Earth Science Misconceptions

EARTH SCIENCE MISCONCEPTIONS

“Be very, very careful what you put in that head, because you will never, ever get it out.”

Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (1471-1530)

Extracted from: William C. Phelps, Earth Science Misconceptions. Science Teacher, v58 n2 p21-23, Feb 1991.

The following is a partial list of Earth science misconceptions generated from surveys and research.

Earth in Space / The Earth is sitting on something.
The Earth is larger than the Sun.
The Sun disappears at night.
The Earth is round like a pancake.
We live on the middle flat portion of a sphere.
There is a definite up and down in space.
Seasons are caused by Earth’s distance from the Sun.
The phases of the Moon are caused by a shadow from Earth.
The Sun goes around the Earth.
The Sun will never burn out.
The Sun is not a star.
The universe is static not expanding.
The universe contains only the planets in our solar system.
Solid Earth / Mountains are rapidly created.
The soil we see today has always existed.
Rocks must be heavy.
The Earth is molten except for the crust.
Gravity acts differently ot not at all on some matter.
Gravity increases with height.
Gravity cannot exist without air.
Gravity requires a medium through which to act.
Earth’s gravitational attraction is greatly reduced on mountain tops.
Continents do not move.
Radiation can be reduced by boiling.
Biosphere / Dinosaurs and humans existed at the same time.
Humans are responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs.
Atmosphere / Rain comes from holes in the clouds.
Rain comes from clouds sweating.
Rain occurs because we need it.
Clouds move because we move.
Hydrosphere / Most rivers flow “down” from north to south.
Salt added to water does not change the weight of water.