101 Science Misconceptions

by Michael Doig & John Herrera illustrations by Ramsey Ess

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Table of Contents Astronomy .................... 3 Biology .................... 6 Chemistry .................... 7 Earths Motions .................... 10 Electricity .................... 12 Geography .................... 14 Geology .................... 15 Measurement .................... 16 Meteorology .................... 19 Myths .................... 21 Physics .................... 23 Temperature .................... 27

You may distribute this ebook freely, and/or bundle it as a free bonus with other products, as long as it is left completely intact, unaltered and delivered via this PDF file. You may also republish excerpts as long as they are accompanied by an attribution link back to http://www.scienceboom.com. Copyright 2008 Michael Doig. Some rights reserved.
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Astronomy
#1 The Earth is larger than the Sun.

Looking at the image above, the Sun is extremely large and the Earth is a tiny dot. The diameter of the Sun is roughly 862,400 miles. The Earths diameter is 7,900 miles. That means that the Sun is more than 100 times larger in diameter than our planet. In terms of mass, the Sun is over three hundred thousand times heavier than the Earth!

#2 - The Sun will never burn out.

Just like people, stars have a life span. In roughly 5 billion years, the Sun will begin to run out of hydrogen in its core. The helium in the core will contract and cause the Sun to bloat and eventually burn out. Our solar system, including the Earth, will be destroyed when this happens.

#3 - The Sun is not a star.

Our Sun is a normal main-sequence G2 star, one of more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy. It is often said that the Sun is an "ordinary" star. That is true in the sense that there are many others similar to it. But there are many more smaller stars than larger ones; the Sun is in the top 10% by mass. The median size of stars in our galaxy is probably less than half the mass of the Sun.

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#4 - Meteors are falling stars.

A meteor is the visible event that accompanies the entry of a meteoroid into the atmosphere. A meteor is basically light. A meteoroid is not a star either, it is debris that comes from outer space and enters our atmosphere from time to time. Meteoroids can range in size from a particle of sand to a boulder. Obviously, the larger ones draw more attention.

#5 - The solar system is extremely crowded.

Distances in the Solar System are measured in astronomical units (or AU). One AU is about the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Pluto is about thirty eight AU, meaning it is thirty eight times farther from the Sun than Earth is. The solar system contains the Sun, eight planets, their 166 moons, three dwarf planets and billions of small bodies that include asteroids, comets and interplanetary dust that all have plenty of room to move around.

#6 - In a constellation, all of the stars are near each other.

Each constellation is a collection of stars that are distributed in space in three dimensions the stars are all different distances from Earth. The stars in a constellation appear to be near each other because we are viewing them from very, very, far away.

#7 - The brightness of a star is only dependent on its distance from Earth.

Stars vary greatly in size, distance from Earth, and temperature. Dimmer stars may be smaller, farther away, or cooler than brighter stars. By the same token, the brightest stars are not necessarily the closest. Of the stars in Cygnus, the swan, the faintest star is the closest and the brightest star is the farthest!

#8 - The Universe is static.

There is a saying that states nothing is static. The Hubble Space Telescope has given readings that show the Universes precise expansion rate and given

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scientists the data to conclude that the Universe is expanding faster and faster as time progresses and will never stop.

#9 - The Universe contains only the planets in our solar system.

Our solar system is part of the Universe but so is everything else that exists, has existed or will exist. Yes, that is a pretty broad denition, but the Universe does not depend on specics. Space and time, matter and energy, and physical laws governing them all fall under the heading of the Universe.

#10 - The Sun goes around the Earth.

From Earth it would make sense that the Sun orbits the Earth. However, the Sun happens to have the honor of being the solar systems center meaning that everything else revolves around it. Smaller objects orbit around larger objects and as you read earlier the Sun is much larger than the Earth.

#11 - The North Star is the brightest star in the sky.

Star brightness is measured using the scale of apparent magnitudes. The brighter the object appears, the lower the value of its magnitude. The apparent magnitude of the North Star, Polaris, is 1.97 making it barely in the top fty brightest stars. The brightest star in the sky (besides the Sun) is Sirius, which has an apparent magnitude of -1.47 (yes, minus).

#12 - The surface of the Sun is without visible features.

Sunspots are the most immediately visible features on the surface of the Sun. They are the cooler, darker areas and are associated with intense magnetic activity. They can be visible from Earth without the aid of a telescope.

