Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions
written by
Tharindu Jayasinghe and Homeyra R. Sadaghiani
We have been investigating students' knowledge pertaining to continuous charge distributions in introductory calculus based physics courses at Cal Poly Pomona. An open-ended questionnaire was developed based on feedback from three faculty who often teach introductory calculus based electricity and magnetism courses to engineering and physics majors in order to probe common observed difficulties. A pilot study was conducted (N = 145) and, based upon the feedback we obtained from these results, a slightly revised version of the questionnaire with three additional questions was subsequently given to a second sample of students (N = 263) in the following quarter. Our data suggests that students struggle with concepts related to linear, surface, and volume charge distributions, as well as the mathematical formulation of infinitesimal charge representations of continuous charge distributions. We will share specific examples and discuss the implications that our findings have for more effective instruction.
Physics Education Research Conference 2017
Part of the PER Conference series Cincinnati, OH: July 26-27, 2017 Pages 200-203
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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=14641">Jayasinghe, Tharindu, and Homeyra Sadaghiani. "Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2017, Cincinnati, OH, July 26-27, 2017.</a>
AIP Format
T. Jayasinghe and H. Sadaghiani, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2017, Cincinnati, OH, 2017, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818).
AJP/PRST-PER
T. Jayasinghe and H. Sadaghiani, Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2017, Cincinnati, OH, 2017, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818>.
APA Format
Jayasinghe, T., & Sadaghiani, H. (2017, July 26-27). Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2017, Cincinnati, OH. Retrieved December 8, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818
Chicago Format
Jayasinghe, Tharindu, and Homeyra Sadaghiani. "Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2017, Cincinnati, OH, July 26-27, 2017. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818 (accessed 8 December 2024).
MLA Format
Jayasinghe, Tharindu, and Homeyra Sadaghiani. "Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions." Physics Education Research Conference 2017. Cincinnati, OH: 2017. 200-203 of PER Conference. 8 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "Tharindu Jayasinghe and Homeyra Sadaghiani",
Title = {Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2017},
Pages = {200-203},
Address = {Cincinnati, OH},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 26-27},
Year = {2017}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Tharindu Jayasinghe %A Homeyra Sadaghiani %T Students' understanding of continuous charge distributions %S PER Conference %D July 26-27 2017 %P 200-203 %C Cincinnati, OH %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2017 %O July 26-27 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Jayasinghe, Tharindu %A Sadaghiani, Homeyra %D July 26-27 2017 %T Students' understanding of continuous charge distributions %B Physics Education Research Conference 2017 %C Cincinnati, OH %P 200-203 %S PER Conference %8 July 26-27 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14641&DocID=4818 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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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. Students’ understanding of continuous charge distributions:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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