Department of Education

Region VIII
Leyte National High School
Senior High School
Tacloban City
S.Y 2019-2020

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATHEMATICAL SKILLS AND STUDENTS

INTEREST IN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF STE STUDENTS IN LEYTE
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

A Research Paper Submitted

In the Fulfilment of the

Subject – Practical Research 2

S.Y. 2019-2020

Submitted by:
Jaca, John Wesley
Lagos, Christian Allen
Cantero, Jeanmey
Dosal, Fiona Mae
Gabriola, Grechel Joy
Jusay, Joriza Anne
Pelias, Andrea Leslie
XII- E. Quisumbing

Submitted to:
Mr. Emmanuel S. Colete
Practical Research
 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In the book of The Phenomenology of Mathematics, Mathematics and Science have

been historically interwoven since the time of the ancient Greeks. Italian astronomer and

physicist Galileo Galilei is attributed with the quote “Mathematics is the language in which

God has written the universe” in his summary of his statement in Opere Il Saggiatore.

Mathematics is seen as an essential subject that is important for us to understand other

fields of study such as science, technology, medicine, and engineering. In addition to that,

it is also a radical compression of logical and scientific language into a more economical

set of conventional symbols, the meanings of which have evolved out of traditional use

by specialized practitioners. Educational psychologist Paul Riccomini and colleagues

(2015) wrote that students learning mathematics require "a robust vocabulary knowledge

base; flexibility; fluency and proficiency with numbers, symbols, words, and diagrams;

and comprehension skills”. In a paragraph from “On the Work of Edward Witten” by

Michael Atiyah (1990), Mathematics has already been described as “an essential tool for

physics” and physics has already been described as “a rich source of inspiration and

insight in mathematics” (Witten, 2001).

Physics is one of the sciences that touch our lives daily at every point. It involves

the study of the behaviour of the whole universe and all physical things in it, be it living or

non-living. It requires a lot of representation like formulas and graph, calculations,

experiments and concepts explanation. As stated in a study conducted in United Kingdom

from 1985 to 2006, it was found that there was 41 percent decrease in the number of

entries to A-level examinations in sciences. This diminishing trend is similar in other

countries. Regardless of this trend, physics remains an integral part of the educational

system. It is through physics that new methodologies were developed that helped improve

the quality of life, including things such as automobiles and modern construction

(Johnson, 2019).

Attested by Goodhart (2013), a strong foundation of mathematical skill would result

to an improved performance in Chemistry and Physics. Chemistry is derived from physics

(Logan, 2014). Chemistry also uses mathematics for a variety of task, they balance the

equation of a chemical reaction. The use of mathematical calculations in chemistry are

necessary to explore the important concepts Chemistry has (Panoff et al., 2008).

The Department of Education (DepEd) specifies Mathematics, Physics, and

Chemistry is a compulsory subject at primary and secondary levels of education in the

Philippines, whether it be in a private or public school as stated in the Philippines

Education System. They are available for other schools to use and popularise Science

and Mathematics among students to give the talented students an extra task and

challenge and enable an individual approach to students' needs in lessons

(SpainExchange, 2018).

As one of the schools in the province of Leyte, Leyte National High School offers

special programs that focuses on different fields. They cater the talents of individual

needs and capability of a student. Science, Technology and Engineering (STE) is one of

the program in LNHS, those students that are active in their academic performances and

studies belongs in this program, exclusively.

 Furthermore, the researchers intends to know the relationship between

mathematical skills and students interest in physics and chemistry of STE students in

Leyte National High School.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This part of the study represents the interplay of parameters used in conducting

the study. The researchers used an input-process-output model.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Level of 1. Systematic The relationship

mathematical random between
skills in terms of: sampling mathematical
 Algebra technique skills and
 Problem 2. Questionnaire students interest
solving skills / Surveys in Physics and
 Dimensional 3. Statistical Chemistry of STE
analysis Analysis students in Leyte
4. Graphical National High
Level of Presentations School
students’ interest with thorough
in terms of: explanation
 Physics 5. Generalizing
 Chemistry the data

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the study

Figure 1 shows the conceptualization of the study through the inputs, process, and

outputs involved in the conduct of the whole study. The first frame states the foundations
of the study. The second frame states the process and steps that the researchers will

do, and lastly the third frame shows the expected output of the research.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. What is the level of STE mathematical skills, in terms of:

1.1. Algebra

1.2. Problem solving skills

1.3. Dimensional analysis

2. What is the level of students interest, in terms of:

2.1. Physics

2.2. Chemistry

3. Is there a significant relationship between the students’ interest in Physics and

Chemistry?

4. Is there a significant difference between the students’ mathematical skills and

interest?

HYPOTHESIS

1. There a no significant relationship between the students’ interest in Physics

and Chemistry.

2. There a no significant difference between the students’ mathematical skills and

interest.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Administrators - administrators has also a benefit in this study for they will have an

idea and/or suggestions to students and teachers if what will be their method

and techniques regarding on the mathematical skills and the students interest

in Physics and Chemistry.

Teachers - this study will cause a good impact to teachers for they will be wide-

awake if they are going to improve or maintain their teaching strategy, so that

students will be interested in Physics and Chemistry.

Students - this study will be beneficial to students because they will know the relation

of their skills in Mathematics to their interest in Physics and Chemistry. It will

change the mind set of students to work even harder in school, for the

betterment of their future.

Future researchers - they will have a benefits in having this study because they can

use this research as a reference or a support if they will conduct a study that

is similar to our study.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This study is focused about knowing the relationship between the mathematical

skills of a student and the students’ interest in Physics and Chemistry, and how it can

affect the interest in learning these subjects towards Science, Technology and

Engineering students of Leyte National High School. The data will be obtained through

survey questionnaires.
 Although the research has its objectives, there are some unavoidable limitations.

This study is limited to those students who only belong in LNHS STE program.

Additionally, in as much as this inquiry only encompasses selected junior high students.

STE students are believed to have more complex ideas and understand more convoluted

situations. Since they are more focused on Science, particularly in Physics and

Chemistry, as this study is mainly focused to students belongs to have their specialized

subjects. In addition, to access the credible and assessment information, and the length

of time devoted to the study is only good for one semester.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Chemistry – branch of Science that deals with identification of substance which

matter is composed.

Interest - state in which you have a special attention to a particular subject, object, or

people that you want to learn.

Mathematical Skill - capability to use knowledge in Mathematics in an effective and

useful way.

Measure – to calculate the size, amount, or concepts by using an instrument

Physics – branch of science that focuses on the properties of matter and energy.

Relationship - the state where two or more concepts, ideas, or people are being

related to each other.

Students - a person who studies certain subjects.