Relationship between the attitudes of undergraduate students towards complex numbers and misconceptions

Abstract

This study has been carried out in order to determine university students’ misconceptions and errors of complex numbers and their attitudes towards complex numbers. Whether there is a relation between the attitudes of the students towards the complex numbers and their misconceptions and errors has also been studied. It has been observed that the misconceptions and errors among university students show similarity to misconceptions and errors previously determined among second grade students in secondary schools. It has been determined that the students’ attitude towards complex numbers is close to positive. It has been observed that the attitude of Faculty of Education, Department of Secondary School Science and Mathematics Education, Division of Mathematics Education (DSSSME-DME) students are more positive in comparison to the students’ of the Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics (FS-DM). However, this study has designated that the students’ attitudes towards the complex numbers and their misconceptions on complex numbers do not have a significant relation.