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Biology
#13 - Evolution can happen to a single organism.
If you are born a human, you are going to die a human. Evolution happens in the genes of a population over the span of generations. You will not see any evolutionary changes among humans during your lifetime. You could, however, witness evolutionary change in organisms that have short life-spans such as bacteria or insects.

#14 - Koalas are bears and Jellyfish are fish.

Koalas are marsupials, belonging to the same group as kangaroos. Jellysh are Cnidarians, as are corals and sea anemones. Scientists usually call them sea jellies since they are not, in fact, sh. This is one of the problems with common names.

#15 - Some human races are older than others.

The most scientically supported theory as to the origin of humans is the Out of Africa Hypothesis. DNA evidence has suggested a common ancestor for all modern humans, one who existed around 200,000 years ago in Africa. The oldest fossil evidence of modern humans was found in this region and dates back 130,000 years. The differences in skin color (and other anatomical differences) came about as humans spread out across the world and adapted to their environments.

#16 - Acquired characteristics can be inherited.

The dictionary denition of the term acquired is to gain for oneself through ones actions or efforts. Therefore, an acquired characteristic is one that you pick up in life due to the circumstances and events that you participate in. Another person can not inherit the same characteristics because they have not been through the exact same circumstances and events that you have. Just because your father

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was a great drummer doesnt guarantee you will be too.

#17 - Polar bears eat penguins.

Polar bears live in the Arctic and penguins live in the southern hemisphere near Antarctica. It would be difcult for the bears to eat creatures who live so far away. The diet of a polar bear actually consists of seals, young walruses and whales.

#18 - We see because light illuminates the world.

If the only requirement for sight was the presence of light, there would be no blind people on Earth. Light does play a part in sight but it is the mechanisms inside the eye that make it happen. The lens of the eye focuses the image of what it sees onto the retina, a light sensitive membrane at the back of the eye that is actually a part of the brain. The retina converts the light patterns into neuron signals. The brain puts together the signals to determine what is being seen.

Chemistry
#19 - The Earth has 92 chemical elements.
A chemical element is a type of atom, like hydrogen or oxygen. As of January 2007, 117 elements have been observed by scientists, with 94 of these elements occurring naturally on Earth. 23 elements are articially created, in nuclear reactors or particle accelerator experiments.

#20 - Radioactivity is man-made.

There are actually three naturally occurring radioactive series in the periodic table: the uranium, actinium and thorium series. The nuclear reactions of these occur spontaneously and decay through alpha and beta emission until they end at a different stable isotope of lead.

#21 - Oil and water dont mix because the molecules repel each other.

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To the contrary, oil molecules are attracted to water molecules more so than other oil molecules. When a droplet of oil hits the surface of the water it spreads out, proving the attraction. The reason the substances stay separated is that the water to water molecular attraction is stronger than the oil to water molecular attraction.

#22 - Salt water is full of sodium chloride molecules.

Table salt is made of sodium chloride molecules. When salt dissolves, however, the material turns into the independent entities of sodium and chlorine. Salt water is rich in sodium and chlorine but contains no sodium chloride. The water separates the atoms well enough that they can not bond in the body of water.

#23 - Solid particles have no motion.

Particles of solids do have motion, but not as much as you would nd in other states of matter. Solids have a high density, meaning that the particles are all tightly packed together. While they can sort of jiggle in place, they do not have room to move past each other. It is the only state of matter in which the particles are rigid in this way.

#24 - Positively charged objects have gained protons rather than being deficient in electrons.
A positively charged ion is called a cation and there are fewer electrons than protons. A cation does not become neutral (with an even number of protons and neutrons) by gaining another proton. It would have to gain electrons. It would also have to gain electrons to move from neutrality to being an anion or negatively charged ion. See a pattern? The electrons are the ones that do all the moving. A cation is decient in electrons. The protons have not gone anywhere.

#25 - A chemical bond is a physical entity.

Chemical bonds are shared electrons and attraction forces. They are not a form of matter on their own. Terms like shell, cloud and bond are used because it is easier for us to understand physical terms than abstract ones.

#26 - Physical changes are reversible while chemical changes are not.
Equilibrium reactions occurring in the forward and backward directions simultaneously prove that a chemical change can be reversible. Even if a

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physical change is reversible, it does not mean it will be easy. Doubters should try shattering and grinding down glass then restoring it to its original condition.

