Balancing chemical equations: The role of developmental level and mental capacity

Abstract Why are some students able to learn to use the trial and error method to balance chemical equations while others are not? To test the hypothesis that formal reasoning is required to balance even simple one‐step equations, while formal reasoning and a sufficiently large mental capacity are required to balance more complex many‐step equations, a sample of science students was tested to determine level of intellectual development, mental capacity, and degree of field dependence/field independence. Students were then given classroom instruction in using trial and error to balance equations. As predicted, a posttest revealed significant correlations between developmental level and equation balancing ability for both simple and complex equations. Also, as predicted, mental capacity correlated significantly with complex equations but not with simple equations. Field dependence/field independence played no significant role in performance. Educational implications are drawn.