Leslie Atkins, professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Community Engagement in the College of Education, recently published an article in the journal Science and Education on how physics, chemistry and biology conceptualize energy.
Using sugar and oxygen molecules as examples, Atkins describes how biology locates energy in the sugar molecule itself, chemistry locates energy in molecular oxygen, and physics models energy in the field between the two molecules. Using the calorie as an example unit of energy, Atkins writes that, “Biology describes us as eating calories, chemistry as inhaling calories, and physics invents an abstract object (the field) as the container for energy.”
Atkins’ research contributes to the development of science instructional materials for K-12 educators.