Abstract
We describe a study on the conceptual difficulties faced by college students in understanding hydrodynamics of ideal fluids. This study was based on responses obtained in hundreds of written exams and oral interviews, which were held with first-year Engineering and Science university students. Their responses allowed us to identify a series of misconceptions unreported in the literature so far. The study findings demonstrate that the most important difficulties arise from the students' inability to establish a link between the kinematics and dynamics of moving fluids, and from a lack of understanding regarding how different regions of a system interact.
Highlights
IntroductionThe physics of ideal fluids (nonviscous and incompressible) is studied at the introductory level in the first-year physics and engineering university courses, as well as in those related to medicine and life sciences
The physics of ideal fluids is studied at the introductory level in the first-year physics and engineering university courses, as well as in those related to medicine and life sciences
We describe a study on the conceptual difficulties faced by college students in understanding hydrodynamics of ideal fluids
Summary
The physics of ideal fluids (nonviscous and incompressible) is studied at the introductory level in the first-year physics and engineering university courses, as well as in those related to medicine and life sciences. An in-depth understanding of this topic requires, in addition to a knowledge of the basics of classical mechanics (statics, kinematics and dynamics), knowledge of the specific concepts to fluids such as current lines, pressure, propulsion, and conservation of different physical quantities. Physics education research shows that the conceptual difficulties to understand the phenomena associated with fluids have received relatively uneven attention. The difficulties associated with hydrostatic principles have been deeply analyzed by various authors, who showed how students continue to present serious difficulties in understanding the basics, even after attending university courses where these topics are covered Students’ understanding of ideal fluid hydrodynamics has received less attention. Studies in existing literature mainly relate to the application of Bernoulli’s equation and the results that might derive from it [7,8,9,10]
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