#27 - Electrons orbit atoms the way a moon orbits a planet.

When drawing an atom and its accompanying electrons, students and teachers often nd it easiest to represent the electrons as traveling in circles around the atom. The truth of the matter is that electrons do not follow a simple circular pattern.

#28 - The electron shell is like an eggshell that is there to protect the nucleus.
Electron shells are discussed at length in chemistry courses. The shell is not a literal, hard physical layer. They are regions surrounding the nucleus where electrons can be found. There are not any physical barriers separating (or distinguishing) them.

#29 - The electron cloud is like a rain cloud with the electrons suspended inside like water droplets.
Like the shell, the electron cloud is a misnomer. There is no cloud of matter of any kind. It is merely a region in which electrons are constantly moving. Since they are in constant motion, they obviously could not be suspended in the cloud. This does not exist anyway.

#30 - Atoms can be seen with a microscope.

How many atoms would you guess can t on a hair? If you said a number in the hundreds or thousands, think higher. The width of a human hair has approximately one million atoms. They are much too small to be seen by a microscope.

#31 - Melting/freezing and boiling/condensation are often understood only in terms of water.
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When a material moves between the three states of matter (solid, liquid and gas), they pass through what is called phase transitions. These are the points at which the material changes from one to the other. The melting/freezing point is the line between solid and liquid. It is written that way because it is the same point. Whether it is melting or freezing just depends on which direction you are heading. The boiling/condensation point is the point in between gas and liquid. These points are relevant to any material that can change phases, not just water.

#32 - Materials can only exhibit properties of one state of matter.

Materials can exist in any of the states of matter. Water (a liquid) becomes ice (a solid) when frozen and steam (a gas) when boiled. The properties of the original material (water) change depending on what state it is currently in. For example, the particles of water have the most freedom of movement as steam, a slightly more restricted area of movement in a liquid and can merely jiggle as ice.

#33 - A gas will always expand to fill its container.

It is true that a gas will expand to ll the container it is placed in but that can only happen if the container is completely empty. All of our standard containers are already lled with air. If there is a vacuum, this could hold true, but those instances are mostly just in the minds of physicists.

Earths Motions
#34 - Seasons are caused by the Earths distance from the Sun.
It may seem probable that the Earths distance from the Sun is what causes the seasons. But consider the fact that the seasons reverse once you cross the equator. Argentina and Canada are the same distance from the Sun but have differing seasons. As the Earth orbits the Sun, it is also rotating on its axis. The Earth is tilted on its axis, this tilt is what causes the seasons. During the summer months the north pole is facing the Sun, and during the winter months the north pole is facing away from the Sun.
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#35 - Phases of the Moon are caused by a shadow from the Earth.

In order to understand why we see different phases of the Moon, it is important to realize that the Moon itself does not produce any light. It merely reects the light of the Sun. The Moons orbit around the Earth causes the Moon to change its position in relation to the Sun. Only half of the Moon is ever lit up. When the Moon is farthest from the Sun we see a full Moon. When the Moon is closest we see a new Moon.

#36 - The Earth is the center of the solar system. The planets, Sun and Moon revolve around the Earth.
There was a time when the belief that the Earth is the center of the solar system was the most popular opinion. Of course, that time was in the 16th century, before a man named Galileo disproved this geocentric model. The real solar system centerpiece is the Sun, around which we revolve.

#37 - The Earth is sitting on something.

School book diagrams often show a rod looking device sticking out of each end of the Earth to demonstrate its axis. That is a learning device not a replica of an actual object. The Earth (or any other
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planet) is not sitting on anything. When someone states this misconception, ask them what they think the Earth could possibly be sitting on? It may provide some amusing answers.

#38 - The Moon goes around the Earth in a single day.

Because it rises every night, it might seem like the moon would have to pass around the world to come back to its place in the sky the next night. But it is the Earths rotation that makes the Moon seems to disappear and reappear. It takes the moon a little over twenty seven days (27.3 approximately) to orbit around the Earth. This is called a sidereal month. Since the Earth is orbiting the Sun in the same direction as the moon it takes a little longer for the moon to return to the same phase- about 29 and a half days. This is called a synodic month.

