The near transfer questions expecte

The near transfer questions expected students to make inferences. Answers to those questions were indicated in the beginning story but
students also had to integrate them across the hearing sentences. A sample of near transfer question (as described and presented in Fig. 3)
was ‘‘you have three balls of the same volume, one made of iron, one made of cork and one made of gold. Check the table with the densities.
Which ball do you believe has the bigger mass? Choose the right answer.” The question was followed by three options: (a) ball with gold,
(b) ball with cork, and (c) ball with iron.
The far transfer questions tested the ability of students to apply the knowledge in order to solve problems related to the concepts of
mass, volume and density – a process that expected the students to analyze, classify, integrate, and relate information which was provided
in the beginning story. A sample far transfer question was ‘‘A volumetric jar, which weighs 200 g, is placed on an electronic balance. You
have one glass filled with water, one filled with alcohol, and one filled with orange juice. A table with the densities of the above liquids is
given. Each time you must pour 200 g from one of the above liquids into the jar in order to find out which liquid has the smallest volume.
Choose the right answer.” Possible answers provided were (a) water, (b) orange juice, and (c) alcohol.