Some students do not regard a change of state as being related to a specific temperature
Properties of Matter
Misconception
Students may explain changes of state in terms of the macroscopic properties of substances; they may think that melting and boiling points are properties of a substance.
Diagnostic Resources
The following worksheets may help to identify whether students hold this particular misconception.
For more information, see the University of York BEST website.
Resources to address this
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Change of volume: water to water vapour (11-16)
Ref - Practical physics; Molecules in motion; Change of phase; Change of volume: water to water vapour
This experiment can be used to show that water changes to water vapour at a specific temperature.
View Resource
References
- Boz, Y., () Turkish Pupils' Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter, Journal of Science Education, 15 (2)
203-213.