Mountain Rise
By Daniel J. Wescott and Deborah L. Cunningham
“Recognizing Student Misconceptions about Science and Evolution”
Publisher:
Pp. 1-6
2005
Recognizing Student Misconceptions about Science and Evolution
Type: Empirical
Data collection method: Survey
Number of subjects, range: Large — 31 or more
Grade and age of subjects: 9th-12 grade — 15-18 years
- Dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time in the past.
- Humans and chimpanzees evolved separately from an ape-like ancestor.
- I have a clear understanding of the meaning of scientific study.
- The theory of evolution correctly explains the development of life.
- There is lots of evidence against evolution.
- Humans evolved from monkeys/apes.
- A scientific theory that explains a natural phenomenon can be defined as a “best guess.”
- Small population size has little or no effect on the evolution of a species.
- If two light-skinned people moved to Hawaii and got very tan their children would be more tan than they (the parents) were originally.
- Variation among individuals within a species is important for evolution.
- A species evolves because individuals want too.
- If webbed feet are being selected for, all individuals in the next generation will have more webbing on their feet than individuals in their parents’ generation.
- If two distinct populations within the same species begin to breed together this will influence the evolution of that species.
- A scientific theory is a set of hypotheses that have been tested repeatedly and have not been rejected.
- Evolution is always an improvement.
- Evolution cannot work because one mutation cannot cause a complex structure (e.g., the eye).
- “Survival of the fittest” means basically that “only the strong survive.”
- You cannot prove evolution happened.
- All individuals in a population of ducks living on a pond have webbed feet. The pond completely dries up. Over time, the descendants of the ducks will evolve so that they do not have webbed feet.