Identifying misconceptions in students’ understanding of the concept of physical and chemical change with open-ended questions

Authors

  • Linda Fitriani Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga
  • Yusro Syafawani Ridho Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga
  • Maya Indra Pratiwi Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga
  • Asih Widi Wisudawati Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30862/accej.v8i2.1163

Keywords:

Chemical changes, misconception, open-ended questions, three levels of representation

Abstract

This study aims to identify misconceptions in students’ understanding of physical and chemical changes using objective instruments in the form of open-ended descriptions and reasons. Chemistry is a science that underlies knowledge of the structure and changes of matter through three levels of representation: macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic. However, students’ limited ability to connect these levels of representation often leads to misconceptions that can hinder understanding of more complex concepts in the future. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach with 21 grade 10 students at a high school in Yogyakarta as subjects. The research instrument consisted of 5 open-ended questions and reasons used to categorize students’ mindsets into understanding the concept, misconceptions, and not understanding the concept. The study found misconceptions across various subconcepts, including the assumption that chemical changes are absolutely unidirectional (irreversible) and the inability to distinguish particle interactions during salt dissolution and magnesium combustion. The main factors causing these misconceptions are incomplete preconceptions, incorrect reasoning, and a lack of in-depth understanding at the submicroscopic level. This placement emphasizes strengthening knowledge of basic concepts and integrating levels of chemical representation to improve students’ thinking patterns.

References

Abraham, M. R., Grzybowski, E. B., Renner, J. W., & Marek, E. A. (1992). Understandings and misunderstandings of eighth graders of five chemistry concepts found in textbooks. Journal Of Research In Science Teaching, 29(2), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660290203

Alpionita, P., & Astuti. (2015). Sintesis dan karakterisasi magnesium oksida (MgO) dengan variasi massa PEG-6000. Jurnal Fisika Unand, 4(2), 167–172. https://doi.org/10.25077/jfu.4.2.%25p.2015

Atkins, P., & Paula, J. De. (2018). Physical chemistry. Great Britain.

Brown, T. L., LeMay, H. E., Bursten, B. E., Murphy, C., Woodward, P., & Stoltzfus, M. (2018). Chemistry the central science. Pearson.

Chang, R., & Goldsby, K. (2013). Chemistry. McGraw-Hill Education.

Dewanti, L. A., & Hidayati, S. N. (2018). Penerapan pembelajaran IPA dengan strategi pdeode untuk mereduksi miskonsepsi siswa pada materi perubahan fisika dan perubahan kimia kelas VII SMP. PENSA E-Jurnal: Pendidikan Sains, 6(1), 6–12. https://doi.org/10.26740/pensa.v6i01.21978

Fitri, T., Mulyani, S., & Khoerunnisa, F. (2022). Profil model mental siswa pada materi hukum laju reaksi dengan menggunakan tes diagnostik model mental. Jurnal Riset dan Praktik Pendidikan Kimia, 10(2), 164–172. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17509/jrppk.v10i2.52242

Gilbert, E. J. K. (2018). Models and modelling in science education. Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Iqbal, M., Fatah, A. H., & Syarpin. (2020). Pengembangan multimedia pembelajaran larutan elektrolit dan non elektrolit berbasis multipel representasi menggunakan lectora inspire. Jurnal Ilmiah Kanderang Tingang, 11(1), 152–163. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.37304/jikt.v11i1.83 Pengembangan

Junarti, Enawaty, E., & Sartika, R. P. (2018). Deskripsi pemahaman konsep siswa pada materi perubahan kimia dan fisika di kelas VII SMP. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran Khatulistiwa, 7(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.26418/jppk.v7i1.23607

Kismiati, D. A., & Hutasoit, L. R. (2024). Teacher misconceptions : A phenomenon of the lack of knowledge in science subjects. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, 10(6), 3493–3500. https://doi.org/10.29303/jppipa.v10i6.7226

Mu’minin, A. A., Dasna, I. W., & Suharti. (2020). Efektivitas POGIL pada pembelajaran kesetimbangan kimia terhadap keterampilan proses sains dan hasil belajar siswa dengan kemampuan awal berbeda. Hydrogen: Jurnal Kependidikan Kimia, 8(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.33394/hjkk.v8i1.2659

Rahma, A. M., Hamid, M. N., Billah, M., Erliyanti, N. K., Triana, N. W., & Karaman, N. (2025). Peningkatan kadar natrium klorida (NaCl) dan pengurangan impuritas air laut untuk garam industri dengan karbonasi CO2. Jurnal Integrasi Proses, 14(1), 154–159. https://doi.org/10.62870/jip.v14i1.32778

Rahmadhani, A. A., Mamlu’ah, N., Humaidah, N., & Karenina, A. (2023). Validitas modul materi perubahan fisika dan kimia berbasis keterampilan berpikir kreatif di tingkat SMP/MTs. Jurnal Tadris IPA Indonesia, 3(2), 180–189. https://doi.org/10.21154/jtii.v3i2.2281

Rahmiati, Irawati, R. K., & Astutik, T. P. (2022). Pemahaman konsep pada materi reaksi redoks dengan four-tier test. Al Kawnu: Science And Local Wisdom Journal, 1(2), 69–73. https://doi.org/10.18592/alkawnu.v1i1.6343

Rohmah, M., Priyono, S., & Sari, R. S. (2023). Analisis faktor-faktor penyebab miskonsepsi peserta didik SMA. UTILITY: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dan Ekonomi, 7(2), 39–47. https://doi.org/10.30599/utility.v7i01.2165

Sihaloho, T., Sidauruk, S., & Anggraeni, M. E. (2024). Analisis kesulitan siswa dalam memahami konsep hukum- hukum dasar kimia (Systematic Review). Jurnal Ilmiah Kanderang Tingang, 15(2), 451–463. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.37304/jikt.v15i2.230

Silberberg. (2020). MAP: Chemistry - the molecular nature of matter and change. LibreText.

Sukmawati, W. (2019). Analisis level makroskopis , mikroskopis dan simbolik mahasiswa dalam memahami elektrokimia. Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan IPA, 5(2), 195–204. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21831/jipi.v5i2.27517

Taber, K. (2002). Chemical misconceptions. 1: Theoretical background. Royal Society of Chemistry.

Zidny, R., Sopandi, W., & Kusrijadi, A. (2015). Gambaran level submikroskopik untuk menunjukkan pemahaman konsep siswa pada materi persamaan kimia dan stoikiometri. Jurnal Penelitian Dan Pembelajaran IPA, 1(1), 42–59. https://doi.org/10.30870/jppi.v1i1.326

Zumdahl, S. S., Zumdahl, S. A., & DeCoste, D. J. (2016). Chemistry, Tenth Edition. Cengage Learning.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-31

How to Cite

Fitriani, L., Syafawani Ridho, Y., Indra Pratiwi, M., & Widi Wisudawati, A. (2025). Identifying misconceptions in students’ understanding of the concept of physical and chemical change with open-ended questions. Arfak Chem: Chemistry Education Journal, 8(2), 802–811. https://doi.org/10.30862/accej.v8i2.1163

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2025): Arfak Chem

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Linda Fitriani, Yusro Syafawani Ridho, Maya Indra Pratiwi, Asih Widi Wisudawati

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

License and Copyright Agreement

In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:

  • They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
  • The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal. Please also carefully read Arfak Chem: Chemistry Education Journal Posting Your Article Policy at http://journalfkipunipa.org/index.php/accej/about
  • That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
  • That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
  • They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
  • They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.

Copyright

Authors who publish with Arfak Chem: Chemistry Education Journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-ND 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.