Electricity
#39 - Ben Franklins kite was struck by lightning.
Amazingly, textbooks and encyclopedias are still reprinting this as fact when it should be obvious that anyone who is holding a kite that is struck by lightning would be, at best, severely injured. Franklin did head out into a thunderstorm with a kite but there was no lightning bolt. The electric charges present in the storm traveled through the kite string, standing the hairs of the twine on end. The twine charged a metal key which could then produce sparks. The experiment showed him that some storm clouds carry a strong electrical charge. He then hypothesized that lightning was just a big electric spark.

#40 - Electricity is a form of energy.

By now you have probably gured out there is a lot of poor terminology used in science. Electricity does not actually exist. It is an umbrella term that carries different, contradictory meanings. If this is confusing, consider sound waves which move through collections of air molecules. Electricity is like the air which is vibrating, while the electrical energy is like sound waves which y through the air. Sound and air are two different things, just as energy and electricity are two different things.

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#41 - Electricity is made of electrons.

Well, in the case of metal conductors this is true. The electric current that passes through them is a ow of electrons. But electric currents in plasma and electrolytes travel through electried atoms. In the case of the electrolytes, the electrons are not moving at all.

#42 - Static electricity is electricity that is static.

This is another one of those scientic misnomers. Typically, when we say something is static we mean that it is unchanging. Static electricity is a collection of electrical phenomena where the amounts of positive and negative charge are not perfectly equal, the voltage is high and current is low, where electrical forces reach across space and electric elds are very important. Its that ability to reach across space that causes the cool tricks we have all performed with static (like standing your hair on end with a balloon).

#43 - Friction causes static electricity.

This seems logical because we have all rubbed a balloon against our hair to make it stand up. It isnt the friction, though, that causes this. Static electricity happens whenever two dissimilar insulating materials touch and separate again. When they touch, the surfaces become oppositely charged and imbalanced. When they separate, this imbalance travels with them.

#44 - The direction of a current is from the negative to the positive.

An electrical current does not necessarily ow from negative to positive. Granted, the current is often being passed along by a stream of slowly moving electrons. But in some situations the electric currents can be passing through a ow of positive particles. Sometimes both positive and negative particles are owing at

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the same time in opposing directions. It really just depends on the type of conductor.

#45 - Electric energy is carried by individual electrons.

The energy in an electrical circuit ows rapidly through a column of electrons that are moving very slowly or (in the case of AC circuits) vibrating slightly. Individual electrons do not hold and carry a portion of the energy to the end. Think of electrons as absorbers rather than deliverers.

#46 - Electrical energy flows inside of wires.

If you have electricity, there are wires that connect to your home that are operated by the electric company. Normally the electrical energy does not ow inside of metals. In fact, the electrical energy being sent out by batteries and generators is located in empty space: it takes the form of electromagnetic elds surrounding the wires.

#47 - All metals are attracted to a magnet.

Pure gold, silver and platinum are not magnetic. If you hold your supposedly precious metal ring to a magnet and it sticks, dont think that you have been ripped off. Precious metals are soft and are combined with other metals (like iron which is magnetic) before being crafted into jewelry. Some types of stainless steel are also not attracted to magnets.

Geography
#48 - The Sahara is the worlds largest desert.
Technically, a desert is any region of arid land. It doesnt necessarily have to be hot. The entire continent of Antarctica qualies as a desert since it has almost no rain, very little vegetation or animal life. That makes Antarctica the largest desert with the Sahara holding the title for the largest hot desert.

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#49 - All rivers flow South.

All rivers do run downhill, and most from north to south. However there are many rivers which ow north. The Nile, which runs through Africa, is the most famous south to north running river. Others that follow this reverse path include the Bann in Northern Ireland, the Bighorn that goes through Wyoming and Montana and the Cauca in Columbia.

Geology
#50 - Continents are too big to move.
If continents did not move, there would be no Earthquakes and we would still be living on Pangaea. Fossil records show identical specimens on continents that are now far away from each other (like Africa and South America). This suggests the continents were once connected. The continents are situated on plates that shift due to the spreading of the sea oor. Movement of these plates is a major cause of volcanic and seismic activity.

#51 - Any mineral which scratches glass is a diamond.

A diamond can scratch glass because it is harder. The Mohs scale, which is used to determine the relative hardness of minerals, is measured from 1 to 10. Diamonds are the hardest and receive a 10 on the scale. Glass has a hardness of about 6. Quartz (7) and Topaz (8) are also harder than glass and can therefore scratch glass.

