Listed below are some student physical science misconceptions. The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather a summary of some of the more common prior ideas we identified from our analysis of the student response patterns to the items on the tests.

• Matter can be created and destroyed.
• Particles are not conserved in phase changes, e.g., when water evaporates, the evaporated water no longer exists in any form.
• A moving object contains a force given to it by an outside source, and stops moving when the force runs out.
• Air must be involved at some point for sound transmission.
• Energy is an entity contained within substances and can be created and destroyed.
• Heat and cold are substances or entities, and different from one another.
• Electricity flows through hollow wires and is used up by lights or appliances.
• Measurement is only linear.

The test in this section contains items related to the 11 K-4 standards in physical science from the NRC National Science Education Standards (NSES)

K–4 Physical Science Standard 1:

“Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. Those properties can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 2:

“Objects are made of one or more materials, such as paper, wood, and metal. Objects can be described by the properties of the materials from which they are made, and those properties can be used to separate or sort a group of objects or materials.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 3:

“Materials can exist in different states—solid, liquid, and gas. Some common materials, such as water, can be changed from one state to another by heating or cooling.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 4:

“The position of an object can be described by locating it relative to another object or the background.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 5:

“An object’s motion can be described by tracing and measuring its position over time.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 6:

“The position and motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The size of the change is related to the strength of the push or pull.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 7:

“Sound is produced by vibrating objects. The pitch of the sound can be varied by changing the rate of vibration.”

K–4 Physical Science Standard 8:

“Light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object. Light can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by the object."

K–4 Physical Science Standard 9:

“Heat can be produced in many ways, such as burning, rubbing, or mixing one substance with another. Heat can move from one object to another by conduction."

K–4 Physical Science Standard 10:

“Electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, and magnetic effects. Electrical circuits require a complete loop through which an electrical current can pass."

K–4 Physical Science Standard 11:

“Magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials."

Listed below are some student physical science misconceptions. The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather a summary of some of the more common prior ideas we identified from our analysis of the student response patterns to the items on the tests.

• Gases have no mass.
• Heat and cold are substances or entities, and different from one another.
• Electricity flows through hollow wires and is used up by lights or appliances.
• The eye emits light (or otherwise behaves actively) in order for people or animals to see.
• Appliances or lights can still work in incomplete electrical circuits.
• Matter can be created and destroyed.
• Particles are not conserved in chemical or physical changes.
• Density and other characteristic properties of materials are dependent on the amount of material present. For example, the density of a small piece of rock is not the same as the density of the larger rock from which it came.
• Different forms or phases of the same substances are chemically different.
• Light is unaffected as it passes through transparent materials.

The following resources are useful for additional background information about students' science misconceptions:

Driver, R. (Ed.), Children’s Ideas in Science, Philadelphia: Open University Press (1985).

Driver, R., Pupil as Scientist?, Philadelphia: Open University Press (1983).

Shapiro, B., What Children Bring to Light: A Constructivist Perspective on Children’s Learning in Science, New York: Teachers College Press (1994).

The test in this section contains items related to 11 of the grades 5–8 standards in physical science from the NRC's National Science Education Standards (NSES); below are the standards as stated in the NSES.

5–8 Physical Science Standard 1:

"A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, a boiling point, and solubility, all of which are independent of the amount of the sample. A mixture of substances often can be separated into the original substances using one or more of the characteristic properties."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 2:

"Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to form new substances (compounds) with different characteristic properties. In chemical reactions, the total mass is conserved. Substances often are placed in categories or groups if they react in similar ways; metals is an example of such a group."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 3:

"Chemical elements do not break down during normal laboratory reactions involving such treatments as heating, exposure to electric current, or reaction with acids. There are more than 100 known elements that combine in a multitude of ways to produce compounds, which account for the living and nonliving substances that we encounter."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 4:

"The motion of an object can be described by its position, direction of motion, and speed. That motion can be measured and represented on a graph."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 5:

"If more than one force acts on an object along a straight line, then the forces will reinforce or cancel one another, depending on their direction and magnitude. Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 6:

"Energy is a property of many substances and is associated with heat, light, electricity, mechanical motion, sound, nuclei, and the nature of a chemical. Energy is transferred in many ways."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 7:

"Heat moves in predictable ways, flowing from warmer objects to cooler ones, until both reach the same temperature."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 8:

"Light interacts with matter by transmission (including refraction), absorption, or scattering (including reflection). To see an object, light from that object—emitted by or scattered from it—must enter the eye."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 9:

"Electrical circuits provide a means of transferring electrical energy when heat, light, sound, and chemical changes are produced."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 10:

"In most chemical and nuclear reactions, energy is transferred into or out of a system. Heat, light, mechanical motion, or electricity might all be involved in such transfers."

