An exploratory investigation of the intuition of physical quantity among 15 to 17 year old high school students from an evolutionary epistemological perspective

This study examines the issue of perception of extreme amounts of various physical quantities among 14 to 17 year old public schools students. The methods used in this investigation consisted of combined multiple-choice-open response questions and clinical interviews.;The subjects in this study have relatively well defined ideas about quantitative relationships of the physical world as long as the quantities involved lie within their perceptual limits. Beyond these limits, their quantitative understanding was vague across all concepts with respect to their inability to do adequate quantitative comparisons.;Very small physical quantities as well as very small changes in quantities did not seem to be present in the mental frameworks of the subjects. Most subjects were able to comprehend micro-quantities and micro-changes by relating them to those within their mesocosmical range. Analogical reasoning appeared to be central to this process.;The subjects failed to perceive identical physical situations as analogical if one of them involved mesocosmical quantities and the other contained those lying beyond their mental mesocosmical range. Crossing mesocosmical boundaries in one's mind caused interruption in analogical reasoning.;Very large physical quantities, namely those beyond the human range of sensual perception, were present in the subjects' mental frameworks. However, they were unable to reason adequately about quantitative differences between distinct quantities of the same concept if these quantities were beyond their sensual range.;The findings of this study provide empirical support to Vollmer's (1984) theory of mesocosmical mind.