Common Misconceptions About

States and Changes of Matter

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 Concepts
Water cycle
• continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the
Earth.
• Water can change states among liquid, vapor and ice at various places in
the water cycle.

Evaporation
• occurs when the physical state of water is changed from a liquid state to
a gaseous state.

Condensation
• process by which water vapor changes it's physical state from a vapor,
most commonly, to a liquid.
When the water boils in a kettle,
• Water in the kettle changing from a liquid to a gas, steam
(water vapor).
• Bubbles formed by boiling water consist of water vapor or
steam.

Condensation
• Water vapor in the air that cools enough to become a
liquid.

• Happens when the water vapor in air comes in contact with

a cool surface. That is why there are water droplets when we
open the cover of the kettle.

• When water vapor condenses in the air it is visible as tiny

water droplets.
Technique to Elicit Students’ Ideas
 POE

Technique
Students are required to

• Predict the observation of boiling

water
• Give the reason for each prediction.
• Observe the experiment
• Discuss about their explanations for
the observations with the teacher.
Predict
 Students’ Ideas 

Unscientific Ideas Close to Scientific Ideas

The water is burnt so it causes Steam is hot air/visible water gas

smokes. molecules.

The air inside the water becomes When water boils and bubbles, the
bubbles. bubbles are air, oxygen, hydrogen, or
heat.
The temperature of water depends on Air and oxygen are the same gas.
the size of kettle.
Water will continue heat up even after Boiling is same as evaporation.
it has boiled.
Unscientific Ideas Close to Scientific Ideas
 There are water droplets  Condensation is when air
when open the cover of the turns into a liquid.
kettle because the kettle is
sweating.
 Water is absorbed by the  Water in the kettle goes
kettle, disappears, changes into air in the form of
into air, or dries up and moisture.
goes into the air.
What causes these misconceptions?

 Students creating their own explanations for

how the world works

 Part of a developmental process (regarding

states and changes of matter)

 Language and diagrams used in conversation and

in textbooks
Observation and Explaination
Concept

mapping
 • Tool for organizing and representing
knowledge.

• Visual representations of linkages/

connections between a major concept
and other knowledge.

• Purposes:
- Generate ideas (e.g. brain storming)
- Communicate complex ideas
- Illustrate the relationships between different
components or processes
- Aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old
knowledge
- Assess understanding
Boiling Evaporation

Similarities

Differences
 Boiling Evaporation

Similarities
- vaporization of liquid

Differences

- Occurs on the entire mass of - Surface of liquid

liquid - Slow process
- Rapid process - Any temperature
- Specific temperature - No bubbles are formed
- Formation of bubbles - Few particles move slowly
- Motion of particles is fast and few at a faster rate on the
surface of liquid