A Comparison of Visual Representations of  E&M Plane Waves

Wilson, Michael; Beichner, Robert J.

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A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves

written by Michael Wilson and Robert J. Beichner

It is well known that plane waves in electricity and magnetism (E&M) are misunderstood by students. Particularly, the traditional visual representation of these plane waves is misleading, and students are confused by the waves' three-dimensionality. A possible improvement has been designed using an animated vector field. Graduate physics students were presented two different visual representations of E&M plane waves. The students were asked to describe what each visual represents in detail. Students' reactions to those two representations are compared and the content delivered in each visualization is assessed, suggesting that the advantages of the animated vector field may be significant.

Physics Education Research Conference 2018
Part of the PER Conference series
Washington, DC: August 1-2, 2018

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Last Modified: December 31, 2018

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Learning Theory = Representations Education Practices - Instructional Material Design = Simulation - Technology = Multimedia Electricity & Magnetism - Electromagnetic Radiation Mathematical Tools - Vector Calculus = Vector Field Oscillations & Waves - Wave Motion = Transverse Pulses and Waves	- Upper Undergraduate - Graduate/Professional - Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2018…
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.2018.pr.Wilson
Keyword:: PERC 2018
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created December 31, 2018 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: December 31, 2018 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: December 31, 2018
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=14867">Wilson, Michael, and Robert Beichner. "A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2018, Washington, DC, August 1-2, 2018.</a>

AIP Format

M. Wilson and R. Beichner, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2018, Washington, DC, 2018, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014).

AJP/PRST-PER

M. Wilson and R. Beichner, A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2018, Washington, DC, 2018, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014>.

APA Format

Wilson, M., & Beichner, R. (2018, August 1-2). A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2018, Washington, DC. Retrieved April 30, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014

Chicago Format

Wilson, Michael, and Robert Beichner. "A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2018, Washington, DC, August 1-2, 2018. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014 (accessed 30 April 2024).

MLA Format

Wilson, Michael, and Robert Beichner. "A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves." Physics Education Research Conference 2018. Washington, DC: 2018. of PER Conference. 30 Apr. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Michael Wilson and Robert Beichner", Title = {A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2018}, Address = {Washington, DC}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {August 1-2}, Year = {2018} }

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%A Michael Wilson %A Robert Beichner %T A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves %S PER Conference %D August 1-2 2018 %C Washington, DC %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2018 %O August 1-2 %O application/pdf

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%0 Conference Proceedings %A Wilson, Michael %A Beichner, Robert %D August 1-2 2018 %T A Comparison of Visual Representations of E&M Plane Waves %B Physics Education Research Conference 2018 %C Washington, DC %S PER Conference %8 August 1-2 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14867&DocID=5014

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