Conservation tasks- early childhood

Hi Sportchick94

Using Wikipedia I found that these four elements children have a problem conceptualizing

Liquid: A child who cannot conserve will assume the taller glass has more liquid than the shorter glass that have the same amount of the water.

Number: For conservation of number, the task designed to test children involves a set of several sticks or round counters. These counters (usually 6 for a 6-year-old) are placed into two parallel, horizontal lines that are the same length. Then the researcher spreads out the counters in one of the lines, to make that line longer than the other. The researcher then asks, "Is there the same number or a different number of counters in each line?" A child who cannot conserve will answer that there are more counters in the longer line, while a child who can conserve will recognize that there are the same number of counters in each line.

Solid quantity: For conservation of solid quantity, the task designed to assess children involves two lumps of clay. The researcher first rolls the two lumps into the same shape. Then the researcher stretches out one of the balls into a long shape. The researcher asks the child whether the two clay shapes have the same amount of clay or a different amount. A child that cannot conserve will answer that the shapes have different amounts of clay—that the long shape has more. The child who can conserve will understand that they still both have the same amount of clay. Conservation of solid quantity is harder for children to learn than conservation of liquid and occurs later.

Weight/mass:

For conservation of weight/mass, the task involves two lumps of clay and a balance. The experimenter places two equal balls of clay onto either side of a balance and shows that the weights are the same. The experimenter then molds one ball of clay into an oblong shape, and asks the child if the two pieces of clay will still weigh the same amount. A child who cannot conserve will answer that they now weigh a different amount, while a child who can conserve will recognize that shape does not affect weight/mass and respond that they weigh the same amount.