Re: Controversial Exam Questions - Not Ohm's Law

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@SFU.CA>]

> The problem is that I cannot determine which weight definition is being used
> in the exam question that sparked this thread.  I see no contextual basis
> for choosing one definition over the other.  The only reason I personally
> have the opinion that answer B is correct is my own bias for the definition
> of weight.

One cannot hold a bias for a definition. Definitions are, by
their nature, unassailable. When I teach I define weight the
other way (as the reading on a scale), but I can still see
what answer is sought here.

> So the IB people say the right thing in their explanatory
> material, but they don't follow their own advice when writing test questions
> because they provide no "context" in this question to give the student a
> clue as to which definition of weight is being used.

On the other hand, if my interpretation (that what is desired
here is a regurgitation of a factoid) is correct, then there
is no ambiguity. Mine is a very cynical interpretation, but
no one here has argued that it is likely incorrect. I think
we all know the truth here. What should be attacked is not the
question itself, but rather the pedagogy behind the question.

Leigh