The aim of this research is to take a fresh look at the physical science concepts that Year 3 students struggle with. In this work, the responses of over 8,000 middle-primary-aged students to a range of physics, space science and chemistry questions were evaluated. The questions covered a number of topics ranging from selecting and using simple…

Astronomy education is essential for STEM education in primary schools, and integrating engineering design-based science education enhances student engagement and achievement in the field of space science. Integrating engineering design into science education is essential for students to excel in astronomy and to meet the requirements of…

The theory of the Big Bang is accepted nearly universally among the scientific community. However, there is a small cadre of individuals who dispute this consensus and they point to a handful of datums that don't fit into the picture. One such datum is the existence of a star with an age reported to be older than the cosmos itself. This star is…

"Leave no alternative science idea unchallenged!" could be the slogan of this second edition of "Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, Volume 2." Like the others in the bestselling series, this book is loaded with classroom-friendly features to pinpoint what your students know (or think they know) so you can adjust your teaching…

The aim of this study is to comparatively investigate the effects of hands-on models (HMs) and computer simulations (CSs) on teaching the phases and eclipses of the Moon. In this study, two different HMs were developed, and three different CSs were used. The research work group consisted of 100 pre-service science teachers. A quasi-experimental…

In the transition from classical to modern physics, the idea of taking some certain quantities as distinct or bounded values and keeping the rest continuous has proved useful in dealing with many problems. In this paper we assume an upper bound on the velocity of classical particles and indicate that applying this assumption to electromagnetism…

This paper describes the results of a survey administered to members of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the National Earth Science Teachers Association to measure the nature and frequency of the integration of Earth and space science (E&SS) concepts into physics courses, as well as the need and interest of physics teachers to…

Many large-lecture introductory science courses for nonscience majors do not have a lab component and hence do not provide much opportunity for students to engage in the practice of science. I have developed a new instructional activity called Dorm Room Labs that enables students to conduct hands-on activities as homework (or dorm room work) to…

The sensation of weightlessness is common to an astronaut in a spaceship orbiting Earth and to a person aboard a freely falling elevator. This paper presents a detailed treatment of this commonality by showing that a spaceship orbiting Earth is in permanent free fall toward the planet, appropriate for use in the introductory classroom.

Quadcopters (also known as "drones") do not fly in vacuum. This is obvious enough that experimenting on one in a vacuum chamber would seem rather uninteresting, but there is one question that may be usefully addressed by such an experiment: the mechanism for yaw control. Quadcopters control yaw (rotation about the vertical axis) by…

Even though many physics teachers take their students on a calculation adventure through circular motion and Newton's universal law of gravity to determine Earth's velocity, most of us leave it at that. We present the final result and say, "Look, Earth is moving around the Sun at about 107,000 km/hr (66,000 mph), yet we can't feel the motion…

Black holes and the physics behind them is a fascinating topic for students of all levels. The exotic conditions which prevail near a black hole should be discussed and presented to undergraduate students in order to increase their interest in studying physics and to provide useful insights into basic physics concepts, such as non-uniform…

Models are central to the practice and teaching of science. Yet people often fail to grasp how scientific models explain their observations of the world. Realizing the explanatory power of a model may require aligning its relational structure to that of the observable phenomena. The present research tested whether "relational…

If you've ever asked yourself whether problem-based learning (PBL) can bring new life to both your teaching and your students' learning, here's your answer: Yes. This all-in-one guide will help you engage your students in scenarios that represent real-world science in all its messy, thought-provoking glory. The scenarios will prompt K-12 students…

Inspired by the inclusion of a British astronaut on the International Space Station, explanations and demonstrations that lead to an understanding of how satellites stay above the Earth are described. This is a mixture of separate ideas that have been demonstrated successfully at a public exhibition of science-based activities. Although some…