We explore the difficulties that advanced undergraduate and graduate students have with non-relativistic quantum mechanics of a single particle in one spatial dimension. To investigate these difficulties we developed a conceptual survey and administered it to more than 200 students at 10 institutions. The issues targeted in the survey include the set of possible wavefunctions, bound and scattering states, quantum measurement, expectation values, the role of the Hamiltonian, and the time-dependence of the wavefunction and expectation values. We find that undergraduate and graduate students have many common difficulties with these concepts and that research-based tutorials and peer-instruction tools can significantly reduce these difficulties. The findings also suggest that graduate quantum mechanics courses may not be effective at helping students to develop a better conceptual understanding of these topics, partly because such courses mainly focus on quantitative assessments.
American Journal of Physics: Volume 80, Issue 3, Pages 252-259
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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11907">Zhu, Guangtian, and Chandralekha Singh. "Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension." Am. J. Phys. 80, no. 3, (March 1, 2012): 252-259.</a>
AIP Format
G. Zhu and C. Singh, , Am. J. Phys. 80 (3), 252 (2012), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653).
AJP/PRST-PER
G. Zhu and C. Singh, Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension, Am. J. Phys. 80 (3), 252 (2012), <https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653>.
APA Format
Zhu, G., & Singh, C. (2012, March 1). Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension. Am. J. Phys., 80(3), 252-259. Retrieved October 10, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653
Chicago Format
Zhu, Guangtian, and Chandralekha Singh. "Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension." Am. J. Phys. 80, no. 3, (March 1, 2012): 252-259, https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653 (accessed 10 October 2024).
MLA Format
Zhu, Guangtian, and Chandralekha Singh. "Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension." Am. J. Phys. 80.3 (2012): 252-259. 10 Oct. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{
Author = "Guangtian Zhu and Chandralekha Singh",
Title = {Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension},
Journal = {Am. J. Phys.},
Volume = {80},
Number = {3},
Pages = {252-259},
Month = {March},
Year = {2012}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Guangtian Zhu %A Chandralekha Singh %T Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension %J Am. J. Phys. %V 80 %N 3 %D March 1, 2012 %P 252-259 %U https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Journal Article %A Zhu, Guangtian %A Singh, Chandralekha %D March 1, 2012 %T Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension %J Am. J. Phys. %V 80 %N 3 %P 252-259 %8 March 1, 2012 %U https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677653 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.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Surveying students' understanding of quantum mechanics in one spatial dimension:
Supplements
Quantum Mechanics Survey (QMS)
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