Polyhedrons vs. Curved surfaces with mental cutting: Impact of spatial ability

Abstract

This study aims to determine and compare first-year engineering students’ mental cutting ability, into two new parts, among the students of two universities in Tehran and Debrecen, concerning final mathematical exams and their gender, in order to understand whether the students of the two universities have sufficient spatial abilities. For that purpose; the Mental Cutting Test is applied to first-year engineering students to determine their mental cutting ability, in a current situation. In our research, we separate the tests into two parts, “Polyhedrons” and “Curved Surfaces”. The separate tests results have been statistically evaluated and conclusions formulated. According to obtained data, the results are: First-year engineering female students of Debrecen and male students of Tehran, are more successful at Curved Surfaces than Polyhedrons; in addition, male students of Debrecen and female students of Tehran are more successful at Polyhedrons than Curved Surfaces. There is a significant correlation between the male students Polyhedrons and Curved Surfaces solutions, in both countries, but not for the female population.