Abstract
Graph slope is an easier concept than the area under the graph for both physics and non-physics students; physics students outperform economics students in both physics and economics contexts.
Highlights
For several years, students’ understanding of graphs has stimulated major research efforts in physics and other fields [1,2,3,4]
We found that physics students performed more saccadic eye movement along the direction of the graph slope (26.6° and 206.6°) than economics students did [tð65Þ 1⁄4 2.35, p 1⁄4 0.02]
Physics students probably never encountered these types of questions before; our results indicate that physics students were able to successfully transfer the mathematical strategies they developed in physics or mathematics at school for solving tasks in a different context
Summary
Students’ understanding of graphs has stimulated major research efforts in physics and other fields [1,2,3,4]. Going beyond the study of mathematical prerequisites concerning the slope and the area under the graph, some studies focus on the influence of context in which the graph is presented and the question is posed [5]. Previous research has shown that there are two main reasons why this transfer could fail: either the student does not possess the required mathematical skill or the corresponding mental resource does exist, but it is not activated due to a wrong interpretation of the presented problem [6]
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