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Children's Ideas About the Moon
Below are common ideas children in grades K-6 have about this topic,
compiled from research on children's ideas about science (see the
Session 1 Children's Ideas Bibliography).
Consider what evidence might refute this idea, and why a child would
be
likely to believe this?
1. The Moon is much like the Earth.
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Young children base knowledge primarily on experience.
All of children's experiences are limited to the Earth,
so when they think about the Moon and other planets,
their perception is restricted. The Moon is similar to
Earth in some ways, but is mostly quite different. Unlike
the Earth, the Moon has little or no iron core. Its mass
is 1/100th the mass of the Earth, with one consequence
being that the Moon cannot hold an atmosphere onto its
surface. The Moon is made of rock material that is similar
to that which makes up Earth's mantle, the Moon is not
tectonically active. Hide
Response
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2. The Earth, Sun, and Moon are all about the same size,
or are about half or double of each other’s diameters.
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The Moon's diameter is roughly one quarter of Earth’s
diameter. Although the Sun and the Moon appear to be
approximately the same size in the sky, the Moon is actually
about 400 times smaller in diameter than the Sun. It
is the similarity of the apparent sizes of the Moon and
Sun to the naked eye that contributes to the belief that
the Earth, Moon, and Sun are all close in size. Hide
Response
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3. Students think the Sun and Moon are much closer to the
Earth than they actually are.
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Large numbers and vast distances are hard for everyone
to comprehend, especially children. The apparent sizes
of the Moon and the Sun can easily mislead children when
they think about the distances between the Earth and
these two solar bodies. The Moon is about 30 Earth diameters
away from the Earth. The Sun is almost 12,000 Earth diameters
away from Earth. Hide
Response
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4. There is no gravity on the Moon.
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Anything with mass has gravity. Compared to the Earth,
the Moon has much less gravity because it is made up
of, for the most part, light materials and has a relatively
low mass. The moon attracts objects at its surface with
1/6 the force of Earth’s. Textbooks often mention
that Earth's gravitational force holds the atmosphere
to it. The knowledge that the Moon has no atmosphere
can contribute to children's confusion about the Moon’s
gravity. Hide
Response
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5. There is no gravity in space.
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There is no place in the universe that has no gravity.
Everything that has mass in the universe is exerting
gravitational force. If there were no gravity in space,
then moons would not orbit planets, and planets would
not orbit stars. The common conception that air is necessary
for gravity can mislead children to believe that there
is no gravity in space. This belief can persist through
high school. Hide
Response
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Bibliography:
Grossman, M., Peritz, J., Shapiro, I. and Ward. R.B. “Exploring
the Moon and Stars: Cycles, Phases and Patterns,” in Aries:
Astronomy-Based Physical Science, Teacher’s Edition. Cambridge,
MA: Charlesbridge Press, 2002.
Sadler, P. “Misconceptions in
Astronomy.” The Second
Proceedings of the International Seminar on Misconceptions in
Science and Mathematics. Ithaca, NY: Department of Education,
Cornell University,
1987.
Sharpe, J. “Children’s Astronomical Beliefs: A
Preliminary Study of Year 6 Children in Southwest England.” International
Journal of Science Education 18, no 6 (1996): 685 – 712.
Stead,
K. and Osborne, R. “What is Gravity: Some Children’s
Ideas. ” New
Zealand Science Teacher 30 (1981): 5 – 12.
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