Students’ understanding of forces: Force diagrams on horizontal and inclined plane

Abstract

This study aims to analyse students’ difficulties in understanding force diagrams on horizontal surfaces and inclined planes. Physics education students (pre-service physics teachers) of Tanjungpura University, who had completed a Basic Physics course, took a Force concept test which has six questions covering three concepts: an object at rest, an object moving at constant speed, and an object moving at constant acceleration both on a horizontal surface and on an inclined plane. The test is in a multiple-choice format. It examines the ability of students to select appropriate force diagrams depending on the context. The results show that 44% of students have difficulties in solving the test (these students only could solve one or two items out of six items). About 50% of students faced difficulties finding the correct diagram of an object when it has constant speed and acceleration in both contexts. In general, students could only correctly identify 48% of the force diagrams on the test. The most difficult task for the students in terms was identifying the force diagram representing forces exerted on an object on in an inclined plane.