Misconceptions

Misconceptions:

Misconceptions Final write up


 * __Electric Charges__**

1. Materials do not gain protons. They become positively-charged by losing electrons. 2. Inability to understand the organization of the electrostatic series. 3. Neutral objects and charged objects attract

__**Circuit**__

1. Voltage does not move but it pushes the electrons. Address the misconception with a water pump animation comparison: []

2. Charge flows through circuits at high speeds. Address this misconception by showing that when you turn on a light switch there is not a time delay for the bulb to light up.

3. Current doesn’t measure how fast electrons move (they actually move really slow) but it measures how many electrons pass a point/cross-section.

4. Battery supplies charge/charge gets used up-this comes from "rechargeable" batteries

__** Generating and Using Electricity at Home: **__

1. Understanding the difference between AC and DC and the movement of electrons. Students may be confused with the movement of electrons in AC as they might think electrons are constantly moving back and forth so there is movement occurring within the wiring but may not understand that there is no net movement.

2. How can both AC and DC be used in home as the wiring is the same yet some appliances use AC (electric stove) and others use DC (Mp3 chargers). Students may think that both AC and DC are directly provided to home. Ans: only AC is coming through all the wires but special circuits that reduce AC to DC.

3. Students may confuse electrical power and electrical energy to be the same.

4. Students may not be able to clearly identify sources of electricity (in terms of generation stations and the type of fuel used) to meet the demands of base, intermediate and peak load.