![]()
written by
Thomas M. Scaife and Andrew F. Heckler
We investigate student confusion of concepts of electric and magnetic force. At various times during a traditional university-level course, we administered a series of simple questions about the direction of force on a charged particle moving through either an electric or a magnetic field. We find that after electric force instruction but before magnetic force instruction most students answer electric force questions correctly, and we replicate well-known results that many students incorrectly answer that magnetic forces are in the same direction as the magnetic field. After magnetic force instruction, most students answer magnetic force questions correctly, but surprisingly many students incorrectly answer that electric forces are perpendicular to electric fields, as would happen if a student confused electric forces with magnetic forces. As a further indication of interference between electric and magnetic concepts, we also find that students' responses depend on whether electric or magnetic force questions are posed first, and this effect depends on whether electric or magnetic force was most recently taught.
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research: Volume 7, Issue 1, Pages 010104
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!
![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11944">Scaife, Thomas, and Andrew F. Heckler. "Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 7, no. 1, (March 28, 2011): 010104.</a>
![]() T. Scaife and A. Heckler, , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 7 (1), 010104 (2011), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104).
![]() T. Scaife and A. Heckler, Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 7 (1), 010104 (2011), <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104>.
![]() Scaife, T., & Heckler, A. (2011, March 28). Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 7(1), 010104. Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104
![]() Scaife, Thomas, and Andrew F. Heckler. "Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 7, no. 1, (March 28, 2011): 010104, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104 (accessed 4 May 2025).
![]() Scaife, Thomas, and Andrew F. Heckler. "Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 7.1 (2011): 010104. 4 May 2025 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104>.
![]() @article{
Author = "Thomas Scaife and Andrew F. Heckler",
Title = {Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics},
Journal = {Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.},
Volume = {7},
Number = {1},
Pages = {010104},
Month = {March},
Year = {2011}
}
![]() %A Thomas Scaife %A Andrew F. Heckler %T Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 7 %N 1 %D March 28, 2011 %P 010104 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Journal Article %A Scaife, Thomas %A Heckler, Andrew F. %D March 28, 2011 %T Interference between electric and magnetic concepts in introductory physics %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 7 %N 1 %P 010104 %8 March 28, 2011 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010104 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. |