Size or volume?

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the development of the relationships between figure and volume, through the models of Pascal vases used in learning, since on these relationships depend the different possible concepts of volume, and the particular model used by each person in each specific situation. The results show that, at learning time, subjects can be classified in three main groups: those who do not memorize the model, those who memorize the model, and those who not only memorize the model but also extrapolate from it. It is also shown that these relationships evolve in the subjects after learning, but this evolution is neither the same as all subjects nor affects all of them. Results show that there is a group of subjects in which this evolution is null, another group in which there is a partial evolution, and another group that achieves the completeness of relationships between figure and volume.