Hyperx
04-29-06, 10:55 PM
RECURRING SCIENCE MISCONCEPTIONS IN K-6 TEXTBOOKS
William J. Beaty
ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
WARNING: This file is currently being written, edited, corrected, etc. It does still contain some mistakes of its own. I placed it online as a sort of 'trial by fire' in order to hear readers' responses so I could target weak or unclear sections for improvement. (And, as my site points out, NOBODY is perfect so we should always practice critical thinking. Take all information with a grain of salt, including everything here!) Please feel free to send public comments to me with the COMMENT BOOK. If you prefer that nobody else sees your comments, send private comments to me via this form.
* THE MISCONCEPTIONS
* MAIN MISCONCEPTIONS PAGE
* Jump to ELECTRICITY MISCONCEPTION PAGE
* COMMENT BOOK, publicly express your opinions on all this
* Suggest Your Own K-6 Textbook Miscon
* Try "SCIENCE MYTHS" SPREAD BY K-6 TEXTBOOKS
AM I JUST A NITPICKER?
"Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; He who would search for pearls must dive below." - John Dryden
THE MISCONCEPTIONS:
* SCIENTISTS USE THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD? not quite.
* LAKES AND OCEANS ARE BLUE BECAUSE THEY REFLECT THE BLUE SKY? No.
* CLOUDS REMAIN ALOFT BECAUSE WATER DROPLETS ARE TINY? Wrong!
* THE SKY IS BLUE BECAUSE OF COMPLICATED PHYSICS No, it's simple.
* A LEMON-BATTERY CAN LIGHT A FLASHLIGHT BULB? doesn't work!
* SOUND TRAVELS BETTER THROUGH SOLIDS & LIQUIDS? No it doesn't.
* GRAVITY IN SPACE IS ZERO? It's actuallly strong.
* FILLED AND EMPTY BALLOONS DEMONSTRATE THE WEIGHT OF AIR? Misleading.
* GASES ALWAYS EXPAND TO FILL THEIR CONTAINERS? Not quite.
* FRICTION IS CAUSED BY SURFACE ROUGHNESS? Obsolete idea!
* ICE SKATES FUNCTION BY MELTING ICE VIA PRESSURE? nope.
* THE EARTH HAS 92 CHEMICAL ELEMENTS?
* LIGHT FROM THE SUN IS PARALLEL LIGHT? The sun is *wide*!
* A WING'S LIFTING FORCE IS CAUSED BY ITS SHAPE?, no, by trailing edge angle.
* FOR EVERY ACTION, THERE IS AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION? Newton said otherwise.
* BEN FRANKLIN'S KITE WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING? He'd have died.
* THE MAIN LENS OF YOUR EYE IS INSIDE THE EYE?
* WHEN ONE PRISM SPLITS LIGHT INTO COLORS, A SECOND IDENTICAL PRISM CAN RECOMBINE THEM?
* CLOUDS, FOG, AND SHOWER-ROOM MIST ARE MADE OF WATER VAPOR?
* RAINDROPS HAVE POINTS?
* AIR IS ALMOST ENTIRELY WEIGHTLESS?
* SHADOWS VANISH ON CLOUDY DAYS BECAUSE THE SUN ISN'T BRIGHT ENOUGH?
* INFRARED LIGHT IS A FORM OF HEAT?
* THERE ARE SEVEN COLORS IN THE RAINBOW?
* THE EARTH'S NORTH AND SOUTH MAGNETIC POLES RESIDE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE?
* LASER LIGHT IS "IN PHASE" LIGHT?
* LASER LIGHT IS PARALLEL LIGHT?
* LASERS ARE COHERENT BECAUSE ATOMS EMIT IN PHASE?
* IRON AND STEEL ARE THE ONLY STRONGLY MAGNETIC MATERIALS?
* RE-ENTERING SPACECRAFT ARE HEATED BY AIR FRICTION?
* CARS AND AIRPLANES ARE SLOWED DOWN BY AIR FRICTION?
* THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE OF THE EARTH IS IN THE NORTH?
* SALT WATER IS FULL OF SODIUM CHLORIDE MOLECULES?
