Investigating 11th Graders Mental Models: An Example of Hydraulic System
Dewi Yulianawati (*), Lilik Hasanah, and Achmad Samsudin

Program Studi Magister Pendidikan Fisika, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr.Setiabudi No. 229 Bandung 40154, Indonesia

Abstract

Mental models aid us to comprehend the establishment of objects, the progress of the process and to assert a notion about it. In this study, we grasp a mental model as an internal delineation, which acts aout as a structural analog of situations. Even though mental models are the deputation of lore inflictes throughout a cognitive activity, they also reflect personal beliefs. This study consigns to investigating the mental model used by elevent graders in describing Hydraulic System. For Example, the graders believe when the distance of two fluid-filled cylinders closer then the increase in output piston is greater. Participants were 16th and 17th years old (N=106) of eleventh graders from one of the Secondary s\School in West Java. The data unruffles through Three Tier Open Ended Tests (3TOET) was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results assert that the particiants built a diversity of mental models about Hydraulic System and almost all conduct defective mental models rather than a scientifically appropriate one.

Keywords: Mental Models, Hydraulic System

Topic: Physics Education