Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams

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written by Evan B. Pollock, John R. Thompson, and Donald B. Mountcastle

Students in an upper-level thermal physics course were asked to compare quantities related to the First Law of Thermodynamics along with similar mathematical questions devoid of all physical context. We report on a comparison of student responses to physics questions involving interpretation of ideal gas processes on P-V diagrams and to analogous mathematical qualitative questions about the signs of and comparisons between the magnitudes of various integrals. Student performance on individual questions combined with performance on the paired questions shows evidence of isolated understanding of physics and mathematics. Some difficulties are addressed by instruction.

Physics Education Research Conference 2007
Part of the PER Conference series
Greensboro, NC: August 1-2, 2007
Volume 951, Pages 168-171

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Published: November 12, 2007

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Learning Theory Education Practices - Pedagogy = Analogies Other Sciences - Mathematics Thermo & Stat Mech - General	- Upper Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2820924
Access Rights:: Limited free access and
Available by subscription and
Available for purchase
Restriction:: © 2007 2007 American Institute of Physics.
DOI:: 10.1063/1.2820924
NSF Number:: 0406764
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 01.40.gb; 05.70.-a
Keywords:: PERC 2007, diagrams, educational aids, educational courses, mathematical analogies, physics, student experiments, thermodynamic properties
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created June 9, 2009 by Jenny Rempel
Record Updated:: July 16, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: November 12, 2007
Other Collections:: The PSRC

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9096">Pollock, E, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle. "Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2007, Greensboro, NC, August 1-2, 2007.</a>

AIP Format

E. Pollock, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2007, Greensboro, NC, 2007, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013).

AJP/PRST-PER

E. Pollock, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle, Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2007, Greensboro, NC, 2007, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013>.

APA Format

Pollock, E., Thompson, J., & Mountcastle, D. (2007, August 1-2). Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2007, Greensboro, NC. Retrieved September 21, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013

Chicago Format

Pollock, E, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle. "Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2007, Greensboro, NC, August 1-2, 2007. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013 (accessed 21 September 2024).

MLA Format

Pollock, Evan, John Thompson, and Donald Mountcastle. "Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams." Physics Education Research Conference 2007. Greensboro, NC: 2007. 168-171 Vol. 951 of PER Conference. 21 Sep. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Evan Pollock and John Thompson and Donald Mountcastle", Title = {Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2007}, Pages = {168-171}, Address = {Greensboro, NC}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {951}, Month = {August 1-2}, Year = {2007} }

Refer Export Format

%A Evan Pollock %A John Thompson %A Donald Mountcastle %T Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams %S PER Conference %V 951 %D August 1-2 2007 %P 168-171 %C Greensboro, NC %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2007 %O August 1-2 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Pollock, Evan %A Thompson, John %A Mountcastle, Donald %D August 1-2 2007 %T Student Understanding of the Physics and Mathematics of Process Variables in P-V Diagrams %B Physics Education Research Conference 2007 %C Greensboro, NC %V 951 %P 168-171 %S PER Conference %8 August 1-2 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9096&DocID=2013

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