The aim of this research was to evaluate and analyse
alternative conceptions in students’ understanding of the
propagation of sound waves. The study was carried out in
Barcelona (Spain) and involved first-year chemical engineering
students.
In order to find out what these alternative conceptions were, we
analysed the students’ answers to three questions that were
designed to test their understanding of the propagation of sound
waves.
The results show that although the propagation of sound in air is
quite well understood by students, they have difficulties in
explaining the transmission of sound through a solid wall
It should be highlighted that misconceptions about sound have
been quite widely investigated in primary and secondary
education, but have received little attention in engineering
education.
The results will be extremely useful for designing a teaching unit
that takes a constructivist approach to teaching and learning.