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The Energy and Momentum Conceptual Survey (EMCS) is a multiple-choice survey that contains conceptual problems involving a variety of energy and momentum concepts covered in a typical introductory physics course for science and engineering…
Expanding our knowledge of student difficulties in advanced undergraduate electromagnetism is essential if we are to develop effective instructional interventions. Drawing on an analysis of course materials, in-class observations and…
We consider a long but finite (ladder) circuit with alternating connections of resistors in series and parallel and derive an explicit expression for its equivalent resistance as a function of the number of repeating blocks, $R_{\rm…
Drawing appropriate diagrams is a useful problem solving heuristic that can transform a give problem into a representation that is easier to exploit for solving it. A major focus while helping introductory physics students learn problem…
Development of conceptual multiple-choice tests related to a particular physics topic is important for designing research-based learning tools to reduce the difficulties. We explore the difficulties that the advanced undergraduate and…
Previous research has found that introductory physics students perform far better on numeric problems than on otherwise equivalent symbolic problems. This paper describes a framework to explain these differences developed by analyzing…
A circuit-field problem is considered. A resistor conducting a constant current is argued to be associated with electromagnetic energy accumulated in the surrounded space, though contrary to the case of an inductor or a capacitor, this…
We investigate learning difficulties among second-year students on electromagnetism courses when they apply Amp\`ere-Maxwell's law. Using phenomenography, we analysed written answers from 65 undergraduate physics students to four questions…
We discuss the clusters of resources that emerge when upper-division students write about electromagnetic fields in linear materials. The data analyzed for this paper comes from students' written tests in an upper-division electricity and…
A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our studies suggest this…
The equation describing the capacitance of capacitors is determined. It is shown that by optimizing the material of the conducting electrodes, the capacitance of capacitors reaching the quantum regime can be substantially enhanced or…
Separation of variables can be a powerful technique for solving many of the partial differential equations that arise in physics contexts. Upper-division physics students encounter this technique in multiple topical areas including…
The ability to flexibly transform between different representations (e.g., from mathematical to graphical representations) of the same concept is a hallmark of expertise. Prior research suggests that many introductory physics students show…
It is noticed that the inductive and capacitive features of the memristor reflect (and are a quintessence of) such features of any resistor. The very presence in the resistive characteristic v = f(i) of the voltage and current state…
We examine the relationship between homework completion and exam performance for students having different physics aptitudes for five different semesters of an introductory electricity and magnetism course. In our analysis, we plot exam…
We discuss student difficulties in distinguishing between the physical space and Hilbert space and difficulties related to the Time-independent Schroedinger equation and measurements in quantum mechanics. These difficulties were identified…
Physics students can encounter difficulties in physics problem solving as a result of failing to use knowledge that they have but do not perceive as relevant or appropriate. In previous work the authors have demonstrated that some of these…
University students taking introductory physics are generally successful executing mathematical procedures in context, but often struggle with the use of mathematical concepts for sense making. Physics instructors note that their students…
The aim of this study is to investigate the decisions and reasoning of undergraduate students when choosing simple measurement instruments in an introductory physics laboratory course. For this study, we have developed a questionnaire and…
Teaching by direct models in science has been weakening the learning process of the students, because the real problems in engineering are not solved by direct models instead commonly they are solved by inverse models. On the other hand,…