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#52 - The Earth is only 20,000 years old.

The age of the Earth has been estimated by geologists to be around 4.54 billion years old. This nding is considered controversial by followers of some religions, such as Christianity, which has established a much shorter timeline for the world. Scientists have used the oldest known terrestrial rocks and analyzed the age of other objects in the solar system to come up with the much older age.

#53 - Rocks are the same as minerals.

If you think of a rock as a brick wall, minerals are the bricks and the rock is the entire wall. A rock is an aggregate of one or more mineral particles formed through either crystallization of molten magma (igneous rocks), settling of particles (sedimentary rocks), or reheating and pressure applied to pre-existing rocks (metamorphic rocks), with no set chemical composition or atomic structure.

#54 - Rocks must be heavy.

Many rocks are heavy and dense. However, some rocks such as pumice are very light and not very dense. In fact, pumice will oat if placed in water because it is less dense. Some people refer to pumice as a foot stone. It is an igneous rock formed during explosive volcanic eruptions and is essentially puffed rock. Much like Corn Pops are puffed corn!

#55 - Earth is molten, except for its crust.

Most of the surface of Earth is solid, and as you travel deeper into Earth much of that solid rock becomes liquid due to heat and pressure. However, if you could travel far enough into Earth you would run into the solid metal of the outer core. Scientists know this because they have studied seismic waves from earthquakes and they behave differently when they reach the outer core, suggesting it is solid.

Measurement
#56 - Mass, weight and density are equal values.
These terms of measurement are similar but are not equal. Mass is the quantity of matter (which itself is a collection of atoms and molecules). Weight is the force that the Earth pulls on the mass. Density is a measure of mass per volume or how much mass is in a given space.

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#57 - Heat is the same as hot.

We often use the words hot and heat interchangeably when they are, in fact, different things. Hot is a temperature observation. Heat is the energy put into a system that excites atoms and molecules into action. The more heat that is put into a system, the faster those atoms and molecules move. This excitement can cause the system to gain warmth but that isnt always the case.

#58 - Pressure and force are synonymous.

Pressure and force are related to one another but not synonymous. Pressure is the force per unit area. Force is the pressure exerted on an area. In other words, if you were setting up an equation with a certain area, you would need to know the pressure to determine the force (or vice versa).

#59 - Gases have no mass.

Mass is dened as the quantity of matter. Matter is made up of atoms and molecules. Breaking it down in this way should make it clear that gas would have to have a mass since it contains atoms and molecules. Even more simply stated: Gas is a state of matter and matter is a component of mass.

#60 - One degree of temperature is smaller on the Celsius scale than on the Fahrenheit scale.
One degree Celsius is equal to about 34 degrees Fahrenheit so a Celsius degree is larger. Lets compare a dened temperature measurement in both scales. The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius. In Fahrenheit, the boiling point is 212 degrees. They are two different ways of expressing the same temperature.

#61 - Wood floats and metal sinks.

If you think that all metal sinks; drop a needle sideways onto the surface of water. It will oat. Water has a unique property called surface tension (caused by strong molecular bonds) that allows light objects like needles and water strider insects to rest on its surface. Some wood can indeed oat but only the wood whose density is less than water.
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#62 - Objects float in water because they are lighter than water.
We use the term lighter in terms of weight- if something weighs less than another object it is considered lighter. Weight is the force the Earth pulls on the mass of an object or substance. It is not what determines which material will oat above the other. Density the amount of matter in a certain space determines whether an object will oat. In a substance with low density, the atoms and molecules are moving quickly and spread out. A substance with high density has slower moving atoms and molecules that are bunched together tightly. Objects that oat in water have a lower density than water.

#63 - Liquids of high viscosity are also liquids with high density.
Viscosity is the level of resistance a liquid has towards ow. Honey has a higher viscosity than water because it is harder for honey to ow. Viscosity can be simply tested by pushing a spoon through the liquids and seeing which one ows the easiest. Density has nothing to do with viscosity. It is the amount of mass of a substance per unit volume. A dense material has a high mass per volume. It doesnt matter how viscous it is.

#64 - Temperature is a property of a particular material or object.

