Week in Review: Misconceptions, Scientific Law, and Scientific Theory

Science has started in our class and many of the students are excited. Our first unit in science is titled, "Scientific Knowledge and the Scientific Method." In this unit, students will explore some key concepts related to the basics of science, the scientific method and the science fair.

Students will also start tackling some misconceptions. According to one online dictionary a misconception is: a view or opinion that is incorrect because it is based on faulty thinking or understanding. Students and adults generate misconceptions as we learn about new concepts. In 6th grade we will begin to try and change these incorrect views into correct ones. The students wrote this (or something similar) in their science notebooks on Thursday on how to attack misconceptions: What did I know when I came to class, what did I learn today, how does that change what I know. A great question parents can ask their children that is more specific then "How was your day?" is, "What did you learn today that changed what you know?"

One example of this is on scientific law and theory. Many of us might agree with this picture:

 

 

The chart shows that a hypothesis turns into a theory which then turns into a law. When looking at the definitions of these terms, however, a misconception begins to show.

 

A scientific law is a description of a repeated behavior or action in nature. Laws are discovered in nature.

 

A  scientific theory is a well tested explanation of how or why something works, it may even attempt to explain why or how a law works. Theories are tested over and over again.

 

 

In looking at these definitions we can see that theories do not lead to laws and in fact these are two completely different concepts.