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Effect of scale comprehension on student reasoning about astronomical phenomena. II. Moon phases

Willem Keppens*, Mieke De Cock, and Hans Van Winckel

Wim Van Dooren

Jan Sermeus

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200C, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

  • Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Dekenstraat 2, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200C, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
  • Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Dekenstraat 2, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, and Royal Observatory of Belgium, Planetarium, Bouchoutlaan 10, 1020 Brussels, Belgium

  • *Contact author: willem.keppens@kuleuven.be
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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020107 – Published 5 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/bxw9-xm6x

Abstract

This paper is the second in a two-part series that investigates students’ reasoning on astronomical phenomena. In this work, we examined how (if at all) students rely on spatial scale assumptions when reasoning about Moon phases. To that end, we conducted N=25 semistructured interviews with last-year high school students. A personalized, physical scale model of the Sun-Earth-Moon system was constructed for every participant individually and placed on the interview table. Students were encouraged to clarify their thoughts by interacting with the scale model or by making a drawing. The scale estimates underpinning the scale model on the table were assessed through an interactive online survey, which was administered several days to weeks prior to the interviews. Only students with severely underestimated values for the relevant sizes and distances were selected for an interview. This selection procedure was motivated by both pragmatic and empirical considerations. We observed a wide variety of explanations for Moon phases, some of which were not found in the existing literature. Several students used their (inaccurate) scale ideas to reason about Moon phases. However, occasionally an interviewed student expressed arguments inconsistent with the scale model on the table. In these cases, scale assumptions seemed to be not taken into account when reasoning about Moon phases. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020107– Published 5 August, 2026
  • Received 26 November 2025
  • Revised 5 May 2026
  • Accepted 4 May 2026
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