Science Misconceptions and How to Un-Teach Them

1. Science Misconceptions and How to Un-Teach Them Rose Sanders, SAR Earth Science Westchester

2. Some Misconceptions Diamonds form from coal. It’s hotter in the summer because the earth is closer to the sun. Moist air is heavier than dry air The sky is blue because it is reflected off of the oceans. Drinking glasses sweat in the summer. Things get wet when they get hot.

3. What to do? Explore the source of the misconception. Present material in such a way that students discover their own understanding. Scream (Skrik, 1893) is an expressionistpainting by NorwegianartistEdvard Munch. It is said to be his expression of angst from the brilliant skies resulting from the eruption of Krakatoa.

4. A Local Misconception • Students working on a project to determine the landscape based on the local bedrock. • The project was to compare pages 2 – 3 of reference table. • Seeking to dispel misconception of Catskills.

5. Plains / Lowlands Drawn in Blue

6. Plateau Drawn in Green

7. Mountains Drawn in Blue So why is this area Blue?

10. Diamonds Form From Coal

11. Coal Formation

12. Diamond Formation

13. Sedimentary rock forms at the surface of the earth Not made of minerals. Formed 440 mya Diamonds – formed deep in the earth 100 miles deep Diamond is a mineral Formed 2600 mya Coal Diamonds

14. Which weighs more? Humid or Dry air? In the following exercise, students discover the difference in the air qualities.

15. Let’s Weigh Some Air In the next slide, we will weigh 100 atoms of air. We will use page 11 of the Earth Science Reference Tables. The column of molecular weight is from the previous slide. The 1% is represented by Carbon Dioxide.

16. 44 32 28 18

17. Dry Air 1% 44 44 74% 28 2184 21% 32 672 2900

18. Moist Air Water vapor in the air is a maximum of 5%. We still want to measure what the weight of 100 molecules (100%) so we need to remove the correct amount of molecules. In the chart below, fill out as you did above, but subtract column 3 from column 2.

19. 1% 1 1 1 44 44 74% 4 70 28 1960 21% 1 20 32 640 5 18 90 2640

20. Summer is Warmer because the Earth is closer to the Sun. Landmasses and Specific Heat Mathematics

21. Mathematically • About January 3, the Earth is closest to the Sun • 147.3 million km • The Earth is farthest from the Sun about July 4. • 152.1 million km • The average distance of the Earth from the Sun over a one-year period is about 149.6 million km.

22. Percent Error % = 149,600,000km - 147,300,000km 149,600,000km % = 300000km 149,600,000km % = 0.02

24. Landmass of Northern Hemisphere Landmass of Southern Hemisphere

25. Why is the Sky Blue? Is it reflected off of the oceans like so many will answer? Why is the sky blue at the center of continents? Let’s look at the real answer.

26. Antarctica’s Ice Field

27. Kansas Wheat Field

28. Sunset over Ocean

29. Raleigh Scattering The blue color of the sky is due to Raleigh scattering. Much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules.

30. Raleigh Scattering It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.

31. Raleigh Scattering As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. • The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions.

32. Credits • Earth Picture • http://www.evl.uic.edu/pape/data/Earth/1024/BigEarth.jpg • Distance of the Earth to the Sun • http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6h.html