An Analysis of Student Difficulties in Solving Problems of Reasoning Absolute Value Material

Abstract

This study aims to determine the types and factors that cause student difficulties in solving reasoning problems on the absolute value material. This research is a type of qualitative descriptive. The subjects of this study were students of class X MIPA 5 SMAN 3 Surakarta in the 2019/2020 school year. Subjects were taken using a purposive sampling technique. The data collection technique used tests and interviews. Before the test is used, it is validated by an expert. Data analysis was carried out using data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The results of this study indicate that the types of student difficulties are 1) fact difficulties, where the subject has difficulty in analyzing and linking the information from the questions with the questions in the questions. The difficulty of the subject is because the subject does not understand the problem and rarely does the problem in the form of a story; 2) Conceptual difficulty, where the subject has difficulty determining the limits of the two absolute value equations. In determining the limits on the absolute value equation, it is necessary to define absolute value. The difficulty of the subject is because the subject still does not understand the absolute value material; 3) skill difficulty, where the subject has difficulty performing algebraic operations in determining the value of x. The difficulty of the subject is because the subject is not careful in doing and checking the written answers again.