Re: [Phys-L] problems with the physics regents

[<cpreske@twcny.rr.com>]

First of all if all the choices in #6 were converted to Meters; A student should be able to see that a 10mters or less is too small and antthing larger than a kilometer is too large.leaving only one choice.  For question 48 the question is the direction of the gravitational field not the magnetic of Earth
---- John Clement <clement@hal-pc.org> wrote: 
> I don't immediately know the length of a football field either, but I might
> be able to make an educated guess.  Is it a required topic in school???  If
> not they should give the number.  They need to be careful about cultural
> things.  I suspect every small town TX student knows the length of a
> football field because football is very important to them.  But now in many
> places soccer has penetrated, and my son played lacrosse.
>
> As to the poles of course the N magnet pole is in Antarctica, but the N
> geographic pole is in the Arctic.  I think the key word is magnetic which
> means the pole of a magnet.  It is not a trick question, but rather testing
> a misconception.
>
> Where is there a copy of the last Regents exam, so we can look at the
> wording?  Generally they used to be better than the current crop of most
> state high stakes tests.
>
> John M. Clement
> Houston, TX
>
>
> > Second, I taught electromagnetism to my kids and I think they 
> > all (or most)
> > got question 30 correct but that topic has not been on any 
> > regents exams
> > since the 2002 new format.  Am I right on that?  Pretty 
> > unfair to students
> > who's teachers may not have taught it.  I had one girl that was in my
> > non-regents class take the regents because she was doing so 
> > well all year
> > but did not want to switch her schedule.  I never taught her 
> > class that
> > topic.
> >
> > Third, not everyone know the size of a football field.  It 
> > may seem silly
> > but I have had kids new in the country from Mongolia, that now nothing
> > about such things.
> >
> > Forth, I have a problem with question 48.  The Earth has the 
> > North Magnetic
> > Pole on the top and South on the bottom.  Now it was a trick 
> > question and
> > I'll bet my kids (and probably some teachers) did not even 
> > read it and just
> > answered 3 (North to South).  But if the question said Magnetic Field
> > wouldn't the answer be (4) because the South pole is a North 
> > magnetic pole?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mike Barr
> >
> > -- 
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