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Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses
written by Marlene Vega, Warren M. Christensen, Brian Farlow, Gina Passante, and Michael E. Loverude
In upper division physics courses students are required to work with various coordinate systems. This skill becomes particularly important when learning Electricity and Magnetism, where the most appropriate coordinate system will often depend on the geometry and symmetry of a problem. This study aims to identify and describe "resources" used by students when answering physics questions regarding unit vectors in non-Cartesian coordinate systems, specifically polar coordinates. Data were collected in the form of written responses and interviews in upper division physics courses at two universities. After deeper analysis we identified several resources that students use in ways that can be productive and unproductive.
Physics Education Research Conference 2016
Part of the PER Conference series
Sacramento, CA: July 20-21, 2016
Pages 364-367
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Cognition
- Learning Theory
Mathematical Tools
- Coordinate Systems
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
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- application/pdf
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2016…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2016.pr.086
Keyword:
PERC 2016
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created December 1, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
December 23, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
December 29, 2016
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AIP Format
M. Vega, W. Christensen, B. Farlow, G. Passante, and M. Loverude, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, 2016, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624).
AJP/PRST-PER
M. Vega, W. Christensen, B. Farlow, G. Passante, and M. Loverude, Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, 2016, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624>.
APA Format
Vega, M., Christensen, W., Farlow, B., Passante, G., & Loverude, M. (2016, July 20-21). Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624
Chicago Format
Vega, M, W. Christensen, B. Farlow, G. Passante, and M. Loverude. "Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, July 20-21, 2016. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624 (accessed 10 November 2024).
MLA Format
Vega, Marlene, Warren M. Christensen, Brian Farlow, Gina Passante, and Michael Loverude. "Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses." Physics Education Research Conference 2016. Sacramento, CA: 2016. 364-367 of PER Conference. 10 Nov. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Marlene Vega and Warren M. Christensen and Brian Farlow and Gina Passante and Michael Loverude", Title = {Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2016}, Pages = {364-367}, Address = {Sacramento, CA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 20-21}, Year = {2016} }
Refer Export Format

%A Marlene Vega %A Warren M. Christensen %A Brian Farlow %A Gina Passante %A Michael Loverude %T Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses %S PER Conference %D July 20-21 2016 %P 364-367 %C Sacramento, CA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2016 %O July 20-21 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Vega, Marlene %A Christensen, Warren M. %A Farlow, Brian %A Passante, Gina %A Loverude, Michael %D July 20-21 2016 %T Student understanding of unit vectors and coordinate systems beyond cartesian coordinates in upper division physics courses %B Physics Education Research Conference 2016 %C Sacramento, CA %P 364-367 %S PER Conference %8 July 20-21 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14270&DocID=4624


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