Students’ spontaneous ideas about the speed of light
- 1 January 1987
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in International Journal of Science Education
- Vol. 9 (1), 55-66
- https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069870090107
Abstract
The answers given by a group of physics graduate students to two problems on the speed of light are analysed. The results seem to confirm the use of spontaneous ideas which are very similar to those which form the ‘spontaneous’ kinematics proposed by Saltiel (1980). Some consequences related to the teaching of physics and special relativity are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Case Study of Conceptual Change in Special Relativity: The Influence of Prior Knowledge in Learning‡European Journal of Science Education, 1982
- 'Spontaneous' ways of reasoning in elementary kinematicsEuropean Journal of Physics, 1980
- Teaching relativity with a different philosophyAmerican Journal of Physics, 1978
- Origins and Consolidation of Field Theory in Nineteenth-Century Britain: From the Mechanical to the Electromagnetic View of NatureHistorical Studies in the Physical Sciences, 1975