECTORY> ...

</DIRECTORY> tags can contain as many in-

dividual works as desired, each of which is separated

by <PROBLEM> ... </PROBLEM> tags.

Created or edited works become available after the

next program launch.

3.3 A Set of Experimental Chemical

Problems in a Virtual Chemistry

Lab VLab for Use in School When

Studying the Topic “Solutions”

The chemistry curriculum in grade 9 (Velychko et al.,

2017) provides for the solution of experimental prob-

lems on this topic, as well the computational problems

using solutions with a certain mass fraction of solute;

use of demonstration experiments (thermal phenom-

ena during dissolution: dissolution of ammonium ni-

trate and concentrated sulfuric acid in water, studies

of substances and their aqueous solutions for elec-

trical conductivity, exchange reactions between elec-

trolytes in aqueous solutions) conducting laboratory

studies (detection of hydrogen and hydroxide ions

in solutions, established approximate pH values of

water, alkaline and acidic solutions (sodium hydrox-

ide, hydrochloric acid) using a universal indicator, pH

studies search and cosmetic products, the exchange

reaction between electrolytes in aqueous solutions,

accompanied by precipitation, the exchange reaction

between electrolytes in aqueous solutions, accompa-

nied by the evolution of gas, the exchange reaction

between electrolytes in aqueous solutions, followed

by water absorption, the detection of chloride, sulfate

and carbonate ions in solution) carrying out practical

work (ion exchange reactions between electrolytes in

aqueous solutions) of executing a home experiment

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

328

Figure 2: Editor Virtual Lab Authoring Tool window.

(preparing colloidal solutions (jelly etc.)), preparation

and protection of educational projects (“Electrolytes

in modern accumulators”, “Growing of crystals of

salts”, “Production of solutions for provision of med-

ical assistance”, “Research of soil pH of the area”,

“Investigation of the inﬂuence of acidity and alkalin-

ity of soils on plant development”, “Research pH of

atmospheric precipitation and their inﬂuence on var-

ious materials in the environment”,“Investigation of

natural objects as acid-basic indicators”, “Investiga-

tion of the pH of the mineral water of Ukraine”).

The most important and most complex parts of

this topic are the solubility of substances, its depen-

dence on various factors. Saturated and unsaturated,

concentrated and diluted solutions. Thermal phenom-

ena accompanying the dissolution of substances, dis-

solution as a physical and chemical process, the con-

cept of hydrates, electrolytic dissociation etc. There-

fore, experimental problems should be directed to the

study of precisely these substantive parts of the topic.

After analyzing the technical and visual capabili-

ties of the Virtual Lab, we determined that it would be

most appropriate to create virtual experimental prob-

lems related to the dissolution process (its energy and

quantitative characteristics), the dissociation process

of substances in a solution and determine its pH, as

well as the use of some qualitative reactions, indica-

tors and the like. The problems associated with the

study of the properties of colloidal solutions, the ﬂow

of certain exchange reactions, the extraction of crys-

tals, the study of the analytical effects of qualitative

reactions associated with the formation of precipita-

tion cannot be realized either due to the limited possi-

bilities of modeling chemical phenomena in the VLab

and due to the limitations of visual accompaniment

(for example, to conduct qualitative reactions with the

formation of sediment among the equipment in the

VLab there are not enough test tubes, and the pres-

ence of sediment and its color become noticeable in

a glass x on the desktop of the virtual laboratory only

in quantities of a few grams or more, does not comply

with the principles of qualitative chemical analysis).

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

329

Based on all the above, we have created a trial set

of experimental problems on the topic “Solutions”,

which contains seven problems. The works contain

instructions for solving problems and a number of

questions that students need to answer.

For example, the laboratory work “Precursor”

suggests that the student present himself as a labora-

tory technician and carry out dilutions of concentrated

sulfuric acid, which is on the list of precursors. The

task is to prepare equal volumes of solutions with the

indicated concentrations.

In the work “Separation of salt mixture”, it is nec-

essary to separate the mixture of crystalline potassium

chlorate and sodium chloride by recrystallization of

potassium chlorate, based on the difference in the sol-

ubility of these salts. The problem contains the order

of actions that will help to perform the work. The pur-

pose of this problem is to familiarize students with the

methods of puriﬁcation and separation of substances,

the dependence of the dissolution of salts on temper-

ature.

