Classification of elementary school students’ mental models on heat concept.
| Mental model | References | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat as properties of specific matter | The same kind of substances always have the same temperature even if the sizes are different. | [24, 25] |
| It is divided into substances that are inherently cold, such as iron, and substances that are inherently warm, such as wood. | [24-30] | |
| At the same temperature, substances with heat-sensitive property such as iron have a higher temperature. | [24, 27, 28] | |
| Heat as a temperature | Heat and temperature are the same meaning. | [28, 31, 32] |
| Temperature flows from one object to another. | [24] | |
| Heat as hotness | When the temperature is high, there is heat only. | [24, 33-35] |
| Hotess and coldness are separate concepts. | [26, 27, 35-37] | |
| Coldness moves from a cold material to a warm material. | [28, 36, 37] | |
| Heat as caloric | Heat particle move and increase the temperature of the object. | [33] |
| The temperature increases as the heat particles accumulate. | [24] | |
| Even with the same material, the larger the size, the greater the amount of heat or cold. | [24, 27-29, 38] | |