5–8 Physical Science Standard 11:

"The sun is a major source of energy for changes on the earth's surface. The sun loses energy by emitting light. A tiny fraction of that light reaches the earth, transferring energy from the sun to the earth. The sun's energy arrives as light with a range of wavelengths, consisting of visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation."

Listed below are some student physical science (physics) misconceptions, grouped under the four main standards of the NGSS for grades 9–12 physical sciences. The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather a summary of some of the more common prior ideas we identified from our analysis of the student response patterns to the items on all of our field tests, which totaled more than 500 items.

Standard HS-PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

• Students think of force as a property of a single object instead of as a feature of interaction between two objects. Students think that force is something inherent within an object (or that can become part of an object once it is applied, i.e. a push or pull) that keeps it going; moving objects will stop when the force of motion in them eventually runs out.
• Students generally think there cannot be a force without motion, and the force must be acting in the direction of the motion. No motion means no force is acting, and any motion is proportional to the acting force. Forces in opposite directions cancel, no matter what the magnitude.
• Students do not always understand the meaning behind the math, where an equation serves as a "guide to thinking" and not merely a "plug-and-chug recipe for algebraic problem-solving”.
• Students have difficulty with the concept that forces are invisible and think that objects must be in contact for a force to have an effect on the object.
• Objects are either at rest or in motion, where “rest” is regarded as a natural state with no forces acting on an object. An object experiencing a balance of forces is seen as “at rest”.
• Only animate objects can exert a force – thus, if an object is at rest on a table, there are no forces acting on it. Passive objects cannot exert a force.
• Objects fall naturally with no forces involved; barriers stop things falling. Falling objects stay at the same speed as they fall. When dropped in a vacuum, heavier objects will reach the ground first.
• Students often confuse speed, acceleration and velocity, as well as distance–time and speed–time graphs.
• Acceleration can only occur in the same direction as an object is moving. An object cannot have horizontal motion if there are only vertical forces acting on it.
• Students think the speed of an object will increase and then level off at the higher speed when a force acts on an object in the direction of its current motion. Conversely, when a force acts on a moving object to slow it down, the object will slow down for a while and then move at a lower constant speed.
• The motion of an object changes while a new force is being applied (combining with whatever force was acting on it as it was moving), and then goes back to its original motion when that new force ceases. A force “dies out” or “builds up” to account for an object’s speed.
• Students often do not recognize friction as a force, and think friction only occurs between solid objects.
• Students have difficulties in qualitatively interpreting the basic principles related to energy and momentum and in applying them in physical situations. If soft objects collide with each other, momentum does not conserve. For momentum to be conserved, objects must collide elastically. Many students have difficulty understanding the concepts of momentum, conservation of momentum, and confuse momentum and impulse.
• Students have difficulty comprehending what gravity is, how it acts, and where it acts, as well as its interactions and effects on and between objects and fields. Students often do not think there is any gravity in space, and that gravity only relates to Earth.