To demonstrate the preparation of saturated solu-

tions, you can use the work “Preparation of saturated

solutions of various chemical compounds”. Here the

student will be able to prepare solutions by changing

the temperature, and on the basis of the data obtained,

construct curves for the concentration of a saturated

solution of a substance on temperature. The aim of

the work is to study the change in the solubility of

substances from temperature, the formation of skills

in the preparation of saturated solutions, the analysis

of the experimental data.

The study of thermal effects of dissolution can be

carried out in the work “Thermal effects of dissolu-

tion”. In the description, it is reported that during

the dissolution of the substance various physical and

chemical processes take place with both the solute and

the solvent. One of the external indicators that can

be easily ﬁxed is the thermal effect observed when

various substances are dissolved. The task is to in-

vestigate the thermal effects of dissolution of various

crystalline compounds in water and to draw appropri-

ate conclusions and assumptions regarding the pro-

cesses leading to the occurrence of these effects. The

purpose of the work is to form an understanding of

the thermal phenomena that accompany the process

of dissolution and test them in practice, consolidating

knowledge about exo- and endothermic processes.

The overwhelmingly developed problems contain

a sufﬁcient number of hints so that the student can

experiment in a virtual laboratory independently, for

example, on a home computer, and some of the prob-

lems are quite realistic to reproduce in a real school

chemistry laboratory, given the time and possibilities

(in this case problem solving in a virtual laboratory

can be used as a training option to verify the correct-

ness of theoretical calculations and repeat the order

necessary action).

A set of these laboratory works are posted

on the website of the Department of chem-

istry and methods of learning chemistry at the

Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University (https:

//kdpu.edu.ua/khimii-ta-metodyky-ii-navchannia/

tsikava-khimiia/dlia-vseznaiok/

5928-virtualna-khimichna-laboratoriia.html) with

the aim of further introducing schools into the educa-

tional process and receiving feedback on improving

the quality and expansion of this set.

4 CREATION AND TESTING OF

A SET OF VIRTUAL

LABORATORY WORKS FOR

THE ORGANIZATION OF

LEARNING RESEARCH

ACTIVITIES OF STUDENTS IN

CHEMISTRY IN THE STUDY

OF THE TOPIC “SOLUTIONS”

Most of the problems in the set developed for the

topic “Solutions” in VLab are formulated in a re-

search (problem) style – the student has a task:

1) to obtain a certain practical result;

2) to study processes and phenomena, the exact

properties of which are unknown to him in ad-

vance.

In the ﬁrst case, the student has the opportunity

to create their own algorithms and check their ade-

quacy in practice, but in a virtual environment. The

use of trial and error method is not ruled out. In

the second case, completing the problem will mean

for the student the discovery of subjectively new pat-

terns, properties, and so on. That is why, the student

has the opportunity to independently, based on the re-

sults obtained in the virtual chemical laboratory, to

draw conclusions about the inﬂuence of the certain

factors on the dissolution process, and only then com-

pare them with those in textbooks described, heard

from the teacher’s story, etc.

Most of the problems contain enough prompts for

the student to experiment in a virtual laboratory on

their own, for example, at a home computer, and some

of the problems can be reproduced in a real educa-

tional chemical laboratory of the school if time and

opportunity (in this case the problem in the virtual

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

330

laboratory can be used as a training option to check

the correctness of theoretical calculations and repeat

the order of necessary actions).

The VLab virtual chemical laboratory provides

the possibility of independent repeated experimenta-

tion with various substances and their solutions, with

the involvement of accurate measuring instruments,

but it is not designed to perform qualitative reactions.

Most qualitative reactions do not require accurate cal-

culations and measurements, but they do require as

clear an analytical effect as possible, not distorted

by the imperfection of the object’s appearance in its

model. For the virtualization of qualitative experi-

ments, qualitative visualization is often more desir-

able than the ability to make accurate measurements.

