<![CDATA[Chemical bonding is highly susceptible to misconceptions that can impede students’ mastery of advanced chemistry concepts because of the discipline’s interconnected conceptual structure. This study aimed to identify the chemical bonding concepts most frequently affected by misconceptions and determine their reported sources among Grade XI students at SMA Taruna Pekanbaru. A quantitative descriptive design was employed from February to July of the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected from 151 students using a 15-item five-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test and supplemented by interviews with five students selected through purposive sampling. The findings revealed an overall misconception rate of 52%, categorized as moderate. The highest misconception rates concerned ionic bonding (66%), coordinate covalent bonding (63%), and metallic bonding (61%). Personal reasoning was identified as the predominant source of misconceptions (64%), followed by textbooks (16%), peers (10%), teachers (7%), and the internet (3%). These results demonstrate that misconceptions remain prevalent across several chemical bonding concepts, particularly those involving microscopic reasoning and abstract representations. The study underscores the value of five-tier diagnostic assessment for identifying both misconception patterns and their sources. It also highlights the need for targeted remedial instruction incorporating cognitive conflict, visualization, contextualization, and systematic verification of the learning sources used by students.]]>
