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Earth - Weather, Atmosphere, and Water cycle Concepts

Misconceptions (any age)
Development of Initial explanations, Naive understandings, Misconceptions, or Perceptual responses

Atmosphere

  1. Sun changes color
  2. Sun changes color because of dirt, dust, clouds, smog,
  3. Color depends on how close the sun is at the time.
  4. When the sun sets it is farther away and therefore its color changes
  5. Because the Sun is just coming up or going down
  6. Sun gives off all colors and we see what is reflected
  7. Sun’s position determines the color of the sky. When the sun is behind the clouds that is why there isn’t any color except the color of the clouds.
  8. Humidity or moisture in the air can change the color

Water cycle

  1. Water in a saucer doesn't evaporate the water has soaked into the saucer.
  2. When water evaporates it disappears or ceases to exist.
  3. When water boils or evaporates it goes straight to clouds (there is no water vapor in air).
  4. The (visible) steam from kettles rises, as steam, to form (visible) clouds.
  5. When water boils and the gaseous form condenses some of the original water is lost.
  6. Rain falls when the clouds are too full of water and it drips out (or the cloud bursts open).
  7. Coldness turns into water (something taken from the refrigerator).
  8. We sweat more on a humid day.
  9. The bubbles in boiling water are bubbles of air, or oxygen, or oxygen and hydrogen, or heat.
  10. All liquids boil at 100 degrees Celsius; boiling water must always be hotter than other non-boiling liquids, heated oil.
  11. If you melt cooking fat it will stay as a liquid (cooking oil).
  12. A liquid will become lighter if it turns into a gas.
  13. Water vapor is less dense than water.
  14. Water evaporates only from objects that contain visible water as a source (oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, puddles, wet soil, anima wastes…).
  15. Water transpires from plantsin liquid form
  16. Clouds, dew, fog, and frost is water in a gaseous form.

Precipitation

Rain
  1. It falls from the clouds like from a sprinkling can
  2. Clouds make rain. Rain people cry in the clouds.. God makes it. God, angels, sweat, crying,
  3. Rain comes from holes in the clouds, clouds sweating, clouds shaken, melt
  4. Rain occurs because we need it
  5. Sun and clouds combine to make rain
  6. Moisture in the air causes rain (no relationship about energy)
  7. Rain is cause by moisture reacting with carbon dioxide
  8. It rains when there are enough clouds
  9. It will rain when the water in the sky or clouds becomes less and less gaseous and eventually it becomes water and rains down
  10. Rain has something to do with hot and cold
  11. It rains when water evaporates, gets cold, freezes, and falls out of the cloud.
  12. Rain happens when a cool front hits a warm front or a moist front… (contact)
  13. When clouds become too heavy to hold water it rains
  14. Raindrops are tear shaped.
  15. When water evaporates it disappears or ceases to exist.
  16. Rain, water cycle, just comes from sky, comes from clouds, comes from water on earth to clouds to rain, process but not energy transfer or change of states.
Snow
  1. Snow is made of water and air, chemicals, cold air,
  2. Snow flake has points on the outside and holes in the middle
  3. Rain starts up high and as it gets closer to Earth it gets colder and turns to snow
  4. What falls is rain or snow depending on the temperature
Evaporation
  1. Water is absorbed into a surface, rather than evaporate into the air. Or an animal drinks it.
  2. Air takes water up into the sky.
  3. Water and air connect and go into the sky
  4. Water turn to steam
  5. Sun absorbed it
  6. Water evaporates as water particle
  7. Water disappears when spilled on surfaces.
  8. Water evaporates to form water vapor.
  9. Evaporation is effected by different variables.
  10. Surface area, air flow, temperature, humidity, air pressure above the water, effect the rate of evaporation.
  11. Evaporation only takes place at the surface.
  12. Other liquids can not evaporate.
  13. When water evaporates it disappears or ceases to exist.
  14. Water comes on shore as waves and evaporates.
  15. Bubbles in boiling water are air.
Clouds
  1. Clouds just go around the Earth.
  2. Are made of pillows, cotton, wool, smoke, vapor from cooking
  3. Clouds move because we move,
  4. Jet contrails are smoke
  5. Clouds are made from air and water
  6. Air pressure keeps clouds in the air
Thunder and lightning
  1. Thunder happens when clouds hit, bump, rub, friction… each other. When a negative cloud hits a positive cloud it makes lightening, When rain rubs against the air
    Lightning is a big spark
  2. Supernatural event (God makes, angels when get a strike bowling)
  3. Found by a famous inventor flying a kite.
  4. Thunder occurs without lightening. Lightening occurs without thunder (heat lightening).
  5. Lightening never strikes twice in the same place.

Weather season, & climate

  1. Weather is caused by wind.
  2. Rain and snow is caused by clouds.

Seasons

  1. Seasons are caused by the distance of the Earth from the sun. In the summer the Earth is closer to the sun.
  2. The distance of different parts of the Earth, caused by the tilt of the Earth on its axis, causes the seasons

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

Atmosphere

  1. There are gases surrounding the Earth Living organisms interact with the Earth.

Water cycle

  1. Clouds are necessary for rain.
  2. Most of the Earth's surface is covered with water.

Weather season, & climate

  1. Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons.

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

Atmosphere

  1. The Earth's atmosphere is made of gases, one of which is oxygen, that animals breathe.
  2. Living organisms change the Earth's atmosphere.
  3. Sunrise, sunset, and blue sky
  4. White light is scattered by the gases in the atmosphere and since blue has the shortƒpressureest wavelength it is scattered less than others and that is why the sky is blue.

Water cycle

  1. Clouds form from water vapor.
  2. Water, which covers the majority of the earth's surface, circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere and is known as the water cycle.

Weather season, & climate

  1. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction, speed, and precipitation.

 

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

Atmosphere

  1. The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor.
  2. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations.
  3. Living organisms have played many roles in the earth system, including affecting the composition of the atmosphere, producing some types of rocks, and contributing to the weathering of rocks.

Water cycle

  1. Water cycle includes the evaporation of water from the earth's surface, rises and cools as it moves to higher elevations, condenses as rain or snow, and falls to the surface where it collects in lakes, oceans, soil, and in rocks underground.
  2. Water is a solvent. As it passes through the water cycle it dissolves minerals and gases and carries them to the oceans.

Weather season, & climate

  1. Weather is driven by solar energy.
  2. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.
  3. Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather.
  4. Surface seawater freezes and rises above the salt, which sinks making the water below more dense, which causes bottom currents that distribute heat around the oceans of the planet.

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
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