EXPLORING "EXPERIMENTALLY" THE pH VALUE OF PRODUCTS USING AUGMENTED REALITY WITH TANGIBLE OBJECTS

Simulation, as a tool for decision making, allows the analysis and evaluation of objects, situations or phenomena that due to their complexity, cost or danger would not be possible in a traditional learning space of high school level. In the case of teaching chemistry, simulators allow testing different conditions of the phenomenon without additional resources. Also, it's possible to test hypotheses about the object or event analysed. On the other hand, Augmented Reality (AR) allows the integration of digital content with information from the real world. In the educational field, the advantages of using it for the teaching of abstract concepts, objects or phenomena that cannot be observed with the naked eye have been identified, or to model situations that a student could not repeat, either because of the dangerous nature of the materials or the high cost of them. The AR can enrich the educational experiences of the students because it allows more flexible, intuitive and interactive manipulation of the object of study. Another potential advantage of the AR in the teaching-learning process mediated by physical objects would be in the case of the activities that are carried out in the laboratories of teaching experimental sciences. This paper proposes to analyse the use of an AR application to support the teaching of acid-base chemistry at the high school level, especially for the understanding of the relationship between pH and the concentration of acidic, basic and neutral aqueous solutions. The products (solutes) and the water (solvent) are simulated by the AR technology, and the experimental activity is carried out by manipulating a real beaker and a real Erlenmeyer flask.