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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 116 (2014) 2711 – 2716
5th World Conference on Educational Sciences - WCES 2013
Investigation of science and technology exam questions in terms
of mathematical knowledge
Ümran Betül Cebesoy a b *, Betül Yeniterzi a c
a
Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education, Ankara - 06531, Turkey
b
Usak University, Faculty of Education, Department of Science Education ,Usak - 64200, Turkey
c
Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education, Kahramanmaras-046100, Turkey
Abstract
The connection between science and mathematics is undeniable but also a complex phenomenon. The present study aimed to
examine types of questions in science exam papers in 7th grade “force and motion” unit and the consistency between questions
and objectives in this unit. The study also aimed to determine if there are questions related to mathematics. If yes, which
mathematics subjects they are related with. Document analysis was used for data collection. 19 exam papers prepared by different
science teachers were collected and examined. Findings revealed that science teachers mainly used multiple choice questions and
their questions included mathematical knowledge.
© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center.
Keywords: Science and technology, mathematics, integration, exam papers, types of questions
1. Introduction
The connection between science and mathematics is undeniable but also a complex phenomenon (Basson, 2002;
Park-Rogers, Volkmann, & Abell, 2007). This relationship has been emphasized many times. For instance, NCTM
(2000) stated that “Mathematics and science have a long history of close ties, and many mathematical notions arose
from scientific problems” (p. 203). Similarly, Basista and Mathews (2001) indicated that while science provides rich
contexts to make mathematical patterns and relationships more concrete, mathematics provides required tools and
language for science concepts. Moreover, mathematics helps to represent scientific phenomena and scientific
concepts (Park-Rogers et al., 2007). Hurley (2001) stressed the importance of integration of science and mathematics
and indicated that there is no clear description of integration and when the instruction was sequential (science and
mathematics are planned and taught sequentially, with one preceding the other) the effect size for achievement for
both mathematics and science was found to be positive.
NCTM (2000) emphasized that using mathematics in a context is important for students and the link between
mathematics and science should not be only through content but also through process. In order to investigate the
process which shows the linkage between science and mathematics, both of the curricula should be examined in
Turkey in terms of integration. According to Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE, 2006; 2009), both of
the curricula have some common objectives such as critical thinking, creative thinking, investigation and
questioning, problem solving skills and use of information technologies. Even there are some interdisciplinary
statements related to science and mathematics, a clear description of integration of both disciplines could not be
* Corresponding Author: Ümran Betül Cebesoy. Tel.: +090-312-210-4065
E-mail address: betulcebesoy@yahoo.com
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.641
, 2712 Ümran Betül Cebesoy and Betül Yeniterzi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 116 (2014) 2711 – 2716
found. Also, research studies indicated the importance of integration; for example Hurley (2001) reported that the
students’ achievement in science tended to be greatest when science and mathematics were fully integrated.
Basson (2002) reported that students struggle with physics concepts that consist of mathematical knowledge and
skills. Similarly, Howe, Nune and Brynth (2010) stressed that mathematical concepts (direct and inverse
proportionality) are commonly used in the physics content such as density, speed and temperature. Although
teachers stressed the importance of integrating physic concepts with mathematical concepts for better understanding,
they do not have clear suggestions for integration (Başkan, Alev, & Karal, 2010). The interaction between
mathematics and science is complex (Basson, 2002) but is needed to further examine for combined knowledge of
mathematics and science to design learning programs. Previous studies reported that students had difficulties related
with mathematics (e.g. in rate and ratio) in science courses, specifically in force and motion unit (e.g., Bütüner &
Uzun, 2011). Thus, the context of this study was determined as force and motion unit in 7th grade science and
technology curriculum. Purposes of the study were given below:
1. To examine types of questions in science exam papers in 7th grade force and motion unit.
2. a. To determine whether science teachers’ questions include mathematical knowledge.
b. If there are questions related with mathematical knowledge, which mathematics subjects are they related?
3. To examine the consistency between asked questions and the objectives in 7th grade force and motion unit.
2. Method
Qualitative research methods namely document analysis was used for data collection (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008).
19 different exam papers which were prepared by different science teachers were collected for analysis and
questions in these papers were examined. Document analysis includes analysis of any kind of written materials that
consist of information related to intended phenomena such as textbooks, curriculum directives and exam papers
(Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008).
To investigate the research questions of the present study, science teachers’ exam papers were examined. For this
purpose, frequency tables were used to present the results. As in every study, this study had some limitations. The
focus of the study was second exam papers prepared by different science teachers for elementary 7th grade students
in 2012-2013. However, achievement level of class, teachers’ teaching styles, teachers’ speed of teaching unit and
unexpected events in classroom context may have caused that teachers’ questions in force and motion unit tend to
focus on some certain objectives. Thus, the number of questions related to force and motion unit in each exam paper
was not equal.
3. Results
The exam papers included different types of questions as multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks questions,
and open ended questions. Numbers of the questions for each paper were presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Properties of exam papers
Exam Number of Number of multiple Number of fill in Number of open
paper questions in force and choice questions the blanks questions ended questions
motion unit
1 13 9 1 3
2 11 9 2 0
3 10 10 0 0
4 15 10 5 0
5 11 4 4 3
6 20 12 6 2
7 10 4 4 2
8 21 9 10 2
9 8 2 3 3
10 8 6 2 0
11 24 14 10 0
12 9 6 3 0
13 13 3 2 8