* LIGHT AND RADIO WAVES ALWAYS TRAVEL AT "THE SPEED OFLIGHT"?
source (http://www.amasci.com/miscon/miscon4.html)
William J. Beaty
ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
WARNING: This file is currently being written, edited, corrected, etc. It does still contain some mistakes of its own. I placed it online as a sort of 'trial by fire' in order to hear readers' responses so I could target weak or unclear sections for improvement. (And, as my site points out, NOBODY is perfect so we should always practice critical thinking. Take all information with a grain of salt, including everything here!) Please feel free to send public comments to me with the COMMENT BOOK. If you prefer that nobody else sees your comments, send private comments to me via this form.
* THE MISCONCEPTIONS
* MAIN MISCONCEPTIONS PAGE
* Jump to ELECTRICITY MISCONCEPTION PAGE
* COMMENT BOOK, publicly express your opinions on all this
* Suggest Your Own K-6 Textbook Miscon
* Try "SCIENCE MYTHS" SPREAD BY K-6 TEXTBOOKS
AM I JUST A NITPICKER?
"Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; He who would search for pearls must dive below." - John Dryden
THE MISCONCEPTIONS:
* SCIENTISTS USE THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD? not quite.
* LAKES AND OCEANS ARE BLUE BECAUSE THEY REFLECT THE BLUE SKY? No.
* CLOUDS REMAIN ALOFT BECAUSE WATER DROPLETS ARE TINY? Wrong!
* THE SKY IS BLUE BECAUSE OF COMPLICATED PHYSICS No, it's simple.
* A LEMON-BATTERY CAN LIGHT A FLASHLIGHT BULB? doesn't work!
* SOUND TRAVELS BETTER THROUGH SOLIDS & LIQUIDS? No it doesn't.
* GRAVITY IN SPACE IS ZERO? It's actuallly strong.
* FILLED AND EMPTY BALLOONS DEMONSTRATE THE WEIGHT OF AIR? Misleading.
* GASES ALWAYS EXPAND TO FILL THEIR CONTAINERS? Not quite.
* FRICTION IS CAUSED BY SURFACE ROUGHNESS? Obsolete idea!
* ICE SKATES FUNCTION BY MELTING ICE VIA PRESSURE? nope.
* THE EARTH HAS 92 CHEMICAL ELEMENTS?
* LIGHT FROM THE SUN IS PARALLEL LIGHT? The sun is *wide*!
* A WING'S LIFTING FORCE IS CAUSED BY ITS SHAPE?, no, by trailing edge angle.
* FOR EVERY ACTION, THERE IS AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION? Newton said otherwise.
* BEN FRANKLIN'S KITE WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING? He'd have died.
* THE MAIN LENS OF YOUR EYE IS INSIDE THE EYE?
* WHEN ONE PRISM SPLITS LIGHT INTO COLORS, A SECOND IDENTICAL PRISM CAN RECOMBINE THEM?
* CLOUDS, FOG, AND SHOWER-ROOM MIST ARE MADE OF WATER VAPOR?
* RAINDROPS HAVE POINTS?
* AIR IS ALMOST ENTIRELY WEIGHTLESS?
* SHADOWS VANISH ON CLOUDY DAYS BECAUSE THE SUN ISN'T BRIGHT ENOUGH?
* INFRARED LIGHT IS A FORM OF HEAT?
* THERE ARE SEVEN COLORS IN THE RAINBOW?
* THE EARTH'S NORTH AND SOUTH MAGNETIC POLES RESIDE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE?
* LASER LIGHT IS "IN PHASE" LIGHT?
* LASER LIGHT IS PARALLEL LIGHT?
* LASERS ARE COHERENT BECAUSE ATOMS EMIT IN PHASE?
* IRON AND STEEL ARE THE ONLY STRONGLY MAGNETIC MATERIALS?
* RE-ENTERING SPACECRAFT ARE HEATED BY AIR FRICTION?
* CARS AND AIRPLANES ARE SLOWED DOWN BY AIR FRICTION?
* THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE OF THE EARTH IS IN THE NORTH?
* SALT WATER IS FULL OF SODIUM CHLORIDE MOLECULES?
* LIGHT AND RADIO WAVES ALWAYS TRAVEL AT "THE SPEED OFLIGHT"?
source (http://www.amasci.com/miscon/miscon4.html)