Tahap Pemahaman Konsep Jadual Berkala dan Struktur Atom serta Aplikasinya dalam Kalangan Pelajar Sekolah Menengah di Daerah Gua Musang, Kelantan

The Understanding Level of Periodic Table and Atomic Structure Concepts and its Application among the Secondary School Students of Gua Musang District, Kelantan

Abstract

Kajian ini bertujuan meninjau tahap pemahaman pelajar tingkatan empat aliran sains tulen mengenai jadual berkala unsur dan struktur atom serta aplikasinya. Kajian ini dilakukan di dua buah sekolah menengah di daerah Gua Musang, Kelantan. Seramai 100 orang pelajar, yang dipilih secara rawak kelompok (cluster random sampling), telah dilibatkan dalam kajian. Data dikumpul melalui set soal selidik yang berbentuk soalan terbuka, di mana mengandungi tiga bahagian: Biodata responden, soalan yang menguji pemahaman responden terhadap aspek yang dikaji dan aplikasi konsep tersebut dalam topik ikatan kimia. Respon yang diberikan oleh sampel pelajar disemak berpandukan skema pemarkahan yang disediakan. Setiap respon yang betul diberi 1 markah; manakala, jawapan yang salah diberi markah 0. Skor bagi setiap item dikira dan ditukar ke dalam bentuk peratusan. Kemudian, nilai min skor bagi setiap aspek kajian (iaitu konsp jadual berkala unsur dan struktur atom) ditentukan. Semua proses analisis dijalankan dengan bantuan perisian ‘Statistical Packages For Social Sciences 16.0 For Windows’ (SPSS 16.0 for Windows). Hasil kajian menunjukkan tahap pemahaman konsep asas struktur atom dalam kalangan pelajar hanya berada di tahap sederhana; manakala, tahap pemahaman konsep asas jadual berkala unsur adalah lemah. Aplikasi kedua-dua konsep asas ini oleh pelajar dalam topik ikatan kimia adalah sangat lemah. Ujian kolerasi mendapati terdapat hubungan (positif) yang sederhana antara tahap pemahaman konsep asas jadual berkala dan struktur atom dengan tahap aplikasinya

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This study surveyed a group of science stream form four students’ understanding of the periodic table, the atomic structure and its application.The study was done in two secondary schools in the district of Gua Musang, Kelantan. A total of 100 students, selected by cluster random sampling, were involved in the study. Data was collected through questionnaires in the form of open-ended questions, which consists of three parts: Biodata of the respondents, questions that test the respondents’ understanding of studied aspects and their applications. Responses given by the sample were reviewed based on a marking scheme provided. Each correct response scored 1 point, while the wrong answer scored 0. Scores for each item are calculated and converted into percentages. The mean score for each aspect (i.e., the periodic table and atomic structure) is then determined. All analysis was performed with the help of the ‘Statistical Packages For Windows Social Sciences 16.0 (SPSS for Windows)’ software. Results showed that the understanding level of the basic concepts of the atomic structure is weak while their understanding on the periodic table is moderate. The application of students in these two concepts (the periodic table and atomic structure) in the topic of chemical bonds were found to be very weak. A correlation test found a moderate correlation between the understanding level of the periodic table and atomic structure basic concepts.