| Abstract: | Investigations provide an exciting and relevant background for the study of mathematics. In this article children's conceptions of the laws of motion, introduced by Eckstein and Shemesh (1993), are extended with an emphasis placed upon the benefits to mathematics education. The focus is on the principle that the faster an object is moving when it is dropped, the greater the distance it will travel away from the drop point. The problems faced by a class of elementary school children who focus upon this experiment are described, and the impact of these problems upon the decisions made by the class are discussed. The use of mathematics in support of this experiment, particularly concepts of probability and statistics, are discussed, as well as suggestions for alternative methods of evaluating children's performance. |