Since in the topic “Solutions” a certain amount of stu-

dent research is related to qualitative chemical exper-

iments (performing qualitative reactions, determining

the acidity of the environment using indicators, etc.),

there is a need to create a resource to support of quali-

tative chemical experiments. The most realistic trans-

mission of visual information about an object is a

video recording. The essence of the developed remote

virtual chemical laboratory is to provide users with

remote access to a set of substances that can be used

to perform high-quality laboratory experiments. At

the same time, we tried to anticipate various options

for user actions, including those that could have been

done accidentally, without logical justiﬁcation. To do

this, the program interface is organized in such a way

that the user has two sets of reagents. Any reagent

from the ﬁrst set can be mixed with any reagent from

the second. Selecting the appropriate pair of reagents

triggers a short video recording of the mixing of these

reagents in a real chemical laboratory. The user can

not change the number of reagents or the order of

their addition, but has the opportunity many times to

observe high-quality visualization, accompanied by a

textual description of the nature of the reaction that

occurs.

The availability of such a virtual chemical labora-

tory can be ensured by placing it on the Internet on

the pages of the site. The window interface of such

a remote virtual chemical laboratory is essentially the

html-page of the site. For the operation of a laboratory

installation with remote access, it is necessary that

the site page contains a set of elements of JavaScript,

video, codes, etc. that relate to a separate laboratory

work (ﬁgure 3).

The operation of the remote virtual chemical lab-

oratory created by us is provided by a number of ob-

jects located in different directories:

• the favicons folder contains favicon elements, ie

site icons for different browsers;

Figure 3: Elements of the site of the laboratory installation

with remote access.

• js folder is a folder for saving java script ﬁles that

provide dynamic interactivity on the site;

• scss folder contains style ﬁles that form the exter-

nal design and stylization of the site page;

• all videos of the experiments that we recorded for

running on the site are saved in the videos folder;

• the index ﬁle is the main one, because the main

startup code of the laboratory is written in it.

The following online page of the virtual chemical

laboratory involves the execution of certain program

code, which can be edited by connecting to an FTP

server and launching Notepad++ or xml-editor.

The general principle of the ﬁrst virtual laboratory

with remote access on the topic “Indicators” is to se-

lect buttons from the upper left corner – the indicator,

and the lower left corner of the solution with a cer-

tain level of acidity, such a combination of pressing

“show” allows you to run videos where the ﬁrst reac-

tion, change of color of solution is shown (ﬁgures 4

and 5).

To return to the indicator and solution selection,

press the “Clear” button in the middle on the left and

start the selection again.

The following laboratory work No 2, created on

the basis of the site, is based on an experimental prob-

lem on “Qualitative reactions to the most common an-

ions”. The general principle of operation is similar to

the virtual chemical laboratory “Indicators” and con-

sists in selecting the buttons from the upper left cor-

ner – solutions of reagents AgNO

, Pb(NO

)

, BaCl

and the lower left corner - a solution containing an un-

known anion to be determined by students. When you

press the “Show” button, a video is launched, which

shows the course of the chemical reaction between the

selected solutions.

It should be noted that both laboratory works can

be used as research: the “Indicators” lab contains not

only the indicators described in the textbook, but also

non-standard for the school curriculum – bromocresol

purple, congo red, red cabbage juice, and therefore

work with them is easy to organize as a research. The

work ”Qualitative reactions of some anions” is gen-

erally an experimental problem for the recognition of

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

331

Figure 4: Location of the buttons of the main elements of the remote laboratory.

anions.

Both laboratory works are posted on the

website http://distvlab.easyscience.education/,

where they are available at the links

http://distvlab.easyscience.education/Lab1 and

http://distvlab.easyscience.education/Lab2.

5 RESULTS

The created virtual laboratory works were tested dur-

ing chemistry lessons and optional classes in several

educational institutions of the city of Kryvyi Rih dur-

ing 2019: Kryvyi Rih Central City Lyceum, Kryvyi

Rih Central City Gymnasium, schools No 66, No 21

and Kryvyi Rih College of National Aviation Univer-

sity of Ukraine. To do this, teachers used personal

computers and netbooks, SMART Board interactive

whiteboards, and smartphones and tablets.

