Misconception 2: Conservation of liquid

                        Conservation of liquid is the understanding that the amount of liquid remains the same when you pour it into another container.  Piaget proposed that liquid conservation develops when the child reaches the Stage of Concrete Operations at around 7 years of age.  Before this time, children may believe that the amount of liquid increases or decreases when it is poured from one container to another.  Watch as this 5-year-old girls demonstrates that she does not understand conservation of liquid.  First, she says that there are two glasses holding the same amount of water.  After the experimenter pours one glass' water into a taller and narrower container, the child says that this container is holding more water than the other glass.

Children also often believe that the amount of liquid has changed when a set amount has been poured from one container to another of a different size. They believe that there is more liquid in the one that has the highest level e.g the left hand containers in figures b and c.