Detail Page

Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions
written by Bethany R. Wilcox, Marcos D. Caballero, Rachel E. Pepper, and Steven J. Pollock
Utilizing the integral expression of Coulomb's Law to determine the electric potential from a continuous charge distribution is a canonical exercise in Electricity and Magnetism (E&M). In this study, we use both think-aloud interviews and responses to traditional exam questions to investigate student difficulties with this topic at the upper-division level. Leveraging a theoretical framework for the use of mathematics in physics, we discuss how students activate, construct, execute and reflect on the integral form of Coulomb's Law when solving problems with continuous charge distributions. We present evidence that junior-level E&M students have difficulty mapping physical systems onto the mathematical expression for the Coulomb potential. Common challenges include difficulty expressing the difference vector in appropriate coordinates as well as determining expressions for the differential charge element and limits of integration for a specific charge distribution. We discuss possible implications of these findings for future research directions and instructional strategies.
Physics Education Research Conference 2012
Part of the PER Conference series
Philadelphia, PA: August 1-2, 2012
Volume 1513, Pages 418-421
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Alternative Conceptions
- Research Design & Methodology
Electricity & Magnetism
- Electrostatics
= Coulomb's Law
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Researchers
- application/pdf
- non-digital
  • Currently 0.0/5

Want to rate this material?
Login here!


Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4789741
Access Rights:
Free access and
Available for purchase
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2012 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
DOI:
10.1063/1.4789741
NSF Number:
1023028
PACSs:
01.40.Fk
01.30.lb
Keywords:
ACER Framework, PERC 2012, electric potential, electricity and magnetism, student difficulties with mathematics
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created July 1, 2013 by Zachary Davis
Record Updated:
December 17, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
January 24, 2013
Other Collections:

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
B. Wilcox, M. Caballero, R. Pepper, and S. Pollock, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398).
AJP/PRST-PER
B. Wilcox, M. Caballero, R. Pepper, and S. Pollock, Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398>.
APA Format
Wilcox, B., Caballero, M., Pepper, R., & Pollock, S. (2012, August 1-2). Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398
Chicago Format
Wilcox, B, M. Caballero, R. Pepper, and S. Pollock. "Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, August 1-2, 2012. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398 (accessed 19 March 2024).
MLA Format
Wilcox, Bethany, Marcos D. Caballero, Rachel Pepper, and Steven Pollock. "Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions." Physics Education Research Conference 2012. Philadelphia, PA: 2012. 418-421 Vol. 1513 of PER Conference. 19 Mar. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Bethany Wilcox and Marcos D. Caballero and Rachel Pepper and Steven Pollock", Title = {Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2012}, Pages = {418-421}, Address = {Philadelphia, PA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1513}, Month = {August 1-2}, Year = {2012} }
Refer Export Format

%A Bethany Wilcox %A Marcos D. Caballero %A Rachel Pepper %A Steven Pollock %T Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions %S PER Conference %V 1513 %D August 1-2 2012 %P 418-421 %C Philadelphia, PA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %O August 1-2 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Wilcox, Bethany %A Caballero, Marcos D. %A Pepper, Rachel %A Pollock, Steven %D August 1-2 2012 %T Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions %B Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %C Philadelphia, PA %V 1513 %P 418-421 %S PER Conference %8 August 1-2 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12866&DocID=3398


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.

Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions:


Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it.
Save to my folders

Contribute

Related Materials

Similar Materials