Students conceptual understanding of heat and temperature

This study aimed to explore students conceptual understanding of heat and temperature and attempted to seek the common conception of the senior students of Camasi National High School (CNHS). A 20item open-ended Thermal Concept Evaluation (TCE) was used as an instrument in the study to probe students conceptual understanding on heat and temperature. An unstructured interview was also utilized to verify the consistency of students responses. Forty nine (49) senior students were the respondents of this study. Descriptive survey was employed to analyze and interpret data. Results revealed homogeneity of the 20-item open-ended TCE scores of the students where in they are classified as having the caloric viewpoint of heat which means that they still hold beliefs that are inconsistent with the accepted scientific theory of heat and temperature. The most common alternative conceptions possessed by the respondents are: (a) Temperature can be transferred (b) The temperature of a water that is boiling for quite a long time decreases (c) Boiling is not possible at places of low temperature (d) Cold can be transferred and absorbed (e) Metal is a conductor of cold and (f) Non living things like dolls cannot absorb heat