ABSTRACT
Intermolecular forces are part of chemistry lessons at senior high school and Madrasah Aliyah (MA), which include many abstract concepts and macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representations that cause difficulties for students in learning. These difficulties can lead to misunderstandings that lead to misconceptions if they occur consistently. This study aims to: (1) find out the level of development of the student scientific thinking skills (STS); (2) identifying students' misconceptions about intermolecular force; (3) knowing the ease of eliminating misconceptions in students with different scientific thinking skills (STS); and (4) knowing the effectiveness of the conceptual change text in eliminating intermolecular force misconceptions. The method used a one-group pretest-posttest design model with descriptive analysis. The results of the study are as follows. First, 89.1% of grade XI high school students were at the STS concrete level, and 10.9% of students are at low formal level. Second, the misconceptions identified were: (a) there was a covalent bond break between the O and H atoms in the water molecule due to heating; (b) intermolecular forces are stronger than intramolecular forces; (c) the surface shape of concave fluids is influenced by dipole–dipole intermolecular force; (d) in the smelting and freezing process, the volume of ice and water is the same; and (e) substances that have strong intermolecular forces have large vapor pressures. Third, students with higher STS levels tend to more easily eliminate misconceptions. Fourth, the conceptual change text can be used to address the misconceptions that students have.
