Assisting High School Students to Redefine the Principle of Coriolis Force

Abstract

A new method was developed to better understand the principle of Coriolis force. We also investigated the understanding of 5 10th grade students and analyzed their responses. Since no clear explanation about the nature of a rotating disk is provided in school textbooks, it tends to be misunderstood as the earth surface revolving on its axis pointing to the North Pole. This study was carried out focusing on the fact that a rotating disk is the tangential plane at arbitrary latitude. Results showed that there are changes in students' conceptions on the principle of Coriolis force with a new understanding of the rotating disk. In conclusion, a new method used in this study helped students better understand the link between Coriolis force and rotating disk. The method would be helpful to clarify the principle of Coriolis force in school science.