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Abstract
Students have varying levels of knowledge about photosynthesis, respiration and energy issues prior to teaching. The relationship between photosynthesis and respiration, and plant ecosystems and the food chain are important topics in biology education. However, students' initial ideas can be hard to change even through teaching biology curricula. This paper studies the misconceptions held by Grade 9 students (14 – 15 years old) in Turkey about photosynthesis and plant nutrition. A questionnaire was constructed comprising seven openended questions designed to test students' conceptions about important areas of plant biology. Results showed that students have conflicting, and often incorrect, ideas about photosynthesis, respiration and energy flow in plant ecosystems, even after teaching. This suggests that students' initial ideas are deep-rooted and difficult to change. By developing science curricula and helping teachers become more aware of students' misconceptions, a different approach to teaching this subject area may help to reduce students' difficulties in understanding the concepts of photosynthesis.