written by
Thomas J. Bing
Mathematics is central to a professional physicist's work and, by extension, to a physics student's studies. It provides a language for abstraction, definition, computation, and connection to physical reality. This power of mathematics in physics is also the source of many of the difficulties it presents students. Simply put, many different activities could all be described as "using math in physics". Expertise entails a complicated coordination of these various activities. This work examines the many different kinds of thinking that are all facets of the use of mathematics in physics. It uses an epistemological lens, one that looks at the type of explanation a student presently sees as appropriate, to analyze the mathematical thinking of upper level physics undergraduates. Sometimes a student will turn to a detailed calculation to produce or justify an answer. Other times a physical argument is explicitly connected to the mathematics at hand. Still other times quoting a definition is seen as sufficient, and so on. Local coherencies evolve in students' thought around these various types of mathematical justifications. We use the cognitive process of framing to model students' navigation of these various facets of math use in physics.
University:
University of Maryland
Academic Department: Department of Physics Pages 157
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![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9394">Bing, Thomas J.. "An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics." Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2008.</a>
![]() T. Bing, , Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2008, WWW Document, (https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/).
![]() T. Bing, An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics, Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2008, <https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/>.
![]() Bing, T. (2008, August 17). An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics (Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2008). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/
![]() Bing, Thomas J.. "An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics." Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2008. https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/ (accessed 21 March 2025).
![]() Bing, Thomas J.. "An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics." Ph.D.. 17 Aug. 2008. University of Maryland, 2008. 21 Mar. 2025 <https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/>.
![]() @phdthesis{
Author = "Thomas J. Bing",
Title = {An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics},
School = {University of Maryland},
Type = {Ph.D.},
Month = {August},
Year = {2008}
}
![]() %A Thomas J. Bing %T An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics %R Ph.D. %D August 17, 2008 %P 157 %I University of Maryland %U https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/ %O Department of Physics %O application/pdf %O Ph.D. ![]() %0 Thesis %A Bing, Thomas J. %D August 17, 2008 %T An Epistemic Framing Analysis of Upper-Level Physics Students' Use of Mathematics %B Department of Physics %I University of Maryland %P 157 %8 August 17, 2008 %9 Ph.D. %U https://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/dissertations/Bing/ 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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