Standard HS-PS 3: Energy

• Energy is thought of as a force, or a causal agent that is stored in certain objects. Energy is an “ingredient” of objects and lies dormant within the object until something triggers it. Energy is assumed to arise all of a sudden as a result of some combination of “ingredients” rather than being thought of as continuous.
• Students’ descriptions of energy are often very anthropomorphic and anthropocentric; energy is mainly associated with human beings; nonliving things are thought not to need energy.
• There is the idea of a “depository” model of energy: some objects are thought of as having energy and being rechargeable, some objects needing energy and using what they get, some objects are neutral. Students think of energy as fuel or a fuel (often instead of fuel “containing” energy or “as a source of” energy).
• Energy is movement of any kind (i.e. the energy is the movement), and movement requires energy. Energy is the overt, outward display of activity (and is the sole means of identifying energy). An object has energy within it that is used up as the object moves.
• Students think of a battery as a “giver” of electricity (as a store of electricity or energy) and is a constant current source, creating energy out of nothing. They are uncertain of the role of a battery. When an electrochemical cell no longer works, it is out of charge and must be recharged before it can be used again.
• Most students do not have a clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms of electric circuit phenomena. Some may think electricity is used up by a circuit. Students often think of current as energy and assume electrical energy flows inside metal wires.
• Students lack knowledge about the individual forms of energy. One form of energy cannot be transformed into another form of energy (e.g. chemical energy cannot be converted to kinetic energy). Convection is the most difficult energy transfer concept for students.
• Students broadly have difficulty with the concepts of conservation of energy. Energy is not conserved, it is seen as a short-lived product that is generated, is active, and then fades and disappears. Things go until energy is used up or fuel is consumed; things use up energy. Students think that energy can be created or destroyed.
• Energy is thought to flow out of one thing and into another. Energy is not transferred from one object to another unless those objects are in direct contact with each other.
• In terms of conduction, students often think that when a cold and a warm object are placed in contact with each other, the warm object gets colder and the cold object gets warmer because “coldness” is transferred from one object to the other (particularly involving frozen objects).
• Thermal energy will continue to be transferred by conduction even after objects in contact with each other reach the same temperature; the temperature of the object getting warmer will continue to increase and the temperature of the object getting cooler will continue to decrease.
• Only objects that are warm or hot have thermal energy and can transfer thermal energy. Heat and temperature are the same thing.
• Earth gets heat from the Sun (rather than light from the Sun reaches Earth and is absorbed, increasing the energy in an object causing the object to heat up).
• Students have difficulty understanding the concept of gravitational potential energy.
• Students have a variety of incorrect ideas regarding “motion energy”, lacking an understanding of the relationship of “motion energy” to an objects’ size, mass, speed, material make-up, shape, or direction of travel. Students claim that PE and KE cancel out.
• Many students have difficulty distinguishing between a system and its surroundings and do not consider the interactions between a system and its surroundings. Students assume that the energy of any system is always constant (since “energy is always conserved”), regardless if there is external work done on the system (i.e. block and spring).
• Students tend to associate energy with objects (batteries and fuels) rather than abstract processes and constructs (heat and light).
• “Energy” and “force” are commonly confused by students and thus used interchangeably. Students have difficulty thinking about forces across fields.

Standard HS-PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

• In general, people use or experience technology, but do not understand electromagnetic radiation nor how a cell-phone works. Many people believe that all imaging involves radiation, which is dangerous to everyone.
• Many students think electricity that flows in wires is supplied by a generator such as a battery or photovoltaic cell instead of being “pumped” or “moved” by those mechanisms.
• Students often think light is a form of energy (instead of a carrier of energy).
• Many students have incorrect mental models of waves and use these erroneous models to interpret problems related to wave mechanics, such as when waves meet, they interfere, and then bounce back to where they originated.
• Students think that waves involve the transport of matter from the source to a distant location, and that waves carry the particles of the medium with it rather than being temporarily displaced and returning to their original position.
• Students confuse wave frequency and wave speed and have difficulty with the vocabulary in describing waves and wave patterns.
• Students do not always discern a standing wave from a standing wave pattern resulting from the interference of two waves.
• Light waves and radio waves are not the same thing, much like gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, microwaves and radio waves are all very different entities versus all being part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Few students of any age describe the transfer of vibrations of an object to the surrounding air. When an object is not seen as obviously vibrating (two stones whacked together), most students refer to personal actions and properties of the object (i.e. stones) in reference to the source/production of the sound.
• Students think sound needs an unobstructed pathway to travel and seems to be related to everyday experiences of movement and impediments to movement (having to go around an object to get through).
• Waves can't have particle properties, and do not have energy.
• Waves transport matter and there must be a medium for a wave to travel through. All waves travel the same way, and big waves travel faster than small waves in the same medium.
• Students think that the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation consists of only visible light, and different colors of light are different types of waves.
• Students do not always distinguish between mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves; mechanical waves, such as a sound wave, cannot travel through a vacuum while electromagnetic waves have an electric and magnetic nature and are capable of traveling through a vacuum.
• Energy cannot be transferred from one object to another object. Only objects that are glowing can transfer energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation.
• An object cannot absorb and reflect light – it must do one or the other. Earth gets heat from the sun (instead of Earth gets light from the sun), either reflected or absorbed by an object on Earth.
• Heat and light from the sun are necessary for solar cells to work and generate current. Light is what gives the energy: “photons come in, deliver energy to the electrons and the electrons get ejected”.

