Misconception profile of students in senior high school iv Sidoarjo East Java in work and energy concepts and the causes evaluated using Four-Tier Diagnostic Test

Abstract

Abstract The main issue faced by students in secondary high schools in Indonesia is the difficulties in understanding physics concepts. These difficulties are often caused by a conflict between preconceptions and academic knowledge obtained from school. For example, students’ preconceptions says that Work is an effort by exerting energy and thought. In physics, Work is the dot product between force and displacement vectors whose value is determined by the angle between those vectors. This conflict phenomenon is assured to produce misconceptions. This present study aims to analyse the 10th grade students’ misconception profile in Senior High School IV Sidoarjo East Java on Work and Energy concepts and to identify the sources examined using the developed four-tier multiple-choice test. A total of 30 students participated in this study. The data collection instrument contains 25 physics-concepts questions. Serious misconceptions was identified on Work, Energy Change and Mechanical Energy Conservation concepts as a result of preconceptions. Meanwhile, the similar misconceptions found on Power concept was due to incomplete reasoning.