Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M
written by
Brant E. Hinrichs
An intermediate E&M course (i.e. based on Griffiths [1]) involves the extensive integration of vector calculus concepts and notation with abstract physics concepts like field and potential. We hope that students take what they have learned in their math courses and apply it to help represent and make sense of the physics. To assess how well students are able to do this integration and application I have developed several simple concept tests on position and unit vectors in non-Cartesian coordinate systems as they are used in intermediate E&M. In this paper I describe one of these concept tests and present results that show both undergraduate physics majors and physics graduate students have difficulty using spherical unit vectors to write position vectors in 3-d space.
Physics Education Research Conference 2010
Part of the PER Conference series Portland, Oregon: July 21-22, 2010 Volume 1289, Pages 173-176
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10444">Hinrichs, Brant. "Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010.</a>
AIP Format
B. Hinrichs, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901).
AJP/PRST-PER
B. Hinrichs, Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901>.
APA Format
Hinrichs, B. (2010, July 21-22). Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901
Chicago Format
Hinrichs, Brant. "Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901 (accessed 4 December 2024).
MLA Format
Hinrichs, Brant. "Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M." Physics Education Research Conference 2010. Portland, Oregon: 2010. 173-176 Vol. 1289 of PER Conference. 4 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "Brant Hinrichs",
Title = {Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2010},
Pages = {173-176},
Address = {Portland, Oregon},
Series = {PER Conference},
Volume = {1289},
Month = {July 21-22},
Year = {2010}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Brant Hinrichs %T Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M %S PER Conference %V 1289 %D July 21-22 2010 %P 173-176 %C Portland, Oregon %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %O July 21-22 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Hinrichs, Brant %D July 21-22 2010 %T Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M %B Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %C Portland, Oregon %V 1289 %P 173-176 %S PER Conference %8 July 21-22 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10444&DocID=1901 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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