Chemical Nomenclature from Lavoisier to IUPAC: Implications for Türkiye’s New Chemistry Curriculum

Ergun M.

6th International Petra Congress on Educational Sciences, Davao, Filipinler, 27 - 28 Temmuz 2026, (Tam Metin Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Davao
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Filipinler
  • Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Chemical nomenclature plays a crucial role in identifying compounds and ensuring clear scientific communication. However, students often perceive chemical formulas and systematic nomenclature rules as material to be memorized rather than concepts to be understood. This study aimed to analyze the reform of chemical language and nomenclature introduced by Antoine Laurent Lavoisier in Traité élémentaire de chimie (1789) and to examine its implications for contemporary IUPAC nomenclature and the Century of Türkiye Education Model Chemistry Curriculum. The study employed document analysis, a qualitative research method. The original French first edition was examined through content analysis, focusing on the preliminary discourse, the nomenclature of gases, and the systematic tables of acids and salts. The findings were organized around symbolic representation and logical encoding, reduction of cognitive load, and construction of systematic patterns. The analysis revealed that Lavoisier replaced the obscure and inconsistent terminology of alchemy with a rational nomenclature based on binomial structures, common roots, and systematic suffixes. Strong continuities were identified between Lavoisier’s system and modern IUPAC nomenclature, particularly in the use of the -ate/-ite suffixes and cation-anion relationships. Nevertheless, Lavoisier’s system involved quantitative ambiguity concerning valence and stoichiometry and was limited by an oxygen-centered interpretation of acidity. From a pedagogical perspective, systematic nomenclature may enable students to construct integrated semantic networks instead of learning compound names as isolated units of information. Integrating Lavoisier’s original tables and the historical development of chemical language into nomenclature teaching may therefore promote meaningful encoding, reduce reliance on rote memorization, and support the inquiry-based literacy and historical inquiry skills emphasized in Türkiye’s revised chemistry curriculum.

 

Keywords: Chemical nomenclature, Lavoisier, IUPAC, history of chemistry, chemistry education 

 

* This study was supported by TÜBİTAK 2219 Post-Doctoral Research Program