National Association of Biology Teachers
By Edmund A. Marek, Connie Cruse Cowan and Ann M. L. Cavallo
“Students’ Misconceptions about Diffusion: How Can They Be Eliminated?”
Publisher: University of California Press
2/56
Pp. 74-77
1994
Students’ Misconceptions about Diffusion: How Can They Be Eliminated?
Type: Empirical
Data collection method: Test
Number of subjects, range: Medium — 11-30
Grade and age of subjects: 9th-12 grade — 15-18 years
- Diffusion is when a chemical change occurs and changes water to blue dye.
- The molecules in the water accept the blue dye, so then, as the molecules in the water move, so does the dye.
- The cells of the water mix with the cells of the dye.
- The blue dye spreads through the water because water is semi-permeable, as a result, the dye could spread throughout it.
- The blue dye is heavier than the water.
- Water is the universal solvent and is in more mass than the dye, so from gravity and movement, the dye would slowly make the water turn.