Selected References for Grades 9–12 Physical Science (Physics) Misconceptions

AAAS Project 2061 Science Assessment Misconception References (Retrieved from http://assessment.aaas.org/misconceptions/FMM114/254).

AAAS Project 2061 Science Assessment Misconception References (Retrieved from http://assessment.aaas.org/topics/EG#/,tabs-216/2,tabs-217/2,tabs-218/2,tabs-219/2,tabs-215/2).

(AAPT) Helping Students Learn Physics Better: A Guide to Enhancing Conceptual Understanding. (Retrieved from http://sosaapt.weebly.com/uploads/5/4/4/2/5442334/physics_misconceptions_phys_udallas_edu.pdf).

Andal, J. (2014) 9 Common Misconceptions About Physics. (Retrieved from https://futurism.com/9-common-misconceptions-physics/).

Atkin, N.. Neil Atkin Teaching Forces – Misconceptions and how to overcome them. (Retrieved from http://neilatkin.com/2015/07/27/teaching-forces-misconceptions-and-how-to-overcome-them/).

Atlantic Health Solutions. (n.d.). 7 Medical Imaging Myths and Misconceptions. (Retrieved from http://www.myatlantichealthsolutions.com/radiology-diagnostic-imaging-resources-for-patients/2016/7/15/7-medical-imaging-myths-and-misconceptions).

Bar, V., Zinn, B. & Rubin, E.. (1997) Children's Ideas About Action at a Distance. International Journal of Science Education, 19(10), 1137-1157. (Retrieved from http://www-tandfonline-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/abs/10.1080/0950069970191003).

Brain, M. (2000). “How CDs Work”. HowStuffWorks.com. Brainstuff Podcast: (Retrieved from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm).

Brain, M., Tyson, J. and Layton, J. (2000) "How Cell Phones Work". HowStuffWorks.com. (Retrieved from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone.htm).

Buck, J., Wage, K., Hjalmarson, M., & Nelson, J. (2007). Comparing student understanding of signals and systems using a concept inventory, a traditional exam and interviews. Conference Paper in Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, November 2007, pp. S1G1-S1G6. (Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224299960_Comparing_student_understanding_of_signals_and_systems_using_a_concept_inventory_a_traditional_exam_and_interviews).

Clement, J. (1982). Students’ Preconceptions in Introductory Mechanics. American Journal of Physics, 50(1), 66-71. (Retrieved from http://people.umass.edu/ ~clement/pdf/students_preconceptions_in_introductory_mechanics.pdf).

Clement, J. (1987). Overcoming Students' Misconceptions in Physics: The role of anchoring intuitions and analogical validity. In J. Novak (Ed.). Proceedings of the second international seminar misconceptions and educational strategies in science and mathematics. (Vol. III, pp. 84-96). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University (as cited in O’Rourke, K. (n.d.) Energy Unit. Energy, energy everywhere, but not a drop to spare. (Retrieved from http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~kennethp/pedagogy.pdf).

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CPALMS. Visualizing the Universal Law of Gravity. (Retrieved from http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceLesson/Preview/152051).

Dalaklioglu, S., Demirci, N., Sekercioglu, A. (2015). Eleventh grade students’ difficulties and misconceptions about energy and momentum concepts. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications 6(1), 13-21. (Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282334261_Eleventh_grade_students%27_difficulties_and_misconceptions_about_energy_and_momentum_concepts).

Demirci, N. and Çirkinoglu, A.. (2004). Determining Students' Preconceptions/Misconceptions in Electricity and Magnetism Concepts. Journal of Turkish Science Education 1(2), 51-54. (Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/ docview/1658722447?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo&accountid=11311).

Doménech-Carbó, A., Gimeno-Adelantado, J., and Bosch-Reig, F. (2009). Misconceptions and metaconceptions in instrumental analysis. Acta Scientiae 11(1), 73 – 87. (Retrieved from http://www.periodicos.ulbra.br/index.php/acta/article/viewFile/56/50).

Driver, R., Squires, A., Rushworth, P., and Wood-Robinson, V. (1994). Making Sense of Secondary Science: Research into Children’s Ideas. New York, New York: Routledge.

Driver, R., and Warrington, L. (1985). Students' use of the principle of energy conservation in problem situations. Physics Education, 20 (4) , 171-176. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9120/20/4/308 (Retrieved from http://iopscience.iop.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/article/10.1088/0031-9120/20/4/308/pdf).

