• Open Access

Laboratory-tutorial activities for teaching probability

Michael C. Wittmann, Jeffrey T. Morgan, and Roger E. Feeley
Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 2, 020104 – Published 2 August 2006

Abstract

We report on the development of students’ ideas of probability and probability density in a University of Maine laboratory-based general education physics course called Intuitive Quantum Physics. Students in the course are generally math phobic with unfavorable expectations about the nature of physics and their ability to do it. We describe a set of activities used to teach concepts of probability and probability density. Rudimentary knowledge of mechanics is needed for one activity, but otherwise the material requires no additional preparation. Extensions of the activities include relating probability density to potential energy graphs for certain “touchstone” examples. Students have difficulties learning the target concepts, such as comparing the ratio of time in a region to total time in all regions. Instead, they often focus on edge effects, pattern match to previously studied situations, reason about necessary but incomplete macroscopic elements of the system, use the gambler’s fallacy, and use expectations about ensemble results rather than expectation values to predict future events. We map the development of their thinking to provide examples of problems rather than evidence of a curriculum’s success.

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  • Received 21 February 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.2.020104

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Authors & Affiliations

Michael C. Wittmann*, Jeffrey T. Morgan, and Roger E. Feeley

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5709, USA

  • *FAX: (207) 581-3410. Email address: wittmann@umit.maine.edu

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Vol. 2, Iss. 2 — July - December 2006

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