For example, metal is naturally cooler than plastic. The temperature of any material can be increased or decreased quite a bit. If this wasnt true, phase changes would not occurs. Heat can be applied or subtracted from any material to cause a raised or lowered temperature. While substance A might have a higher starting temperature than substance B, this temperature is dependent on environmental situations that can change and shift the heat to substance B.

#65 - Hot and cold are not opposite ends of a continuum. They are different things.
Temperature is a man made scale designed to help us determine when a substance is going to boil or freeze, among other things. Warmth and coolness (or hot and cold) are opposing aspects of this temperature continuum. There is no real denition of what is hot and what is cold because they are relative, not exact, terms.

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#66 - There is something wrong if the temperature remains constant at boiling.

No, there is nothing wrong if the temperature of a substance remains constant at boiling. This is actually how you nd the standard boiling point of a liquid in a laboratory. The liquid may begin to show a sign of boiling before the temperature has stabilized but it is not considered to be at the junction between the phases of liquid and gas until that temperature levels off.

Meteorology
#67 - Clouds and fog are made up of water vapor.
Clouds and fog are actually made of water in its liquid state. Small droplets hang in the air after water vapor has condensed. Water vapor itself is transparent; fog and clouds are visible.

#68 - There is such a thing as heat lightning.

There is only one type of lightning. Heat lightning is regular lightning visible to onlookers too far away from the actual storm to hear the thunder or see the clouds associated with it. Since the skies are often clear and warm evenings favor this occurrence, the term heat lightning was born.

#69 - Storm clouds are charged by friction.

Scientists have not determined the true explanation for the electrication present in storms but they know friction is not the answer. The clouds do not rub against each other nor does the rain cause friction with the air as it falls from the sky.

#70 - Jet contrails are smoke.

Contrails are condensation trails made by the exhaust of aircraft engines which precipitate a stream of tiny ice crystals in the moist, frigid upper air. The main products of combustion

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are carbon dioxide and water vapor. At high altitudes this water vapor emerges into a cold environment, and the local increase in water vapor can push the water content of the air past saturation point. The vapor then condenses into tiny water droplets and/or deposits into ice. These millions of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals form the contrails.

#71 - The moisture on the outside of a cool drink comes from inside the drink.
The air around us is full of moisture, we call this humidity. The dew point is the temperature that this water vapor will condense into water. The cold drink is at or below the dew point for the surrounding air. Therefore, the water vapor surrounding the bottle condenses and causes water to form on the outside of the drink.

#72 - Air and oxygen are the same gas.

Air contains oxygen but they are not the same thing. Air is composed of a mixture of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and other trace gases. Oxygen gas is an essential part of air since without it the human bodys metabolic processes cannot operate. If the air around us was pure oxygen it would be explosively ammable and res would not be a good idea.

#73 - Helium and hot air are the same gas.

Hot air is a warmed mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and trace gases. It causes a balloon to oat because the hot air is less dense than the cooler air around it. Helium is also able to cause things to oat because of a low density but heat does not have to be involved in this case. Helium is naturally one of the lightest elements on Earth because it has an atomic number of 2 (only hydrogen is lighter) and therefore has a low density.

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#74 - The hole in the ozone layer is causing global warming.

The ozone layer is a layer in our atmosphere that protects us from the Suns ultraviolet radiation. It has been depleted because of our use of CFCs. If the ozone layer was destroyed we would have more instances of skin cancer, sunburn and genetic mutation. Global warming on the other hand is caused by the accumulation of carbon dioxide (from burning fossil fuels) in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide causes our atmosphere to retain too much heat and thus causes global warming.

Myths
#75 - Humans are responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

If you have been sitting around blaming your ancestors for wiping out the dinosaurs, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Humans did not evolve until about 65 million years after the dinosaurs extinction.

#76 - Scientists must adhere to a rigid set of guidelines called the Scientific Method.
The Scientic Method is a technique taught in secondary schools that instructs students to use a hypothesis, experiment and conclusion method. While this is adequate in classroom laboratories and science fairs, it is not a widely held doctrine of the scientic community. There is no big book of rules called the Scientic Method that practicing scientists need to consult before an experiment.

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#77 - You can balance an egg on end during the spring equinox.
Every year, without fail, some TV station broadcasts a news segment showing local schoolchildren standing eggs on end on the rst day of spring. Usually, the newscaster will make some vague mention about how this works, but it is rarely specic, and never holds up to too much scrutiny. You can actually balance an egg on end any day of the year if you have a steady hand and enough patience.

