An investigation of the factors influencing student performance in physical chemistry

An investigation of factors which influence student performance in physical chemistry has been carried out. Perceptions of the difficulty of this field of study and perceptions on the part of professors of what qualities students need to succeed have been considered with a view to finding out whether they have any basis in fact. Students' perceptions about their own ability or experience did not correlate with performance, but math skills, especially with word problems, were a factor. It was found that having logical thinking skills, as seen from performance of the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking, i s helpful to performance. Students and teachers are at odds in physical chemistry courses. Instructors can organize the courses to best reach students if they have knowledge of what works.