Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment

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written by Guangtian Zhu and Chandralekha Singh

The Stern Gerlach experiment has played a central role in the discovery of spin angular momentum and it has also played a pivotal role in elucidating foundational issues in quantum mechanics. Here, we discuss investigation of students' difficulties related to the Stern Gerlach experiment by giving written tests and interviewing advanced undergraduate and graduate students in quantum mechanics. We also discuss preliminary data that suggest that the Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) related to the Stern Gerlach experiment is helpful in improving students' understanding of these concepts.

Physics Education Research Conference 2009
Part of the PER Conference series
Ann Arbor, Michigan: July 29-30, 2009
Volume 1179, Pages 309-312

download 496kb .pdf
Published: November 11, 2009

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Alternative Conceptions Education Practices - Instructional Material Design = Tutorial Quantum Physics - Spin and Finite Dimensional Systems	- Graduate/Professional - Upper Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3266744
Access Rights:: Free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2009 proceedings is also available.
Restriction:: © 2009 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3266744
NSF Numbers:: 0653129; 055434
PACS:: 01.40.gb
Keywords:: PERC 2009, Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT), Stern Gerlach, conceptual understanding, interview, quantum mechanics, spin angular momentum
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created October 14, 2009 by Alea Smith
Record Updated:: July 12, 2010 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: November 11, 2009
Other Collections:: The Quantum Exchange

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9513">Zhu, Guangtian, and Chandralekha Singh. "Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 29-30, 2009.</a>

AIP Format

G. Zhu and C. Singh, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388).

AJP/PRST-PER

G. Zhu and C. Singh, Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388>.

APA Format

Zhu, G., & Singh, C. (2009, July 29-30). Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388

Chicago Format

Zhu, Guangtian, and Chandralekha Singh. "Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 29-30, 2009. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388 (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Zhu, Guangtian, and Chandralekha Singh. "Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment." Physics Education Research Conference 2009. Ann Arbor, Michigan: 2009. 309-312 Vol. 1179 of PER Conference. 1 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Guangtian Zhu and Chandralekha Singh", Title = {Students’ Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2009}, Pages = {309-312}, Address = {Ann Arbor, Michigan}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1179}, Month = {July 29-30}, Year = {2009} }

Refer Export Format

%A Guangtian Zhu %A Chandralekha Singh %T Students' Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment %S PER Conference %V 1179 %D July 29-30 2009 %P 309-312 %C Ann Arbor, Michigan %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2009 %O July 29-30 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Zhu, Guangtian %A Singh, Chandralekha %D July 29-30 2009 %T Students' Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment %B Physics Education Research Conference 2009 %C Ann Arbor, Michigan %V 1179 %P 309-312 %S PER Conference %8 July 29-30 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9513&DocID=1388

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