Abstract:
More than 500 chemistry/science textbooks from a variety of countries and written at all levels of education have been looked at to see how they dealt with the topic of physical and chemical change. Textbooks have continued to cover this chemical topic for over 100 years. What evidence do school textbooks contain about the purposes and methods of teaching this topic? Is its coverage in textbooks increasing or decreasing? Does its coverage vary by country, by level or by degree of integration of the sciences? When was physical and chemical change first taught and is it still appropriate to teach this topic? These and other related questions will be considered in the paper.