Chemistry teachers especially noted the conve-

nience of using virtual chemical laboratories to pre-

pare for laboratory work or their partial replacement,

and to organize effective independent work of stu-

dents.

Students were asked a questionnaire with the fol-

lowing questions:

1. “Were you interested in using virtual chemical

laboratories?”

2. “Was it easy for you to use virtual chemical labo-

ratories?”

3. “Will virtual experiments help you better under-

stand the theoretical material of the topic?”

4. “Did virtual chemistry labs help you better pre-

pare for classroom practice work?”

5. “What did you like most about using virtual

chemistry labs while studying chemistry?”

144 students took part in the survey. The results

of the survey are shown in table 1.

The ﬁfth question with an open answer was of-

ten answers by students, which can be formulated

as: “non-standard approach to the organization of

lessons”, “unusual and novelty of the use of virtual

chemical laboratories”, “the possibility to make ex-

periments without time or strict responsibility for the

quality of individual actions”, “the possibility to inde-

pendently make experiments as you want or interest-

ing”, “the possibility to prepare at home, especially

if you missed the lesson”. According to the obser-

vations of teachers involved in the experiment, the

use of virtual chemistry laboratories increased stu-

dents’ desire to experiment and reduced their fear of

making mistakes during the experiment, making erro-

neous conclusions, and so on. This was evidenced by

the high results demonstrated by students in perform-

ing practical work and experimental problems within

the topic “Solutions”.

Thus, the majority of students noted a positive ef-

fect from the use of VCL primarily for practical work

preparation, as well (a slightly lower percentage) in

the acquisition of theoretical knowledge. For the vast

majority of students, VCL was an interesting means

of chemistry learning (perhaps due to novelty and

non-standard), but a smaller percentage of students

noted the ease of use of VCL, due to the same nov-

elty for students, and therefore lack of skills in using

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

332

Figure 5: Remote chemical laboratory operation: selected buttons “Phenolphthalein” and “Solution No 5”.

Table 1: The results of student surveys.

Answers to questions

Number of question

“No” “Rather no” “Hard to say” “Rather yes” “Yes”

1 0 11 (7.6%) 52 (36.1%) 81 (56.3%)

2 0 3 (2.1%) 18 (12.5%) 56 (38.9%) 67 (46.5%)

3 0 6 (4.2%) 14 (9.7%) 45 (31.2%) 79 (54.9%)

4 0 4 (2.8%) 13 (9%) 38 (26.4%) 89 (61.8%)

these teaching tools.

6 CONCLUSIONS

1. The learning research activities are an integral part

of a quality educational process, especially in the

study of natural sciences. The learning research

activity differs from ordinary learning in that it

requires an active cognitive position based on the

internal search for answers to any question related

to the understanding and creative processing of in-

formation, action through “trial and error”, and

from scientiﬁc research it differs, ﬁrst of all, in

the results – the acquisition of subjectively new

knowledge, the formation of research skills and

other personality traits of students.

2. One of the varieties of learning research activities

of students in chemistry is experimental chemical

problems – a separate type of chemical problems,

the solution of which is necessarily accompanied

by the practical implementation of a chemical ex-

periment.

3. Experimental chemical problems are character-

ized by the methodological feasibility of their use

in various types of lessons, at different stages of a

lesson and in extracurricular work.

4. One of the most important and integral topics in

the school course of chemistry is the topic “Solu-

tions” – while studying this topic, students consol-

idate knowledge of general and inorganic chem-

istry, acquire skills to perform experiments, gain

theoretical and practical basis for further study of

chemistry.

5. Pre-proﬁle chemistry training contains a signiﬁ-

cant amount of experimental activity of students,

and one of the ways to overcome the contradiction

between the need to carry out a training chemical

experiment and the lack of sufﬁcient time, nec-

essary equipment and reagents, the use of virtual

chemical laboratories — special computer pro-

grams that make it possible to simulate the phys-

ical chemical phenomena or to conduct experi-

ments without direct contact with a real chemicals

set or the complete absence thereof.

