Abstract
This study investigated the Role of Motivation on the Academic Performance in Physics among Senior Secondary School Students in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria. In order to carry out the study three research questions were formulated. The instruments of data collection are the questionnaire titled “Student Motivation and Academic Performance Questionnaire (SMAPQ)” and Student’s Performance Test (SPT) comprises of past WAEC theory questions used to measure the performance of students. The instruments were validated and the reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha at a coefficient of 0.75 and 0.76. The population of the study covered all public senior secondary schools in AMAC out of which three public schools were randomly selected using purposive stratified random sampling technique, 105 students were selected as sample using simple random sampling technique. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentages, mean, standard deviation and the hypotheses formulated were tested using Pearson product Moment Correlation Coefficient at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed the following: that motivation plays a key role in the academic performance of students in physics; the quality of teachers; learning environment are some of the important factors that motivates students in learning of physics. From the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: Teachers should apply appropriate strategy in stimulating students' motivation to learn physics by making the lesson interesting, the government and Educational Administrator should provide favorable climate and classroom environment for learning and well-furnished physics laboratory.