Investigating the relation between secondary school students' achievement in forming and solving equations

This study investigates relationships between 7th and 8th grade students' achievements in forming and solving equations of. Study was conducted on randomly selected 7th and 8th grade students of elementary schools in Konya City, Turkey. 145 students (99 female, 46 male) participated in the research. Data were collected by an 'Equation Test'. The test which is suitable for equation types in 7th Grade Elementary Mathematics Curriculum. It was developed by the researchers. The relationships between achievements in forming and solving equations were examined by dependent samples t-test. The t-test results show that there is a significant difference. This difference is in the favor of equation solving (p>0.05). In other word, students are more successful in equation solving. In addition, students' achievements about different types of equations were investigated. The results show that the students have the highest achievement in ax=b type and the lowest achievement in (ax+b)/c=(dx+e)/f type of equations.