Some examples from ECLIPSE of what students have said relating to particles:
Confusing the particles that everything contains and very small grains of material
Electrons would be different because they would actually contain some of the element
Gas particles like to have a lot of space, so they can expand
Gas particles try to spread out and move apart
I know that particles make up every solid, liquid or gas, ‘cause everything is made out of particles
In a sponge, the particles are spread out more, so it can absorb more water
Iron is too heavy to evaporate
Making a link between particle identity and change of state
Particles in a solid could be seen with a microscope
Some particles are softer than others
The glue between particles dried, and it broke up
The smallest thing you can ever have is an atom
There are about a thousand particles in one grain of salt, if not more
There are particles in everything, though perhaps not chlorophyll
Smith is like an atom?: an example of a student-generated simile from the ASCEND enrichment project.
A molecule is like a Bible?: an example of a student-generated simile from the ASCEND enrichment project.
A molecule is like Africa?: an example of a student-generated analogy from the ASCEND enrichment project.
This is just one of a wide range of science topics that learners have talked about in ECLIPSE projects.
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List of science topics
Dr Keith S Taber kst24@cam.ac.uk
University of Cambridge Faculty of Education