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Goff, J.E.. (2004). Turning Around Newton’s Second Law. The Science Education Review, 3(3), 97-102. (Retrieved April 11, 2017 from http://goff-j.web.lynchburg.edu/Goff_SER_08_04.pdf).

Goldring, H., & Osborne, J. (1994). Students difficulties with energy and related concepts. Physics Education, 29(1), 26-32. doi:10.1088/0031-9120/29/1/006. (Retrieved from http://iopscience.iop.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/article/10.1088/0031-9120/29/1/006/pdf).

Gül, A., & Kocakülah, M. S. (2008). Grade 10 students' misconceptions about impulse and momentum. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 5(2), 47-59. (Retrieved April 10, 2017 from http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/docview/1658765681?accountid=11311).

Guri-Rosenblit, S. (2009) Distance Education in the Digital Age: Common Misconceptions and Challenging Tasks. Journal of Distance Education 23(2), 105-122. (Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ851907.pdf).

Haven, A. and Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, (2015). (Retrieved from https://capecodstemnetwork.org/images/articles_resources/AnalogWorldDigitalWorld.pdf).

Henderson, T. (n.d.). Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation. The Physics Classroom, Circular Motion and Satellite Motion - Lesson 3 - Universal Gravitation. (Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/Lesson-3/Newton-s-Law-of-Universal-Gravitation).

Henderson, T. (n.d.). Coulomb’s Law. The Physics Classroom, Static Electricity - Lesson 3 – Electric Force. (Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/estatics/u8l3b.cfm).

Henderson, T. (n.d.). The Physics Classroom, Newton’s Laws. (Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-3/The-Big-Misconception).

Henderson, T. (n.d.). The Physics Classroom – Waves - Complete Toolkit. (Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Teacher-Toolkits/Wave-Behavior-Toollkit/Wave-Behavior-Complete-ToolKit).

Herman, G., Zilles, C., and Loui, M. (2009). Work in progress - students' misconceptions about state in digital systems. In Proceedings of the 39th IEEE international conference on Frontiers in education conference (FIE'09). IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 1037-1038. (Retrieved from https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1733905).

Herrmann-Abell, C. F., & DeBoer, G. E. (2010, March). Probing Middle and High School Students’ Understanding of Energy Transformation, Energy Transfer, and Conservation of Energy Using Content-Aligned Assessment Items. Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA. (Retrieved from http://www.project2061.org/publications/2061connections/2011/media/herrmann-abell_narst_2011.pdf).

Herrmann-Abell, C. F., & DeBoer, G. E. (2011, March). Investigating Students’ Understanding of Energy Transformation, Energy Transfer, and Conservation of Energy Using Standards-Based Assessment Items . Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual Conference, Orlando, FL. (Retrieved from http://www.project2061.org/publications/2061connections/2011/media/herrmann-abell_narst_2011.pdf).

HSC IPT. (n.d.) Encoding and Decoding Analog and Digital Signals (Retrieved from http://msciptcommunications.weebly.com/encoding-and-decoding-analog-and-digital-signals.html). Jewett, J. W. (2008). Energy and the Confused Student II: Systems. The Physics Teacher, 46(2), 81-86. doi:10.1119/1.2834527. (Retrieved from http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10. 1119/1.2834527).

Kinder, C. (2007). The Physics of Cell Phones. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. (Retrieved from http://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/2003/4/03.04.07.x.html).

Lark, A. (2007). BGSU Master’s Thesis, Student Misconceptions in Newtonian Mechanics. (Retrieved from http://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~alark/lark_masterthesis.pdf).

Lindsey, B. A., Heron, P. R., & Shaffer, P. S. (2009). Student ability to apply the concepts of work and energy to extended systems. American Journal of Physics, 77(11), 999-1009. doi: 10.1119/1.3183889. (Retrieved from http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/pdf/ 10.1119/1.3183889).

Lindsey, B. A., Heron, P. R., & Shaffer, P. S. (2012). Student understanding of energy: Difficulties related to systems. American Journal of Physics, 80(2), 154-163. doi:10.1119/1.3660661. (Retrieved from http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/pdf/ 10.1119/1.3660661).

Maloney, D., O’Kuma, T., Hieggelke, C., and Van Heuvelen , A.. (2001) Surveying Students’ Conceptual Knowledge of Electricity and Magnetism. American Journal of Physics 69(7), S12-S23. (Retrieved from http://aapt.scitation.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/pdf/10.1119/1.1371296).

