Conceptual understanding and difficulties of high school students in urban and rural areas: Case of archimedes’ principles

Abstract

This study aims to determine the differences of students’ conceptual understanding about Archimedes’ principle in this study conducted with descriptive quantitative method involving 60 students. The instrument consists of open ended questions (r = 0.664). The results of Mann U Whitney test shows that there is significant differences of students’ conceptual understanding between urban and rural area. The mean rank indicates that students in the urban have a higher conceptual understanding in Archimedes principle. Further analytical qualitative shows that high school students from the different areas revealed a difficulty to distinguish hydrostatic pressure and Archimedes’ concepts. Based on these findings, it is hoped that public policies will be more equitable in paying attention to the conditions of students in urban and rural areas.