Student Difficulties Understanding the Concept of the Colligative Properties of Solutions in Class XII IPA SMA Negeri in Palangka Raya Academic Year 2018/2019

Abstract

Chemistry is a branch of natural science, in chemistry there are two types of understanding that must be mastered by students, namely conceptual understanding and algorithmic understanding. Colligative properties of solutions are one of the subjects in Chemistry Class XII SMA with the coverage of Boiling Point Increase, Vapor Pressure Drop, Freezing Point Depression, and Osmotic Pressure. This study aims to describe the difficulties of class XII IPA SMA Negeri in Palangka Raya for academic year 2018/2019 in understanding the concept of colligative properties of solutions.

This research is a descriptive research with a quantitative approach. The subjects of this study involved 267 students from 3 schools, each of which was taken as many as 2 classes. The data collection technique was carried out by TPKSKL using the Two-Tier Multiple Choice instrument and supported by an interview session.

The results showed that the average difficulty experienced by class XII IPA SMA Negeri in Palangka Raya City in understanding the concept of colligative properties of solutions was 66.3%. The percentage of difficulty in each concept includes; students' difficulty in determining the boiling point of the solution is 65.8%; students' difficulty in determining the decrease in vapor pressure of the solution by 64.9%; students' difficulty in determining the freezing point depression of the solution is 69.85%; and students' difficulties in determining the osmotic pressure of a solution of 64.4%.