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Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations
written by Neelam Khan, Dehui Hu, Dong-Hai Nguyen, and N. Sanjay Rebello
Integration is widely used in physics in electricity and magnetism (E&M), as well as in mechanics, to calculate physical quantities from other non-constant quantities. We designed a survey to assess students' ability to apply integration to physics problems in introductory physics. Each student was given a set of eight problems, and each set of problems had two different versions; one consisted of symbolic problems and the other graphical problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' strategies for solving physics problems that use integrals in first and second-semester calculus-based physics. Our results indicate that most students had difficulty even recognizing that an integral is needed to solve the problem.
Physics Education Research Conference 2011
Part of the PER Conference series
Omaha, Nebraska: August 3-4, 2011
Volume 1413, Pages 227-230
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Assessment
- Problem Solving
= Representational Use
Mathematical Tools
- Calculus
- Lower Undergraduate
- Graduate/Professional
- Reference Material
= Research study
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3680036
Access Rights:
Free access and
Available for purchase
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2011 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:
© 2011 American Institute of Physics
DOI:
10.1063/1.3680036
NSF Number:
0816207
PACS:
01.40.Fk
Keywords:
PERC 2011, integral, problem solving, representations
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created April 25, 2012 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
May 15, 2012 by Vince Kuo
Last Update
when Cataloged:
February 6, 2012
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Record Link
AIP Format
N. Khan, D. Hu, D. Nguyen, and N. Rebello, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703).
AJP/PRST-PER
N. Khan, D. Hu, D. Nguyen, and N. Rebello, Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703>.
APA Format
Khan, N., Hu, D., Nguyen, D., & Rebello, N. (2011, August 3-4). Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703
Chicago Format
Khan, N, D. Hu, D. Nguyen, and N. Rebello. "Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, August 3-4, 2011. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703 (accessed 29 March 2024).
MLA Format
Khan, Neelam, Dehui Hu, Dong-Hai Nguyen, and N. Sanjay Rebello. "Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations." Physics Education Research Conference 2011. Omaha, Nebraska: 2011. 227-230 Vol. 1413 of PER Conference. 29 Mar. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Neelam Khan and Dehui Hu and Dong-Hai Nguyen and N. Sanjay Rebello", Title = {Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2011}, Pages = {227-230}, Address = {Omaha, Nebraska}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1413}, Month = {August 3-4}, Year = {2011} }
Refer Export Format

%A Neelam Khan %A Dehui Hu %A Dong-Hai Nguyen %A N. Sanjay Rebello %T Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations %S PER Conference %V 1413 %D August 3-4 2011 %P 227-230 %C Omaha, Nebraska %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %O August 3-4 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Khan, Neelam %A Hu, Dehui %A Nguyen, Dong-Hai %A Rebello, N. Sanjay %D August 3-4 2011 %T Assessing students' ability to solve introductory physics problems using integrals in symbolic and graphical representations %B Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %C Omaha, Nebraska %V 1413 %P 227-230 %S PER Conference %8 August 3-4 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11852&DocID=2703


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