During the last decade several researcher have discovered that children, pupils and even young adults develop their own imagination on "how nature really works". It is often faulty and only slightly if at all - related to the facts in physical sciences. This false imagination often leads to severe misconceptions and wrong implications when these persons have to learn and understand natural sciences teached in classes at universities, schools and colleges. The prime focus of this monograph is to help the teacher to discover, diagnose and cure such misconceptions at an early stage and most preferrably to prevent them from the beginning through active teaching. The volume includes the detailed description of class-room experiments and models aiming at the discovery of misconceptions. Additional material is provided by the authors via their web site.

Introduction

Perceptions of Ancient Scientists
Students' Misconceptions and How to Overcome Them
Substances and Properties
Particle Concept of Matter
Structure-Property Relationships
Chemical Equilibrium
Acid-Base Reactions
Redox Reactions
Complex Reactions
Energy.