A Study on the Cognition of Heat Concept in the Elementary and Lower Secondary School Students -on the image of heat-

Abstract

Although "heat" is one of the everyday languages, scientifically it is a form of energy and has been organized after much complications in the history of science. Therefore, heat concept is so abstruct that it is hard to be recognized by the students. The authors investigated the image of heat in the students from 4th grade to 9th grade by using questionnaire on the two phases (A, B) as a basic study on the cognition of heat concept. (A) The free answer on the image of heat. (B) The multiple choise test on the concreat image of heat. The findings of the study are as follows. (1) Almost students in any grade have a tendency to recognize "heat is hot", "heat is warm". (2) Almost students in any grade fail to distinguish between heat and temperature. (3) Decreasing the grade, students have a tendency to recognize that hot object only has a heat. (4) 41% of students in the elementary school, 48% of students in the lower secondary school could image that heat had no shape and no color. (5) 73% of students in the elementary school, 47% of students in the lower secondary school recognize that the object's weight is relative to increasing temperature.