Identify The Understanding of The Physical Meaning of High School Students Towards Physics Quantities and Its Sources A H Putri, A Suhandi and A Samsudin
Postgraduates School, Indonesia University of Education
Physics Education Department, Indonesia University of Education
Abstract
Physics subjects cover a wide range of physics quantities. One of the objectives of learning physics is to facilitate the achievement of an understanding of the physical meaning by students regarding the quantities of physics they are studying. This study was conducted to identify the understanding of the physical meaning of high school students towards several physics quantities reviewed, including: specific heat, coefficient of expansion, spring coefficient, Young^s modulus, electric and magnetic fields. The research method used in this study is descriptive method. The research subjects were 60 high school students in one of the districts in the province of West Java. The instrument used to collect data on understanding physical meaning and its source is a test for understanding physical meaning in the form of an essay. The results showed that almost all students who were the subjects of this study did not have a good understanding of the physical meaning of the physics quantities being reviewed. The statements given by the students are not physical meanings but are verbal representations of the formulas related to the physics quantities. From the students^ answers, it can also be identified that the sources of reference are textbooks and teacher explanations. The results of this study indicate that it is necessary to create a treatment to improve understanding of the physical meaning of physics quantities.
