Mental models and Gauss’s Law

The theoretical perspective of the mental models, originated from the Cognitive Psychology, has been being promising in the field of Science Education. Considering this perspective, it would be appropriate to ask if there are mental models associated to the Gauss law in the context of learning. The field-work involved the exam of written evaluations, aiming at students’ population of university basic physics. In the analysis of the data were developed categories discussed on the sight of presuppositions related to the mental models: its dynamism, its relative instability and its representation form (propositional and imagistic). Pedagogic implications are discussed.