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Murray, T., Schultz, K., Brown, D., and Clement, J.. (1988). An Analogy-Based Computer Tutor for Remediating Physics Misconceptions. Scientific Reasoning Research Institute, U. Mass – Amherst. (Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED299172.pdf).

Museum of Science (Boston) – waves and information transfer. (Retrieved from https://www.mos.org/sites/dev-elvis.mos.org/files/docs/offerings/mos_educator-guide_nasa_waves-and-information-transfer.pdf).

National Research Council. (2012). A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13165.

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Papadouris, N., Constantinou, C. P., & Kyratsi, T. (2008). Students use of the energy model to account for changes in physical systems. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(4), 444-469. doi:10.1002/tea.20235. (Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1002/tea.20235/epdf).

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Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program (Retrieved from http://www.rpdp.net/sciencetips_v2/P12B4.htm).

Space Foundation. (n.d.). When Gravity Gets You Down Here is a Place to Start. (Retrieved from http://www.spacefoundation.org/sites/default/files/downloads/When_Gravity_ Gets_You_Down.pdf).

Strickland, G. (n.d.). Strickland Science, Module 5 Universal Gravitation, Speed of Light, and Special Relativity (Retrieved from http://stricklandscience.weebly.com/module-5-universal-gravitation.html).

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Atlas of Science Literacy. Washington, DC: AAAS and National Science Teachers Association (co-publishers) See “Waves” map, p. 65 (2001).

The Economist. (n.d.). The “casual learner” era: Digital music tools are reshaping music education. (Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/03/casual-learner-era).

The test in this section contains items related to 24 of the grades 9–12 Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) in physical sciences (physics) from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Listed below are the DCIs as stated in the NGSS.

HS-PS2.A.i:

“Newton’s second law accurately predicts changes in the motion of macroscopic objects.”

HS-PS2.A.ii:

“Momentum is defined for a particular frame of reference; it is the mass times the velocity of the object.”

HS-PS2.A.iii:

“If a system interacts with objects outside itself, the total momentum of the system can change; however, any such change is balanced by changes in the momentum of objects outside the system.”

HS-PS2.B.i:

“Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects.”

HS-PS2.B.ii:

“Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.”

HS-PS2.B.iii:

“Attraction and repulsion between electric charges at the atomic scale explain the structure, properties, and transformations of matter, as well as the contact forces between material objects.”

HS-PS3.A.i:

“Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents.”

HS-PS3.A.ii:

“Energy is a quantitative property of a system that depends on the motion and interactions of matter and radiation within that system. That there is a single quantity called energy is due to the fact that a system’s total energy is conserved, even as, within the system, energy is continually transferred from one object to another and between its various possible forms.”

HS-PS3.A.iii:

“At the macroscopic scale, energy manifests itself in multiple ways, such as in motion, sound, light, and thermal energy.”

HS-PS3.A.iv:

“These relationships are better understood at the microscopic scale, at which all of the different manifestations of energy can be modeled as a combination of energy associated with the motion of particles and energy associated with the configuration (relative position of the particles). In some cases the relative position energy can be thought of as stored in fields (which mediate interactions between particles). This last concept includes radiation, a phenomenon in which energy stored in fields moves across space.”

HS-PS3.B.i:

“Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.”

HS-PS3.B.ii:

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems.”

HS-PS3.B.iii:

“Mathematical expressions, which quantify how the stored energy in a system depends on its configuration (e.g. relative positions of charged particles, compression of a spring) and how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed, allow the concept of conservation of energy to be used to predict and describe system behavior.”

HS-PS3.B.iv:

“The availability of energy limits what can occur in any system.”

HS-PS3.B.v:

“Uncontrolled systems always evolve toward more stable states—that is, toward more uniform energy distribution (e.g., water flows downhill, objects hotter than their surrounding environment cool down).”

HS-PS3.C.i:

“When two objects interacting through a field change relative position, the energy stored in the field is changed.”

HS-PS3.D.i:

“Although energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful forms—for example, to thermal energy in the surrounding environment.” (Energy in Chemical Processes is covered in Chemistry DCIs [Matter and Its Interactions] following PS1.C.i; it is not re-covered in Physics DCIs)

HS-PS3.D.ii:

“Solar cells are human-made devices that likewise capture the sun’s energy and produce electrical energy.”

HS-PS4.A.i:

“The wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one another by the speed of travel of the wave, which depends on the type of wave and the medium through which it is passing.”

HS-PS4.A.ii:

“Information can be digitized (e.g., a picture stored as the values of an array of pixels); in this form, it can be stored reliably in computer memory and sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses.”

