Research and misconceptions about soundWe found that there has been extensive research into misconceptions about sound at the primary and secondary levels with investigations that focus on physics and engineering students on the rise.
The following research article shows that although the propagation of sound in air is quite well understood by students difficulty is encountered when explaining the transmission of sound through a solid. Research Article - Misconceptions about the Propagation of Sound Waves With a focus on university engineering students this article found that a large majority of students answered most of the questions regarding the microscopic model of sound according to the scientifically accepted model; however, only a small number answered consistently. The main misconception they found was the notion that sound is propagated through the travelling of air particles, even in solids. Research Article - Misconceptions about Sound Among Engineering Students This study explores the role of conceptual blending of the Wave and what they refer to as the "Entity" model in a conceptual change framework for introductory physics students. Research Article-.....Students mental models of sound propagation VideosPlease see the videos below and our videos page to see helpful videos on sound and waves.
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Process
Before we could begin asking our subjects about sound, we needed to better develop our own understanding of the phenomenon. We started by looking at prior research and investigations into misconceptions about sound. Taking into account the desire to solicit the deepest possible underlying conceptions we decided to focus on the broader questions of what is sound, where does sound come from, and how does sound travel.
Once we established these fundamental questions, we found it necessary to perform our own personal sound checks. Our exploration of the topic lead to deeper questions about the nature of sound travel through various mediums and the subtle but important differences between the wave classifications of this form of energy with respect to others such as light. This project and the prerequisite research gave each of us a much firmer grasp of the topic; helping to establish a kind of threshold of the general public's understanding of sound, while also clarifying and reinforcing our own conceptions. |
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