Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective

home » Journal Article Detail Page

Detail Page

written by Christian H. Kautz, Paula R. L. Heron, Peter S. Shaffer, and Lillian C. McDermott

Evidence from research indicates that many undergraduate science and engineering majors have seriously flawed microscopic models for the pressure and temperature in an ideal gas. In the investigation described in this paper, some common mistaken ideas about microscopic processes were identified. Examples illustrate the use of this information in the design of instruction that helped improve student understanding of the ideal gas law, especially its substance independence. Some broader implications of this study for the teaching of thermal physics are noted.

American Journal of Physics: Volume 73, Issue 11, Pages 1064-1071

https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Alternative Conceptions Thermo & Stat Mech - Models = Ideal Gas - Thermal Properties of Matter = Pressure = Temperature	- Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Educators - Researchers - Professional/Practitioners	- application/pdf - non-digital - text/html	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Available by subscription and
Available for purchase
Restriction:: © 2005 American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:: 10.1119/1.2060715
PACSs:: 01.50.-i; 51.10.+y; 51.30.+i
Keywords:: Ideal Gas Law, misconceptions, physics education
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created July 11, 2012 by Zachary Davis
Record Updated:: April 30, 2014 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: November 1, 2005
Other Collections:: The PSRC

The PER-Central

The Statistical and Thermal Physics

Post a new comment on this item

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=12219">Kautz, C, P. Heron, P. Shaffer, and L. McDermott. "Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective ." Am. J. Phys. 73, no. 11, (November 1, 2005): 1064-1071.</a>

AIP Format

C. Kautz, P. Heron, P. Shaffer, and L. McDermott, , Am. J. Phys. 73 (11), 1064 (2005), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715).

AJP/PRST-PER

C. Kautz, P. Heron, P. Shaffer, and L. McDermott, Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective , Am. J. Phys. 73 (11), 1064 (2005), <https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715>.

APA Format

Kautz, C., Heron, P., Shaffer, P., & McDermott, L. (2005, November 1). Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective . Am. J. Phys., 73(11), 1064-1071. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715

Chicago Format

Kautz, C, P. Heron, P. Shaffer, and L. McDermott. "Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective ." Am. J. Phys. 73, no. 11, (November 1, 2005): 1064-1071, https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715 (accessed 26 April 2024).

MLA Format

Kautz, Christian, Paula R. L. Heron, Peter Shaffer, and Lillian C. McDermott. "Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective ." Am. J. Phys. 73.11 (2005): 1064-1071. 26 Apr. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715>.

BibTeX Export Format

@article{ Author = "Christian Kautz and Paula R. L. Heron and Peter Shaffer and Lillian C. McDermott", Title = {Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective }, Journal = {Am. J. Phys.}, Volume = {73}, Number = {11}, Pages = {1064-1071}, Month = {November}, Year = {2005} }

Refer Export Format

%A Christian Kautz %A Paula R. L. Heron %A Peter Shaffer %A Lillian C. McDermott %T Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective %J Am. J. Phys. %V 73 %N 11 %D November 1, 2005 %P 1064-1071 %U https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Kautz, Christian %A Heron, Paula R. L. %A Shaffer, Peter %A McDermott, Lillian C. %D November 1, 2005 %T Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part II: A microscopic perspective %J Am. J. Phys. %V 73 %N 11 %P 1064-1071 %8 November 1, 2005 %U https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2060715

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.