相关论文: Test problems in mechanics and special relativity
Students sometimes produce code that works but that its author does not comprehend. For example, a student may apply a poorly-understood code template, stumble upon a working solution through trial and error, or plagiarize. Similarly,…
Previous research indicates that after standard instruction students at all academic levels often construct a conceptual framework in which the ideas of absolute simultaneity and the relativity of simultaneity co-exist. This article…
The education system for students in physics suffers (worldwide) from the absence of a deep course in probability and randomness. This is the real problem for students interested in quantum information theory, quantum optics, and quantum…
Quantum mechanics is a challenging subject, even for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Here, we discuss the development and evaluation of research-based concept tests for peer instruction as a formative assessment tool in…
One attribute of experts is that they are likely to learn from their own mistakes. Experts are unlikely to make the same mistakes when asked to solve a problem a second time, especially if they had access to a correct solution. Here, we…
This material complements David Chandler's Introduction to Modern Statistical Mechanics (Oxford University Press, 1987) in a graduate-level, one-semester course I teach in the Department of Chemistry at Duke University. Students enter this…
This list of 10 problems and their subsequent discussion by prominent scholars at the workshop in Geneva Observatory, 1993, were published in Lecture Notes in Physics, 1994, not too reachable now. The problems cover Theory, Computer…
"Self-diagnosis tasks" aim at fostering diagnostic behavior by explicitly requiring students to present diagnosis as part of the activity of reviewing their problem solutions. The recitation classes in an introductory physics class (~200…
I present the case for fundamental physics experiments in space playing an important role in addressing the current "dark energy'' crisis. If cosmological observations continue to favor a value of the dark energy equation of state parameter…
In this article we describe special type of mathematical problems that may help develop teaching methods that motivate students to explore patterns, formulate conjectures and find solutions without only memorizing formulas and procedures.…
Helping students learn why Gauss' law can or cannot be easily applied to determine the strength of the electric field at various points for a particular charge distribution, and then helping them learn to determine the shape of the Gaussian…
Studying physics of very large scale like the solar system is difficult in real life, using telescope on clear skies over years. We are probably a world first to create four well designed gravity computer models to serve as powerful…
This paper outlines a deceptively complex problem in classical mechanics which the paper names the "Falling Astronaut Problem," and it explores a method for teachers to implement this problem in an undergraduate classroom. The paper…
We investigate student understanding of energy and momentum concepts at the level of introductory physics by designing and administering a 25-item multiple choice test and conducting individual interviews. We find that most students have…
These examples are absent in the text of "Mechanics of liquids and gas, or mechanics of the inertless mass", as it was said in "Foreword of the editor" (Part I of this monograph). The editor places the missing text separately since some…
Project-based assessment, in the form of take-home exams, was trialed in an honours/masters level electromagnetic theory course. This assessment formed an integral part of the learning experience of the students, and students felt that this…
Our idea is to imitate Smale's list of problems, in a restricted domain of mathematical aspects of Celestial Mechanics. All the problems are on the n-body problem, some with different homogeneity of the potential, addressing many aspects…
Contribution: We demonstrate that it is feasible to include field specific problems in introductory mathematics courses to motivate engineering students. This is done in a way that still allows large parts of the course to be common to all…
In this study, we examine introductory physics students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred and…
Learning physics requires understanding the applicability of fundamental principles in a variety of contexts that share deep features. One way to help students learn physics is via analogical reasoning. Students can be taught to make an…