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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 19, Issue 2, Article 11 (Dec., 2018) |
Investigation of students' knowledge of physical quantities' symbol, unit and formula
Tolga GOK
Torbali Technical Vocational School of Higher Education, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, TURKEY
E-mail: gok.tolga@gmail.com
Received 16 Apr., 2018
Revised 16 Oct., 2018
The usage of symbol, unit and formula of some fundamental physical quantities are quite important for science and engineering students regardless of their majors. The purpose of the present research was to examine the students' knowledge regarding the usage of symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities. The opinions of students on using symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities were also investigated. The research was conducted with 220 college students. The data of the research were collected by using an evaluation form (data sheet) and an essay. The data sheet was designed for investigating the students' knowledge about symbol, unit, and formula of twenty eight fundamental physical quantities. The volunteer students' opinions about the essential keys (symbol, unit, and formula) of the fundamental physical quantities were also collected by means of the essay. The descriptive statistical analyses of the collected data with help of the data sheet were analyzed. The results presented that approximately 30% of the students could determine the symbol and unit of the fundamental physical quantities besides 25% of the students could write the formula of the fundamental physical quantities. These findings revealed that the many students did not understand the importance of the symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities by problem solving. According to the student essays, many students thought that the usage of fundamental physical quantities' symbol, unit, and formula was not necessary to solve qualitative and quantitative problems therefore they did not any motive to understand the fundamental concepts by using the fundamental physical quantities' symbol, unit, and formula. Some recommendations in the light of the findings of the present research were presented.
Keywords: formula, physics, symbol, unit