#78 - Astrology is able to predict the future.

Historically, astrology and astronomy were once considered the same area of study. They split apart after the 18th century to become a legitimate science (astronomy) and a pseudoscience (astrology). Astrologists claim they can divine future events and psychological happenings from the position of celestial objects (mostly planets). One key problem to the theory of astrology is that practitioners consider the Universe to be static when it is, in fact, dynamic. Astrological predictions are only accurate by chance and often contain such vague information that it could apply to any human being.

#79 - A scientific theory is just a guess.

In scientic usage, a theory does not mean an unsubstantiated guess or hunch, as it can in everyday speech. A theory is an explanation or model based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning, especially one that has been tested and conrmed as a general principle helping to explain and predict natural phenomena. Any scientic theory must be based on a careful and rational examination of the facts.

#80 - The Great Wall of China is the only manmade object on Earth visible from the moon.
Apollo astronauts reported that they were not able to see any manmade object on Earth from the moon. The Great Wall is visible from a low orbit but so are a lot

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of other things. Cities, dams, elds and ships can all be seen from a low orbit as well.

#81 - People only use ten percent of their brains.

The brain is an incredibly complex organ. Unless a person has serious brain damage where parts of the organ have actually died or deteriorated, the whole brain is being used. It is unclear where this notion of ten percent came from. If the whole brain wasnt active, you would not be able to move your arms, remember a name or see the car in front of you or do all of them at the same time.

#82 - Going out in freezing weather increases your chance of catching the common cold.
There is usually an increase in colds during the winter than during the summer but it is not because of exposure to the chilly temperatures. When the weather outside is frightful, people tend to spend more time indoors, increasing their exposure to each others germs. The air in winter is also drier than in the summer. The dry air reduces nasal mucus and the bodys capability to expel germs.

Physics
#83 - There are seven colors in a rainbow.

ROYGBIV is often taught as a way of remembering the colors of the rainbow. However, there are a large numbers of distinct colors in a rainbow and there is no

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divider between them. For example, the area between the green and yellow area of the spectrum is a gradient between those colors.

#84 - We are using up the worlds energy.

According the rst law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Therefore, no matter what we do the total amount of energy in the universe will remain the same. Chemical energy stored in fossil fuels is released when they are changed or broken down by some conversion device. For example, we use a conversion device (gasoline engine, diesel engine) to change chemical energy into thermal and mechanical energy, to make a motor vehicle move.

#85 - Heat can only rise.

Heat itself actually doesnt rise or fall since it is energy rather than matter. When we say that heat rises, we are usually referring to warm air. In order for that air to warm up, the atoms and molecules have to gain energy and increase their speed. As they speed up, they spread out and lower the density of the air. Since hot air is less dense, it will rise above the denser, cooler air.

#86 - Liquids rise in a straw because of suction.

The liquid in a horizontal straw will not rise unless you suck but the inactivity is not because of a lack of suction. The water accelerates because of net force created by a pressure imbalance at the two ends and is pushed along by the waters own weight. Sucking causes the pressure imbalance that allows the weight of the water to push the liquid upwards.

#87 - Gravity cannot exist without air.

When we refer to gravity, we mean the gravitational force that exists between two forms of mass. The only factors that gure in to determining this force are a gravitational constant, the distance between the centers of gravity of the masses and the masses themselves. Air is not a necessary component in this equation.

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#88 - For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Yes, this is what Newton said but it was not what he meant. The term action has changed meanings somewhat since the laws were translated into English from Latin. What he meant was for every force, there is an equal and opposite force. For example, when you take a step you are putting force down onto the Earth. The Earth pushes equally back at you.

#89 - Gravity is selective and acts differently (or not at all) on some matter.
There is an equation that will determine the gravitational force between any forms of mass. Gravitational force= (G * m1 * m2)/(d^2) where G is the gravitational constant, d is the distance between the centers of gravity of two masses and the m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects whose force you want to know. This equation is the same no matter what masses are being put into the m1 and m2 slot. Gravity acts in the same way on all matter. The results of the equation only vary because of mass or distance variations.

#90 - The kinetic theory does not really explain heat transfer.
Kinetic theory states that the temperature of a substance (or body) is determined by the average internal energy of its particles. The addition of heat increases this energy. Heat energy transfers the internal energy into another system or substance. When two substances come into contact with each other, the substance that is more energetic will lose some of its heat to the substance that is less energetic.

