This research studied the effectiveness of the simulation-based learning assisted with scaffolding approach to address students' misconceptions (MCs) about projectile motion. The five MCs were related to the direction of the force acting on an object (MC1), the acceleration of an object at the top of the trajectory (MC2), the directions of…

This article investigates the optics conceptions of 228 Thai high school students in grades 10-12 when they attempted to explain how an object can be seen both in general and in a completely dark room. To elicit students' conceptions precisely, their confidence in giving reasons for the final two diagnostic questions is also considered. The study…

This study aims to determine Turkish high school students' misconceptions about the electric charge imbalance by using a four-tier misconception test, where the main questions are accompanied by a question about the reason for the answer, as well as student declarations about their degrees of certainty. A four-tier electric charge imbalance…

Since the viscous behaviour of liquids is evident in many everyday situations, it is plausible to assume that students have (pre-)conceptions about the physics behind these phenomena. As yet, no reliable studies exist on this topic. Therefore, the present study aims to address this research gap by exploring secondary school students' conceptions…

In this study, which aims to help grade nine students overcome the misconceptions about electric current, we identified their misconceptions about this concept and then designed and implemented a playground activity as an analogy of electric current. Through the conceptual change texts approach, which we have enhanced with experience, we use this…

Research has identified several students' misinterpretations of the principles of the photoelectric effect (PE). Students cannot interpret the formula using the graph's context despite the linear dependence inherited in it. Many studies pointed out that the graphical representation of kinetic energy of the ejected electrons versus frequency of…

Elementary particle physics is gradually implemented into science curricula at the high school level. However, common presentations on educational, semi-technical or popular level contain or support severe misconceptions. We discuss in particular the notion of 'particle', the interaction between them and the use of Feynman diagrams. In many cases…

This research aimed to investigate the misconceptions on nuclear physics topics. Misconceptions are defined as ideas whose meaning departs from what is commonly accepted by scientific consensus. A total of 34 high school students of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Sao Paulo (IFSP), Brazil, answered a questionnaire on…

Single slit diffraction is part of many high-school physics curricula throughout the world. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether high-school physics teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia are adequately prepared to discuss with their students about various aspects of the single slit diffraction pattern,…

Teaching cosmology at the undergraduate or high school level requires simplifications and analogies, and inevitably brings the teacher into contact with at least one of the pedagogical interpretations of the expanding Universe. The by far most popular interpretation holds that galaxies in an expanding Universe are stationary, while space itself…

This paper describes a small-scale piece of research using concept mapping to elicit A level students' understandings of particle physics. Fifty-nine year 12 (16- and 17 year-old) students from two London schools participated. The exercise took place during school physics lessons. Students were instructed how to make a concept map and were…

In the modern physics unit included in the course curriculum of grade 10 physics introduced in the 2007-2008 education year, the aim is that students at this grade level are aware of any developments which constitute modern physics and may be considered new, and interpret whether mass, length and time values of the motions at any velocities close…

We propose the use of smartphone-based slow-motion video analysis techniques as a valuable tool for investigating physics concepts ruling mechanical wave propagation. The simple experimental activities presented here, suitable for both high school and undergraduate students, allows one to measure, in a simple yet rigorous way, the speed of pulses…

This paper revisits a well-known hydrostatic paradox, observed when turning upside down a glass partially filled with water and covered with a sheet of light material. The phenomenon is studied in its most general form by including the mass of the cover. A historical survey of this experiment shows that a common misunderstanding of the phenomenon…

Ambient gamma dose rates in air were measured at different locations (indoors and outdoors) to demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of natural background radiation in the environment and to show that levels vary from one location to another, depending on the underlying geology. The effect of a lead shield on a gamma radiation field was also…