Students' Misconceptions About Respiration: A Cross-Age Study

Abstract

Misconceptions of 10th grade and freshman level students regarding respiration were investigated. Students' understanding of respiration was assessed using an instrument requiring the students to write a brief essay concerning the process of respiration. Most of the students had misconceptions, especially about the purpose, function, process, chemical formula of respiration and respiration in plants. Some of the common misconceptions among students were that respiration takes place in lungs, the purpose of respiration is to provide oxygen and to remove carbon dioxide, respiration is a gas exchange process, that plant respire during night only, and that plants do not respire but photosynthesize instead.