In this paper we sought to understand the meanings of the term "shift in the equilibrium", term related to systems in chemical equilibrium, for chemistry teacher students. The data were collected by a questionnaire, which wes answered by students in a teacher education course in Chemistry. The data were interpreted by the Content Analysis, which was used to understand the meanings of the expression "shift in the equilibrium" for the chemistry teacher students. The answers highlighted the need for deeper conceptual discussions on the subject chemical equilibrium in teacher´s education programs, given that there where erroneous interpretations and, if these concepts are not understood, the misconceptions are likely to be maintained and brought back in classes given by the future teachers.
Chemical equilibrium; higher education; teachers education