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Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics
written by Nathaniel R. Amos, David Harris, and Jeffrey Hutchinson
Proficiency in units/dimensional analysis is a useful skill in the sciences and engineering, and STEM instructors often presume competence from their students in this area. However, unit analysis techniques and unit systems are not always formally taught, and even with explicit emphasis during instruction, many students lack the repeated exposure necessary to master them. To assess student understanding of units and unit systems, we administered a brief, itemized survey to N = 53 calculus-based introductory university physics students. The survey was intended to uncover possible misconceptions and identify previously unknown obstacles to student success within this topic. Our results suggest that as many as half of surveyed participants may not recognize the adaptability of symbolic physical equations to different unit systems. Furthermore, a similar proportion failed to eliminate non-viable answer choices involving analytic functions with units inside their arguments. Consequently, we believe units/dimensional analysis is a topic ripe for further investigation.
Physics Education Research Conference 2020
Part of the PER Conference series
Virtual Conference: July 22-23, 2020
Pages 23-27
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Alternative Conceptions
- Problem Solving
- Student Characteristics
= Skills
General Physics
- Measurement/Units
= Units and Dimensional Analysis
- Lower Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Researchers
- application/pdf
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2020…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 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.2020.pr.Amos
Keyword:
PERC 2020
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created August 27, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
August 28, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
September 1, 2020
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Record Link
AIP Format
N. Amos, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301).
AJP/PRST-PER
N. Amos, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson, Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301>.
APA Format
Amos, N., Harris, D., & Hutchinson, J. (2020, July 22-23). Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301
Chicago Format
Amos, N, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson. "Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301 (accessed 1 May 2024).
MLA Format
Amos, Nathaniel, David Harris, and Jeffrey Hutchinson. "Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics." Physics Education Research Conference 2020. Virtual Conference: 2020. 23-27 of PER Conference. 1 May 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Nathaniel Amos and David Harris and Jeffrey Hutchinson", Title = {Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2020}, Pages = {23-27}, Address = {Virtual Conference}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 22-23}, Year = {2020} }
Refer Export Format

%A Nathaniel Amos %A David Harris %A Jeffrey Hutchinson %T Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics %S PER Conference %D July 22-23 2020 %P 23-27 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %O July 22-23 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Amos, Nathaniel %A Harris, David %A Hutchinson, Jeffrey %D July 22-23 2020 %T Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics %B Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %C Virtual Conference %P 23-27 %S PER Conference %8 July 22-23 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301


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