Profile of Students’ Understanding of Stoichiometry Through Short Quizzes in a General Chemistry Course

Abstract

Stoichiometry is a core topic in General Chemistry that requires strong conceptual understanding as well as quantitative reasoning skills. This topic is often perceived as difficult by undergraduate students because it involves abstract concepts such as the mole, mathematical calculations, and multi-step problem solving. This study aims to describe the profile of students’ understanding of stoichiometry through the use of short quizzes as a form of formative assessment. The study employed a quantitative descriptive approach involving 34 undergraduate students enrolled in a General Chemistry course. The research instrument consisted of a short quiz with three items covering molar mass determination, mole–mass conversion, and simple stoichiometric applications in chemical reactions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and categorized into high, moderate, and low levels of understanding. The results showed that 71.88% of students demonstrated a high level of understanding, 25.00% showed a moderate level, and 3.12% exhibited a low level of understanding. These findings indicate that short quizzes are effective as an early diagnostic tool to map students’ understanding of stoichiometry and provide immediate feedback for improving the learning process