6. Virtual chemical laboratories are, ﬁrst of all,

unique simulators – tools that allow users to test

the algorithm of actions, to trace the logic of

certain laboratory operations during the experi-

ment, to practice skills of collecting and record-

ing the necessary data, experimental results and

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

333

more. Remote virtual chemical laboratories have

the advantage of conducting qualitative experi-

ments, and simulation VCL – quantitative chemi-

cal experiments.

7. Virtual chemical laboratories in some cases can

be used as a replacement for a real chemical ex-

periment, if for some reason it’s implementation

is impossible.

8. Virtual chemical laboratories provide an opportu-

nity to safely and economically implement the de-

velopment of research competencies of students

through the use of experimental chemical prob-

lems, which can be performed entirely in virtual

mode or in simulator mode with subsequent im-

plementation in the form of a naturaly experiment.

9. Virtual chemical laboratories are a rather labile

learning tool that can be used at almost any stage

of the lesson: at the beginning, at the stage of

learning new knowledge, at the stage of consol-

idation of knowledge and at the stage of testing,

as well as for independent and homework. In the

case of proper organization of work with them,

the student has the opportunity to perform learn-

ing research at any time and in any place.

10. The best option for quality support of learning re-

search activities of students in chemistry by solv-

ing experimental chemical problems (including

distance learning) in the study of topic “Solu-

tions” is a combination of two types of virtual

chemical laboratories – remote (for qualitative ex-

periments) and simulation (for quantitative exper-

iments).

11. Currently, a set of virtual laboratory works has

been created, consisting of seven problems in the

simulation VCL Virtual Lab and two experimen-

tal problems in the remote VCL. Currently, a set

of virtual laboratory works has been created, con-

sisting of seven problems in the simulation VCL

Virtual Lab and two experimental problems in the

remote VCL.

12. The created virtual laboratory works were intro-

duced into the educational process of several ed-

ucational institutions in Kryvyi Rih during 2019

and received mostly positive feedback from both

chemistry teachers and students. This makes it

possible to say that virtual chemical laboratories

have a high potential for organizing and improv-

ing the learning research activities of students in

chemistry while studying the topic “Solutions”

and need further improvement taking into account

the results of its implementation in the school ed-

ucational process.

REFERENCES

Brajko, V. I. and Mushkalo, N. N. (1982). Experimental

Tasks on Inorganic Chemistry: A Manual for Teach-

ers. Radyanska shkola, Kyiv.

ChemCollective (2018). ChemCollective: Virtual Labs.

http://chemcollective.org/vlabs.

Chemcollective.org (2018a). Chemcollective: Introduction.

http://chemcollective.org/about us/introduction.

Chemcollective.org (2018b). Chemcol-

lective: Introduction for instructors.

http://chemcollective.org/teachers/introforInstructors.

Derkach, T. M. (2008). Information technologies in the

teaching of chemical disciplines. Vydavnytstvo DNU,

Dnipropetrovsk.

Grygorovych, O. V. (2016). Chemistry: A textbook for

Grade 8. Ranok, Kyiv.

Kharchenko, Y. V., Babenko, O. M., and Kiv, A. E.

(2021). Using Blippar to create augmented reality in

chemistry education. CEUR Workshop Proceedings,

2898:213–229.

Leshchenko, M. P., Kolomiiets, A. M., Iatsyshyn, A. V., Ko-

valenko, V. V., Dakal, A. V., and Radchenko, O. O.

(2021). Development of informational and research

competence of postgraduate and doctoral students in

conditions of digital transformation of science and

education. Journal of Physics: Conference Series,

1840(1):012057.

Lytvynova, S. and Medvedieva, M. (2020). Educational

computer modelling in natural sciences education:

Chemistry and biology aspects. CEUR Workshop Pro-

ceedings, 2732:532–546.

Midak, L. Y., Kravets, I. V., Kuzyshyn, O. V., Baziuk,

L. V., and Buzhdyhan, K. V. (2021). Speciﬁcs of us-

ing image visualization within education of the up-

coming chemistry teachers with augmented reality

technology. Journal of Physics: Conference Series,

1840(1):012013.

Mindeyeva, E. O. (2010). Organization of learning research

activities in the geography of students of a specialized

school. PhD thesis, Herzen State Pedagogical Univer-

sity of Russia, Sankt-Peterburg.

