Senior high school students understanding of vector concepts in mathematical and physical representations

Abstract

Vector is an important concept used in almost all physics topics learned in high school. The goal of this study is to identify the understanding of vector concepts using mathematical and physical representation in Grade X high school students in Malang (East Java, Indonesia) and Waikabubak town (NTT Province, Indonesia). The qualitative phenomenological study includes 6 students with 3 students in every school. Methods of data collection use in-depth interviews and vector understanding tests. The results showed that students perceiving vectors are an easy physics concept, however, most students experience problems with the vector concept. Students appear to respond correctly to mathematical representation tests, but there are still a lot of errors in the representations of physics. For further studies, it is best to build learning media for students to study the application of vectors to physical phenomena.