#91 - Expansion of matter is due to expansion of particles rather than to increased particle spacing.
Kinetic theory tells us that the introduction of heat to a system increases the movement of the particles within. As the particles speed up, they separate to give each other room to move. Heating a substance or body will cause the particles to spread out and the body to expand.

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#92 - An object at rest has no energy.

An object at rest has what is called potential energy. This is energy stored within the system that can be converted into or used to fuel other forms of energy, like kinetic. Energy cannot be created or destroyed so when an object comes to rest the energy it had in motion still exists.

#93 - The only type of potential energy is gravitational.

Gravitational is one of the types of potential energy but not the only one. There are also elastic, chemical, electrical and thermal potential energies. Elastic energy relates to elastic objects that are being compressed or made tense. Chemical potential energy relates to the arrangement of atoms and molecules, often due to chemical bonds. Thermal potential energy is the sum of the average kinetic energy of random motion of the particles that compose the object.

#94 - There is no relationship between matter and energy.

Remember that old equation E=mc2? It is the mass-energy equivalence formula. Mass-energy equivalence is a concept in physics that states that any mass has an associated energy (and vice versa). The E in the formula is the energy equivalent to the mass, the m the actual mass and c is the speed of light in a vacuum. The squared c is in there because it acts as a converter between the units of mass to the units of energy.

#95 - Velocity is another word for speed. An objects speed and velocity are always the same.
Speed refers to how fast an object is moving with a high speed meaning fast and a low speed meaning slow. Velocity is the rate at which an object changes position. What is the difference? Let us look to a race car for an example. A race car drives forward at a speed of 150 miles per hour then stops and reverses its path (at the same speed) back to its starting point. The car was moving at a very high speed but achieved zero velocity. That is because it retraced its path back to the starting point.

#96 - There is no gravity in space.

This is probably one of the most commonly held scientic misconceptions. The largest argument for the truth of this theory is that the astronauts can oat around weightlessly in their shuttle. This is not due to a lack of gravity. Space shuttles

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are essentially a falling container that also moves sideways rapidly in a curved path parallel to the Earth that keeps it from hitting the ground. If you go skydiving, you will experience a similar feeling of weightlessness. It does not mean gravity has kicked off. The gravity in outer space is actually pretty strong. Three hundred miles into space, you would only weigh about fteen percent less than you do standing on the solid ground.

Temperature
#97 - The temperature of an object depends on its size.
Does a cup of boiling water have a higher temperature than an iceberg? Yes, obviously it does and the iceberg is much larger. Temperature is a reection of the amount of heat that a substance is transferring outwards. This heat is caused by the excitement of particles in the material. The more excited the particles are, the more heat that is generated. Size is not a factor.

#98 - Objects that readily become warm are good conductors of heat and do not readily become cold.
Heat transfers from areas of high temperature to areas of low temperature. When a warm object (A) comes into contact with an object with a lower temperature (B), the heat moves from A to B. When B becomes warm enough that it is at a higher temperature than something it is in contact with, the heat leaves B for the cooler grounds. A good conductor of heat warms and cools readily because it, by denition, allows the heat to move through quickly.

#99 - The bubbles in boiling water contains air.

The bubbles in boiling water (or any other liquid) are the gaseous form of water trying to be created. As the water is heated, the particles begin to move around faster with the eventual goal of becoming vapor. The liquid does not go from liquid to gas in one swift step. The gas that is slowly being created is less dense than the water it is forming in and will rise to the top. It typically starts from the bottom

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of the liquid because that is usually where the heat source is. The less dense gas rises through the water toward the top.

#100 - Boiling is the maximum temperature a substance can reach.

A boiling point is the temperature where the liquids vapor pressure is equal to the pressure surrounding it. When we typically refer to boiling points, they are those calculated with the pressure of the lab air around it. But different pressures create differing boiling points. There are an innite number of boiling points for any substance since there are an innite number of pressures that could be around it.

#101 - Hot objects are red and cold objects are blue.

As a convention, hot objects are often colored red and cold objects are colored blue. However, when we look at stars for instance the hottest stars are blue in color and red stars are much cooler. You can see this in a blowtorch ame as well the hottest part is the blue ame.

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