HS-PS4.A.iii:

“[From the 3–5 grade band endpoints] Waves can add or cancel one another as they cross, depending on their relative phase (i.e., relative position of peaks and troughs of the waves), but they emerge unaffected by each other. (Boundary: The discussion at this grade level is qualitative only; it can be based on the fact that two different sounds can pass a location in different directions without getting mixed up.)”

HS-PS4.B.i:

“Electromagnetic radiation (e.g., radio, microwaves, light) can be modeled as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields or as particles called photons. The wave model is useful for explaining many features of electromagnetic radiation, and the particle model explains other features.”

HS-PS4.B.ii:

“When light or longer wavelength electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in matter, it is generally converted into thermal energy (heat). Shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation (ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) can ionize atoms and cause damage to living cells.”

HS-PS4.B.iii:

“Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high-enough frequency.”

HS-PS4.C.i:

“Multiple technologies based on the understanding of waves and their interactions with matter are part of everyday experiences in the modern world (e.g., medical imaging, communications, scanners) and in scientific research. They are essential tools for producing, transmitting, and capturing signals and for storing and interpreting the information contained in them.”

Listed below are some student physical science misconceptions, grouped under the four main standards of the NGSS for grades 9–12 physical sciences (chemistry). The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather a summary of some of the more common prior ideas we identified from our analysis of the student response patterns to the items on all of our field tests, which totaled more than 500 items.

Standard HS-PS1: Matter and its Interactions

• Students exhibit confusion between everyday usage of scientific terms and application of these terms.
• Atoms can be seen with a microscope; atoms are microscopic versions of elements—hard or soft, liquid or gas.
• Electrons in an atom orbit its nucleus like planets in our solar system orbit the sun.
• Students have difficulty accepting the notion of “empty” space; there must be air, dust, or other gases – “something” -- between particles. No space is completely empty, both within atoms (as between nuclei and electron clouds) or between particles in solids, liquids.
• Secondary students can depict the solid state as an ordered arrangement of molecules but do not give reasons for why it holds together or is incompressible.
• The particles of a solid never move.
• Particles are mini-versions of the substances they comprise and possess the same properties.
• The expansion or contraction of matter is due to corresponding changes in the constituent particles, and not the space between the particles.
• There are no bonds in elementary substances, e.g., in a piece of pure gold.
• There is much confusion among students about regarding the arrangement of and trends within the Periodic Table, along with confusion of terms and categories used to discuss the Periodic Table. Students confuse periods (rows) and groups (columns), unaware that columns are vertical and periods are horizontal, likely due to a lack of understanding of nomenclature.
• An element is a particular kind of chemical, and all molecules are atoms/molecules of the same substance.
• Behavior of electrons and different types of and energies involved in bonding prove difficult for students to grasp and adequately explain.
• There is confusion between bond being material links rather than forces.
• Students often memorize chemical equations without sufficient understanding.
• Students often describe the result of a chemical reaction as something, i.e., a new substance simply “appears” or “is produced” while something else “disappears” or “is used up” without understanding the events in a chemical reaction, including that the rearrangement of atoms to produce a new substance is involved.
• There is often the notion of existing matter being destroyed and new matter created in a chemical reaction, and that energy is “used up”, “caused by”, or “made by” something in these reactions.
• Students do not always comprehend that the total number of atoms, not the number of each kind of atom, is always conserved, and the total number of molecules is always conserved.
• When studying a reaction at equilibrium in which there is no longer an observable change, students do not appreciate that a dynamic process is at work.
• Students have a wide range of topic-specific difficulties associated with understanding types of chemical reactions that occur under different conditions, i.e. combustion reactions, acid-base reactions, and redox processes.
• Students have difficulty in making the distinction between noble gas stability and nuclear stability or the stability of the nucleus of an atom and the chemical stability of an element.

Standard HS-PS3: Energy

• Students do not always understand that one form of energy cannot be transformed into another form of energy; it is often described as a “product” or by-product of a process or situation.

Selected References for Grades 9–12 Physical Science (Chemistry) Misconceptions

Barker, V. (2004). Beyond Appearances: Students’ Misconceptions about Basic Chemical Ideas. A report prepared for the Royal Society of Chemistry. (2 nd edition) (Retrieved from http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/KindVanessaBarkerchem.pdf).

