A Virtual Experiment for Learning the Principle of Daniell Cell Based on Augmented Reality

Chemistry is a science emphasizing both theory and experimentation. After learning the theoretical knowledge, experimental operation can help students understand chemical concepts and transform them into practical knowledge. Considering the safety issue and the lack of teaching time and experimental equipment, some teachers often choose to demonstrate an experiment instead of letting students conduct it by themselves. This may affect their learning motivation as well as the construction of chemical concepts and hands-on skills. This study combined the augmented reality (AR) technology with the operating principle of the Daniell cell to develop a virtual experiment for the application in high school chemistry courses. Students can conduct the virtual experiment using mobile devices by selecting the required equipment and materials from a deck of cards to set up the experimental environment. In the virtual experiment, students can use the galvanometer to measure the current after mounting the salt bridge on the beakers containing zinc sulfate and copper sulfate solutions. They can also see the change of molecular structures and movement of electrons and ions during the redox reactions to understand the important concepts and knowledge. An empirical research has been performed, and the analytical results show that both the virtual experiment and the real experiment could improve students’ learning achievement, but the former was more effective for the low-achievement students because they could explore autonomously to enhance cognition by observing the submicroscopic view of the redox reactions. The post-test results show that the average score of the low-achievement students in the experimental group (41.60) was significantly higher than that of the control group (27.67). Questionnaire results reveal that most students were satisfied with the learning contents, user interface, learning motivation, system reality, and practicality of the virtual experiment, and the average satisfaction score was 3.98 out of 5. The application of virtual experiments is not limited by time or space. Students only need to download the application (APP) software and print out the AR cards to practice at home, so it is suitable for large-scale promotion in rural areas.