Investigating some basic and common misconceptions of tenth grade students in the first chapter of chemistry book

Perhaps the best description for the word Misconception is to pay attention to its meaning. Ambiguity of the content, complexity of the lesson, personal perception, and failure to choose the appropriate teaching method can be challenging for the students. The purpose of this research is to investigate the common misconceptions of tenth grade students about the first chapter of the chemistry book with regard to the concepts such as mole and Avogadro's number, atomic mass and amu, subatomic particles and ions, and layers and electronic transitions. A total number of 60 female students studying in the field of experimental sciences in the 10th grade Hazrat Fatemeh Al-Zahra senior high school in Rabat-Karim, Iran participated in the study. Analytical-descriptive methods were used to conduct this research, and in order to collect data, a diagnostic test containing eight multiple-choice questions was used; Then the students' answers were checked and analyzed. The findings showed that students have different ideas and misconceptions about the mentioned concepts. By analyzing each question, students' misunderstandings of the respective subject were extracted. The results indicated that the topics of mole and Avogadro's number, atomic mass and amu, subatomic particles and ions, layers and electron transitions in the tenth grade chemistry textbook need to be reviewed, completed, and simplified. Moreover, chemistry teachers can take effective steps in reducing and eliminating these misunderstandings by using appropriate teaching methods.