Boo, Hong‐Kwen. (1998). Students' Understandings of Chemical Bonds and the Energetics of Chemical Reactions. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 35(5), 569 - 581.

Butler, M. (2015). Misconceptions of Atomic Structure. (Retrieved September 21, 2016 from http://www.slideshare.net/MikaelaAshley/misconceptions-of-atomic-structure).

Denby, D. (2014). Chemical energetics: words matter. Education in Chemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry. (Retrieved from https://eic.rsc.org/cpd/chemical-energetics-words-matter/2000004.article).

Driver, R., Squires, A., Rushworth, P., & Wood-Robinson, V. (1994). Making sense of secondary science: Research into children's ideas. New York, New York: Routledge.

Hacker, S. (2014). Education in Chemistry (Retrieved from https://eic.rsc.org/section/cpd/understanding-equilibrium-a-elicate-balance/2000012.article).

Intel Teach Program (2013). (Retrieved from http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/program/education/us/en/ documents/project-design/atoms/small-misconceptions-about-the-structure-of-atoms.pdf).

Necor, D., (2011). Students’ Level of Conceptual Understanding in the Trends of the Periodic Table of Elements Basis for Remedial Activities. (Retrieved October 11, 2016 from http://www.pinoychemteacher.org/content/Convention2011/OralPresentations/NecorOP.pdf).

Nakiboglu, C. and Tekin, B. (2006). Identifying Students' Misconceptions about Nuclear Chemistry. A Study of Turkish High School Students. Journal of Chemical Education 83 (11), 1712 – 1718. (Retrieved from http://pubs.acs.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed083p1712).

Pozo, J. I. and Gomez Crespo, M. A.. (2005) The Embodied Nature of Implicit Theories: The Consistency of Ideas About the Nature of Matter, Cognition and Instruction, 23(3), 351–387. Project 2061 AAAS Science Assessment. (Retrieved from http://assessment.aaas.org/items/SC102002#/0).

Salame, I., Sarowar, S., Begum, S., and Krauss, D. (2011). Students’ Alternative Conceptions about Atomic Properties and the Periodic Table, Chem. Educator, 16, 190–194.
Stojanovska, M. et al.. (2012). Addressing Misconceptions about the Particulate Nature of Matter among Secondary-School and High School Students in the Republic of Macedonia, Creative Education, 3(5), 619-631.

Taber, K.S. (2000) Chemistry Lessons for Universities: a Review of Constructivist Ideas, University Chemistry Education, 4(2), 64 – 72. (Retrieved from http://stoa.usp.br/qfl3501/files/313/1394/chemistry%252Blessons%252Bfor%252Buniversities.pdf).

Yan, F., & Talanquer, V. (2015). Students’ Ideas about How and Why Chemical Reactions Happen: Mapping the conceptual landscape. International Journal of Science Education, 37(18), 3066–3092. (Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1121414).

The test in this section contains items related to 9 of the grades 9–12 Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) in physical sciences (chemistry) from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Listed below are the DCIs as stated in the NGSS.

HS-PS1.A.i:

“Each atom has a charged substructure consisting of a nucleus, which is made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons.”

HS-PS1.A.ii:

“The periodic table orders elements horizontally by the number of protons in the atom’s nucleus and places those with similar chemical properties in columns. The repeating patterns of this table reflect patterns of outer electron states.”

HS-PS1.A.iii:

“The structure and interactions of matter at the bulk scale are determined by electrical forces within and between atoms.”

HS-PS1.A.iv:

“A stable molecule has less energy than the same set of atoms separated; one must provide at least this energy in order to take the molecule apart.”

HS-PS1.B.i:

“Chemical processes, their rates, and whether or not energy is stored or released can be understood in terms of the collisions of molecules and the rearrangements of atoms into new molecules, with consequent changes in the sum of all bond energies in the set of molecules that are matched by changes in kinetic energy.”

HS-PS1.B.ii:

“In many situations, a dynamic and condition-dependent balance between a reaction and the reverse reaction determines the numbers of all types of molecules present.”

HS-PS1.B.iii:

“The fact that atoms are conserved, together with knowledge of the chemical properties of the elements involved, can be used to describe and predict chemical reactions.”

HS-PS1.C.i:

“Nuclear processes, including fusion, fission, and radioactive decays of unstable nuclei, involve release or absorption of energy. The total number of neutrons plus protons does not change in any nuclear process.”

HS-PS3.D.i:

“Although energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful form; for example, to thermal energy in the surrounding environment.”