Model Science (2019). Model Science

Software Products – Model ChemLab.

http://modelscience.com/products.html.

Modlo, Y., Semerikov, S., and Shmeltzer, E. (2018).

Modernization of professional training of electrome-

chanics bachelors: ICT-based Competence Approach.

CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 2257:148–172.

Mukan, L. (2002). Tasks as a factor in the formation of

intelligence of students. Biolohiia i khimiia v shkoli,

(6):16–21.

Nechypurenko, P., Selivanova, T., and Chernova, M. (2019).

Using the cloud-oriented virtual chemical laboratory

VLab in teaching the solution of experimental prob-

lems in chemistry of 9th grade students. CEUR Work-

shop Proceedings, 2393:968–983.

Nechypurenko, P. and Semerikov, S. (2017). VlabEmbed

- the new plugin Moodle for the chemistry education.

CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 1844:319–326.

AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology

334

Nechypurenko, P., Starova, T., Selivanova, T., Tomilina, A.,

and Uchitel, A. (2018). Use of augmented reality in

chemistry education. CEUR Workshop Proceedings,

2257:15–23.

Nechypurenko, P. P. (2012). Some aspects of simulation of

real chemical processes and systems in virtual chem-

ical laboratories. Theory and methods of e-learning,

3:238–244.

Nechypurenko, P. P., Semerikov, S. O., Selivanova, T. V.,

and Shenayeva, T. O. (2016). Information and com-

munication tools for pupils’ research competence for-

mation at chemistry proﬁle learning. Information

Technologies and Learning Tools, 56(6):10–29.

Nefedova, T. V. (2012). The development of research

skills of students with mental retardation in chemistry

lessons. PhD thesis, Moscow Pedagogical State Uni-

versity, Moscow.

Pak, M. S. (2015). Theory and methods of teaching chem-

istry: a textbook for universities. Publishing house of

RGPU named after A. I. Gertsen, Sankt-Peterburg.

Savchyn, M. M. (2015). Use of algorithms in the course of

chemistry as a means and method of forming the sub-

ject competences of students. Scientiﬁc issues of Vin-

nytsia State M. Kotsyubynskyi Pedagogical University.

Section: Pedagogics and Psychology, 44:324–328.

Semerikov, S., Teplytskyi, I., Yechkalo, Y., and Kiv, A.

(2018). Computer simulation of neural networks us-

ing spreadsheets: The dawn of the age of Camelot.

CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 2257:122–147.

Trukhin, L. (2002). On the use of virtual laboratories in

education. Open and distance education, (4):67–68.

Velychko, L., Dubovyk, O., Kotliar, Z., Muliar, S.,

Pavlenko, V., Svynko, L., Tytarenko, N., and

Yaroshenko, O. (2017). Khimiia 7-9 klasy:

Navchalna prohrama dlia zahalnoosvitnikh navchal-

nykh zakladiv. https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/

media/zagalna%20serednya/programy-5-9-klas/

onovlennya-12-2017/10-ximiya-7-9.doc.

Yaron, D., Karabinos, M., Lange, D., Greeno, J. G., and

Leinhardt, G. (2010). The ChemCollective — Virtual

Labs for Introductory Chemistry Courses. Science,

328(5978):584–585.

Yenka (2017). Yenka Chemistry. https://www.yenka.com/

en/Yenka

Chemistry/.

Zabolotnyi, O. V. (2007). Formuvannia doslidnyt-

skykh umin uchniv u protsesi vyvchennia syn-

taksysu ukrainskoi movy. Narodna osvita, (3).

https://www.narodnaosvita.kiev.ua/Narodna osvita/

vupysku/3/statti/2zabolotny/zabolotny.htm.

Zarubko, V. P. (2015). Development of cre-

ative thinking of students through solv-

ing problems. Chemistry teacher’s blog.

http://blog.himiya.in.ua/metodychna-robota/

rozvytok-tvorchogo-myslennja.html.

Using the Virtual Chemical Laboratories in Teaching the Solution of Experimental Problems in Chemistry of 9th Grade Students While

Studying the Topic "Solutions"

335