No abstract

Most secondary high school students think that chemistry was a difficult subject. Bad perception can influence the students' interest in chemistry. We aimed was to explore the students' perception toward chemistry in junior high school and its influences on students' interest to learn chemistry in secondary school. The qualitative-descriptive as the research method. The data were collected using several techniques: interview, classroom observation, and questionnaires. One science teacher and 27 junior high school students participated in this research. The results showed the junior high school students' interested with experimentation activities in learning chemistry, but they considered the chemistry as a complex science lesson with abstract symbols and terms must be memorized. The teachers' skill to deliver the abstract concept influences the students' interest. Bad perception toward chemistry makes students not interested in learning chemistry in secondary high school because they do not feel curious. Therefore, teachers are suggested to create a good first impression in learning chemistry.