Misconceptions – A Wonderful Way to Motivate STEM Learning
From Richard C. Larson

1. I’m holding a dried piece of wood in my hand, about 2 km in weight. What fraction of these 2 km came up through the ground, through the roots of the tree that was home to this piece of wood? I’d say about 40%.
   
   
2. I’m teaching my daughter to ride a 2-wheel bicycle. After a couple of failed practice runs, with my helping hand on the bicycle seat for stabilization, she gains speed and balance and she is off on her own! This is so great; her new speed gave rise to increased angular momentum in the wheels and has stabilized her, kind of like a gyroscope.
   
   
3. I love my friends on Facebook. They are all so social. And each has almost as many friends as I do!
   
   
4. Avogadro’s Number, a mole. 6.02*10²³. Yes, it’s really big. I memorized it in Chemistry class. If we had Avogadro’s number of ping pong balls, we’d have almost enough to fill up all the sports stadiums on Planet Earth. Wow!
   
   
5. We are given two equal-sized cups of water, one being salt water and the other simple tap water, each at room temperature. Place an ice cube in each. Since salt is used to clear New England roads of wintery snow and ice, clearly the ice cube will melt faster in salt water than in fresh water.
   
   
6. A quiz show contestant faces 3 doors. Behind one of the doors is a brand new car. Behind the other 2 are goats, friendly but not as valuable as the car! Dward, our contestant, tentatively selects door 2 for the prize. The master of ceremonies, who knows the whereabouts of the prize, opens door #1 to reveal a goat. Now Dward is told he can keep his door #2 selection or switch to door #3. He must make a final choice. And of course he wants to maximize the chance of winning the car. But since there are only 2 doors remaining, Dward concludes that it’s now a 50-50 chance for the car to be behind door #2 or door #3, so it makes no difference if he were to switch. So, he stays with door #2.

What do all six vignettes above have in common? They are all wrong! Conclusions 100% incorrect! The poor reasoning in each is based on misconceptions. And they form the basis for six BLOSSOMS lessons we provide for high school STEM classes. Our experience is that stunning the students with math and science findings quite contrary to their own beliefs is a perfect way to get them involved, totally engaged and committed to the lesson. We suggest that this technique, whenever applicative to a given set of STEM material, be used by the in-class teacher to obtain full student commitment.

Oh, you want to see the correct reasoning for the six examples above? Well, no spoiler alert here – you’ll have to consult the BLOSSOMS video lessons:

1. Roots, Shoots, and Wood, Kathleen M. Vandiver
   
   
2. Gravity at Work, Arshad Saleem Bhatti
   
   
3. The Friendship Paradox: Why We Can’t All Be Popular, Katrina LaCurts
   
   
4. How Big Is a Mole? Do We Really Comprehend Avogadro’s Number?, Dr. Jessica Silverman, Alan D. Crosby
   
   
5. Will an Ice Cube Melt Faster in Freshwater or Saltwater?, William Andrake
   
   
6. The Monty Hall Problem or How to Outsmart a Game Show and Win a Car, Sam Shames, Cameron Tabatabaie, Ben Kaloupek

Please send us your favorite STEM misconceptions! Email me at Richard Larson rclarson@mit.edu.

Richard Larson is the Mitsui Professor of Data, Systems, and Society at MIT. He is also the Principal Investigator of MIT BLOSSOMS.

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