Abstract
The concept of chemical equilibrium is central to the understanding of chemistry, and is widely viewed as the most difficult topic to master in the General Chemistry curriculum. The study of chemical equilibrium is at the core of Chem 1B, the second semester general chemistry class at California State University Sacramento. This study attempts to locate the primary reasons for students’ difficulties with chemical equilibrium and to suggest help for their problems, particularly with regard to the conceptual understanding of this topic.The action research technique has been employed to characterize this problem, develop and introduce interventions to the student environment meant to improve the problem, and collate and summarize the results of this intervention. It is found that there is a lack of conceptual understanding of the principles underlying chemical equilibrium on the part of general chemistry students, and it is recommended that additional conceptual teaching be added to the general chemistry curriculum at CSUS.