In this paper, we derive an equation for the distance covered by a free-falling body as a function of time valid for any arbitrary distance. The equation, interestingly, yields exactly the time according to the Kepler's third law in the limiting case of very large distance compared to the radius of the Earth. The equation, of course, reduces to…

Student cognition in response to intuitive and counterintuitive stimuli in the school science curriculum is not well understood. To address this issue, this study examines high school students' cognitive responses to three counterintuitive physics problems. Our analysis reveals that student success in arriving at counter-intuitive physical…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the conventional high school instruction about conservation of mechanical energy in Canton Sarajevo. To that end we tested 441 high school students from six different schools in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) for their competence to apply the law of conservation of mechanical energy.…

Ongoing changes in mental and personal characteristics of the modern child initiate the updating of means and forms of education. And they, in their turn, update methodological techniques and approaches to the use of methods during the math class. The source of updating methodological techniques may be the principles used when solving scientific…

Analysing graphs, formulating covariational relationships, and hypothesizing systems' behaviour have emerged as frequent objectives of contemporary research in physics education. As such, these studies aim to help students achieve these objectives. While a consensus has been reached on the cognitive benefits of emphasizing the structural domain of…

How do scientists make inferences for something they cannot directly observe? The Black Box approach seems ideal to help students understand how scientists work. Black Boxes are sealed units; their interior is not accessible. The effort to determine their possible content (internal structure) demands successive modifications in hypothesis,…

"Sickle cell anemia: tracking down a mutation" is a full-day, inquiry-based, biology experience for high school students enrolled in genetics or advanced biology courses. In the experience, students use restriction endonuclease digestion, cellulose acetate gel electrophoresis, and microscopy to discover which of three putative patients…

This paper describes the results achieved by high school seniors on an item which involves translation of the equation P = kT into a corresponding pictorial external representation. The majority of students (the classes of 2011, 2012 and 2013) did not give the correct answer to the multiple choice part of the translation item. They chose pictorial…

Many students enter high school with some science knowledge and experience doing investigations but often know little about the nature of science (NOS) or how the knowledge is developed (i.e., science practices). As science teachers, we need to get students excited about science as quickly as possible with activities that introduce the practices…

In this study, the effect of group work and traditional method on 9th grade students' misconceptions about Newton Laws was investigated. The study was conducted in three classes in an Anatolian Vocational High School in Ankara/Turkey in the second term of the 2014-2015 academic year. Two of these classes were chosen as the experimental group and…

This activity introduces students to the concept of reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions. To help students obtain a thorough understanding of redox reactions, the concept is explored at three levels: macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic. In this activity, students perform hands-on investigations of the three levels as they work at different…

In this activity, I show how high school students apply their knowledge of density to solve an unknown variable, such as thickness. Students leave this activity with a better understanding of density, the knowledge that density is a characteristic property of a given substance, and the ways density can be measured. (Contains 4 figures and 1 table.)

We propose an analytic solution to the problem of the mechanical paradox consisting of a sphere rolling upwards on two diverging inclined guides as devised by Gardner. The presence of an unstable equilibrium point is highlighted and the analytic solution is found by means of elementary calculus concepts. (Contains 4 figures and 3 footnotes.)

Background and purpose: Chemistry examinations can favour the deployment of algorithmic procedures like Le Chatelier's Principle (LCP) rather than reasoning using chemical principles. This study investigated the explanatory resources which high school students use to answer equilibrium problems and whether the marks given for examination answers…

This paper reports a cross-grade comparative study of Chinese precollege students' epistemological beliefs about physics by using the Colorado Learning Attitudes Survey about Sciences (CLASS). Our students of interest are middle and high schoolers taking traditional lecture-based physics as a mandatory science course each year from the 8th grade…