Analysis of Students^ Conceptual Understanding in Determining the Direction of Rotational Kinematics Quantities Andrea Faktur Rahman, Jauhar Rosanah, Alfina Rosita Dewi, Muhammad Reyza Arief Taqwa
Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Malang, Semarang Street No 5, East Java 65145, Indonesia
Andreafaktur14r[at]gmail.com
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the students^ conceptual understanding of kinematics. We focus on identifying students^ abilities in determining the direction of kinematic quantities, namely (1) angular and linear position, (2) angular and linear displacement, (3) instantaneous angular and linear velocity, (4) average angular and linear velocity, and (5) angular and linear acceleration. All questions are based on a case of uniform circular motion. The study was conducted on 53 students of S1 Physics Education who had taken basic physics courses. This was descriptive research conducted on 53 undergraduate students of Physics Education who have passed the Fundamental of Physics I course. The research instrument consisted of 10 multiple choice questions and an interview guide. Data analysis was carried out by determining descriptive statistics. The results showed that the average score of students^ understanding of the Rotational Kinematics concept was 33.58 (medium category). We found that many students had difficulties in determining the direction of rotational kinematic quantities. In addition, students are actually better at determining the direction of translational kinematics quantities. Based on the results of the interviews, students were confused in determining the direction of rotational kinematics quantities and assumed that the direction of the quantities was the same as the direction of rotation. Based on the results of interviews, students assume the direction of rotational quantities is the same as the direction of rotation.
