Thought experiments in science education: The case of water movement in tracheophyte plants in the gravity conditions of moon

The work is part of a larger project of teaching interdisciplinary teaching of physics concepts in biology within the science education class. It concerns the application of a thought experiment (ThE) about the movement of water in tracheophytes under different gravity conditions, i.e., the behavior of plants on another planet, for example the Moon or Mars. The ThE was designed and implemented in a science class of 25 students who were instructed to perform it in a simulation environment using a software file that we created with the help of Interactive Physics software. The evaluation of the ThE carried out with a written questionnaire showed that the use of such educational procedures can significantly help students to better understand the concepts related to capillary phenomena, the way water is transported to plants from roots to leaves and, generally, to contribute to the interdisciplinary teaching of physics concepts in modules related to the teaching of biological phenomena and functions.