Students' visualization and conceptual understanding of atomic orbitals using a virtual environment

In order to study various aspects of students' understanding of atomic orbitals, we have built a 3D virtual environment - "Virtual Water" - to support the learning of some concepts of physics and chemistry at the final high school or first-year university levels. It focuses on the microscopic structure of water and explores, among others, concepts related to atomic and molecular orbitals. To evaluate that software, we have made a qualitative study with 20 first-year students of science and engineering courses at the university of Coimbra, Portugal. Having been asked to describe their views about how they conceive electrons in an atom before seeing "Virtual Water", students revealed some misconceptions. We have tried, with partial success, to overcome them by making students explore our virtual environment.