From the answer given, the image of the smokes are produced from the influence of the macroscopic level
observation during the sodium and water reaction which a cloud of white smokes are released once the sodium is
dropped into a beaker of water. The influence of macroscopic level observation is not surprising as Harrison and
Treagust (1996) claims that the students’ atom mental model is commonly influenced by their experience of the
physical world (macroscopic level). Some students believe that the solid atoms are harder than liquid and gas
atoms. Meanwhile, some students also consider the gas atoms are larger than solid atoms for the same matter.
This situation gives the impression that the images in the imagination world do own the characteristics of
macroscopic level observation and past experiences. Example of imagination generated by the students is as the
following drawing: