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Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor
written by
Trevor I. Smith, John R. Thompson, and Donald B. Mountcastle
As part of research into student understanding of topics related to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics at the upper division, we have identified student difficulties in applying concepts related to the Boltzmann factor and the canonical partition function. With this in mind, we have developed a guided-inquiry worksheet activity (tutorial) designed to help students develop a better understanding of where the Boltzmann factor comes from and why it is useful. The tutorial guides students through the derivation of both the Boltzmann factor and the canonical partition function. Preliminary results suggest that students who participated in the tutorial had a higher success rate on assessment items than students who had only received lecture instruction on the topic. We present results that motivate the need for this tutorial, the outline of the derivation used, and results from implementations of the tutorial.
Physics Education Research Conference 2010
Part of the PER Conference series Portland, Oregon: July 21-22, 2010 Volume 1289, Pages 305-308
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10485">Smith, T, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle. "Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010.</a>
AIP Format
T. Smith, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941).
AJP/PRST-PER
T. Smith, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle, Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941>.
APA Format
Smith, T., Thompson, J., & Mountcastle, D. (2010, July 21-22). Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941
Chicago Format
Smith, T, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle. "Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941 (accessed 27 April 2024).
MLA Format
Smith, Trevor I., John Thompson, and Donald Mountcastle. "Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor." Physics Education Research Conference 2010. Portland, Oregon: 2010. 305-308 Vol. 1289 of PER Conference. 27 Apr. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "Trevor I. Smith and John Thompson and Donald Mountcastle",
Title = {Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2010},
Pages = {305-308},
Address = {Portland, Oregon},
Series = {PER Conference},
Volume = {1289},
Month = {July 21-22},
Year = {2010}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Trevor I. Smith %A John Thompson %A Donald Mountcastle %T Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor %S PER Conference %V 1289 %D July 21-22 2010 %P 305-308 %C Portland, Oregon %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %O July 21-22 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Smith, Trevor I. %A Thompson, John %A Mountcastle, Donald %D July 21-22 2010 %T Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor %B Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %C Portland, Oregon %V 1289 %P 305-308 %S PER Conference %8 July 21-22 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10485&DocID=1941 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Addressing Student Difficulties with Statistical Mechanics: The Boltzmann Factor:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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