Abstract
Although much attention has been given recently to treating the troublesome ‘‘preconceptions’’ that beginning students have acquired concerning elementary kinematics and dynamics, higher-order misconceptions should not be ignored by instructors. In this article, the problems students have with Newtonian gravitation and extended bodies are examined. A three-step program involving a classroom exercise (the mass dipole), a homework problem (thin, massive rod), and an extra-credit assignment (thin, hemispherical shell—‘‘gravity on a half shell’’) is suggested in order to increase student understanding of this important law of nature.
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