The role of peer and teacher mediation in discussions about two original scientific texts in the final year of high school in Brazil is explored in this study. A text by James C. Maxwell, deals with the characterisation of light as an electromagnetic phenomenon, and refers to the continuous manner of the distribution of energy by radiation in…

Harmful plastic debris found on beaches and in the oceans are not limited to drinking straws or bags. There are several synthetic organic polymers that can be used to make different kinds of plastic materials and have resulted in billions of tons of waste that can reach the aquatic biome and are harmful to freshwater and marine communities as well…

In this paper we report on an activity aimed at building an electromagnetic wave. This was part of a class on the concept of mass offered to a group of 20 pre-service Brazilian physics teachers. The activity consisted of building a plane wave using an apparatus in which it is possible to fit some rods representing electric and magnetic fields into…

This paper evaluates the viability of using controversies in teaching. An educational project has been elaborated in which some historical-philosophical clashes were introduced into the classical syllabus of physics. The historical-philosophical controversy dealt with here, took place between the French physicists Biot and Ampere in the 19th…

Investigates the mental models that people construct about magnetic phenomena. Involves students, physics teachers, engineers, and practitioners. Proposes five models following a progression from simple description to a field model. Contains 28 references. (DDR)