Journal of Elementary Science Education
By Mary Stein, Timothy G. Larrabee, and Charles R. Barman
“A Study of Common Beliefs and Misconceptions in Physical Science”
Publisher:
vol. 20 no. 2
Pp. 1-11
2008
Type: Empirical
Data collection method: Survey
Number of subjects, range: Large — 31 or more
Grade and age of subjects: Adult — over 18 years
- When a book is at rest on a table (not moving), False 56.7 other than the force of gravity, there are no other
forces acting on it. - An astronaut is standing on the moon with a baseball in her/his hand. When the baseball is released, it will fall to the moon’s surface.
- A force is needed to change the motion of an object.
- The bubbles in boiling water consist primarily of air.
- When a chemical reaction occurs, the total mass of the resulting products can be less than or greater than the original mass of the reactants depending on the type of chemical reaction that took place.
- When two spheres that are the same size, have similar surfaces, but have unequal masses.