A brief research on teaching the period of tide and the sun’s path

NAIYU CHI^1,2,3*

¹Counseling Office, Shan-Jiao Junior High School, Taoyuan, Taiwan
²The Center of Teacher Education, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
³Department of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

* Presenter:NAIYU CHI, email:d92222018@gmail.com

Tides and the sun’s path are fascinating natural phenomena. In accordance with Curriculum Guidelines of 12-year Basic Education for junior high schools, the learning contents of natural sciences includes tidal changes and the angle of sun exposure. However, understanding the mechanism of tides requires the foundation of Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation. In addition, observing the trajectory of the sun in our sky relates a rotating spherical coordinate system. These principles are not easy for junior high school students. In this report, common difficulties and misconceptions that students often encounter here are presented. Besides, some teaching suggestions are provided with the goals that students can recognize these natural phenomena and understand their principles.

Keywords: physical teaching, tide, sun’s path