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Brown, David E. – Physics Education, 1989
Reports various misconceptions of Newton's third law obtained from interviews and written tests of high school students. Suggests putting emphasis on the third law in physics teaching. Ten references are listed. (YP)
Descriptors: Concept Formation, Fundamental Concepts, Mechanics (Physics), Misconceptions
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Fu, Yunling – Physics Education, 1990
Discussed is a common error made by students in judging the distribution of the magnetic field of a circular loop along its diameter. Qualitative and quantitative explanations of the magnetic field distribution are presented. (CW)
Descriptors: Cognitive Structures, College Science, Electricity, High Schools
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Aguirre, Jose M.; Rankin, Graham – Physics Education, 1989
A questionnaire and demonstrations were used to identify students' conceptions about the composition of orthogonal velocities. Four questions from the questionnaire are provided and the results for each question are reported. The four implicit vector characteristics of this study are appended. (YP)
Descriptors: College Science, Foreign Countries, Fundamental Concepts, Higher Education
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Boeha, Beno B. – Physics Education, 1990
Described are the results of interviews of students regarding the concepts of "forced" and "natural" motion. Aristolean-like beliefs have been found to persist in students even though these views differ from orthodox physics views. (KR)
Descriptors: Concept Formation, Elementary Secondary Education, Force, Foreign Countries
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Boyes, E. – Physics Education, 1988
Models the ideas of children's misconceptions and subsequent acceptance of conventional scientific thought on the simple cusp of catastrophe theory. Demonstrates one theory of the forces which are necessary to change a misconception to a scientific concept. (CW)
Descriptors: Cognitive Development, Concept Formation, Elementary School Science, Elementary Secondary Education
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Baxter, John – Physics Education, 1991
Discussed is the idea that students come into their lessons with already preformed notions for many basic astronomical events. Examples of students' responses during an astronomy lesson are included. Suggestions for uncovering students' alternative frameworks are presented. (KR)
Descriptors: Astronomy, British National Curriculum, Cognitive Structures, Concept Formation