Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory

Her, Pachi; Loverude, Michael E.

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Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory

written by Pachi Her and Michael E. Loverude

Matrix algebra and eigentheory are important to students' learning of physics in upper division physics courses. In this study, we investigated how students apply matrix algebra and eigentheory in various physics contexts, excluding quantum mechanics. The data collected consist of student written responses taken from a math methods course. We used the Physical-Mathematical Model (Uhden et al., 2011) to categorize each question by the three skills the model presents: mathematization, interpretation, and technical operation. The results from our data show that students have difficulty with mathematizing and interpreting the mathematical and physical system of a matrix equation, but are fluent in technical operations. We will present examples of student responses illustrating student reasoning, and discuss implications for classroom instruction.

Physics Education Research Conference 2020
Part of the PER Conference series
Virtual Conference: July 22-23, 2020
Pages 210-215

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Last Modified: August 27, 2020

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Alternative Conceptions - Problem Solving = Processes - Student Characteristics = Skills Electricity & Magnetism - AC Circuits = RLC Circuits - AC Mathematical Tools - Linear Algebra and Tensors = Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors Oscillations & Waves - Oscillations = Coupled Oscillations	- Lower Undergraduate - Upper Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

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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.Her
NSF Numbers:: 1406035; 1912660
Keyword:: PERC 2020
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created August 27, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: August 31, 2020 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: September 1, 2020
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=15485">Her, Pachi, and Michael Loverude. "Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020.</a>

AIP Format

P. Her and M. Loverude, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333).

AJP/PRST-PER

P. Her and M. Loverude, Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333>.

APA Format

Her, P., & Loverude, M. (2020, July 22-23). Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333

Chicago Format

Her, Pachi, and Michael Loverude. "Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333 (accessed 27 April 2024).

MLA Format

Her, Pachi, and Michael Loverude. "Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory." Physics Education Research Conference 2020. Virtual Conference: 2020. 210-215 of PER Conference. 27 Apr. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Pachi Her and Michael Loverude", Title = {Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2020}, Pages = {210-215}, Address = {Virtual Conference}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 22-23}, Year = {2020} }

Refer Export Format

%A Pachi Her %A Michael Loverude %T Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory %S PER Conference %D July 22-23 2020 %P 210-215 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %O July 22-23 %O application/pdf

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%0 Conference Proceedings %A Her, Pachi %A Loverude, Michael %D July 22-23 2020 %T Examining student understanding of matrix algebra and eigentheory %B Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %C Virtual Conference %P 210-215 %S PER Conference %8 July 22-23 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15485&DocID=5333

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