First-year Physics Course Research Articles

A three-year comparative study of dominant misconceptions among first-year physics students at a South African university

This article discusses a three-year study (2020–2022) of dominant misconceptions (DMs) for a large cohort of first-year physics course students at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Our study considered pre-test scores on the force concept inventory using a graphical method, where we found statistical differences between the mean DM scores for the 2020 cohort, as compared to the 2021 and 2022 cohort; possibly due to the onset of COVID lockdowns. We also compared our data from South Africa with cohorts based in Spain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the method of DMs was also applied. From this comparison, we found some differences in the preconception knowledge of the cohorts. Furthermore, we included an analysis of DMs through the ‘gender lens’ for the South African cohort, finding no statistically significant difference between the means for DM scores of students who identify as male or female. Finally, given the diverse language backgrounds and levels of matriculation preparation foruniversity level physics courses, we have also shown how quickly responding to student misconceptions can be efficiently addressed using the method of DMs.

Development of a waves and vibration concept inventory: Challenges and applications

A useful tool for measuring learning gains and for assessing the effectiveness of instruction in the physical sciences is the “concept inventory.” This is a set of questions administered at the beginning of a course, or prior to a unit of instruction, as well as at the conclusion. Students may told their scores, but are not provided with the answers. An early example is the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), published in 1992, which has been widely adopted for use in introductory physics courses and has served as the model for concept inventories. This presentation describes the ongoing development of an inventory designed to test conceptual understanding of basic principles of vibration and wave propagation that are typically covered in a first-year physics course or introductory or intermediate courses on acoustics-related topics. The current version builds on previous work by the author to develop a more focused inventory for an introductory course in musical acoustics (https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.5067886). Results from the trial use of this inventory in multiple courses at Central Washington University will be discussed.

Using IF-AT Cards to Engage Students in Deeper Learning of Course Content

The free access to online materials has changed the role of traditional lectures from being a vehicle to deliver course content to providing face-to-face guidance to clarify and expand on difficult concepts. This means students instead of listening and taking notes, participate in interactive activities that revise the lectures content. Active learning strategies are seen as positive steps towards increasing students engagement and learning during class time. In particular, posting multiple-choice questions (MCQ) is a popular technique to both capture student attention and fix possible misconceptions. Quizzes using <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">IF-AT</i> cards differ from other in-class MCQ approaches such as clickers in that students work in groups, and that they must continue to discuss a question until they find the correct answer. This paper reports on two different experiences of using <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">IF-AT</i> cards to revise course content for (a) a second- year Computer Systems course at the University of Adelaide and (b) a first-year Physics course at Universidad del Pacifico. The dynamics of team collaboration and its impact on test results is analysed for each course. Both case studies indicate that IF-AT cards succeed in engaging students to discuss and consolidate their knowledge. Additionally, collaborative discussion supports soft skills development such as technical communication skills.

Teaching physics concepts without much mathematics: ensuring physics is available to students of all backgrounds

ABSTRACT Recently, the University of Waikato introduced a first-year physics course requiring no specific physics or mathematics background, to support degrees in other subjects and allowing maximum diversity in student intake. This course uses the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach in which students develop their own experiments to tackle scientific questions. ISLE has proved successful with mathematically able classes; we have adapted it for a less capable cohort in a regional New Zealand context. We have assessed our approach for 2018 using: pre- and post-course concept tests; performance in exams; a student focus group; analysis of laboratory notebooks and marksheets; interviews with teaching staff; and student comments from the university’s course evaluations. Concept tests showed a mean normalised gain of 0.61. Students did well in the exam. Many students were initially unfamiliar with practical scientific investigation and record keeping but laboratory notebooks showed desired learning outcomes were achieved by the end. Students and staff engaged well with this course. Students’ final grades were not significantly different between genders and between under-represented minority and non-minority students. We cannot yet say whether this approach provides a sufficient platform for progress in engineering but students have learned fundamental practical physical concepts.

Demystifying the scaffolding required for first-year physics student retention: contextualizing content and nurturing physics identity,

Graduates of physics degree programs are a critical element in the development of a scientifically literate, economically competitive society as discussed by the National Research Council in 2013 (Adapting to a changing world: Challenges and opportunities in undergraduate physics education. National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. 2013). This qualitative case study invited students at a university in Atlantic Canada to participate in a post-course survey to investigate what influenced them to major or to not major in physics. Sixty students participated in the survey portion of the study, of a possible 121, and the survey data was cross-referenced with data from two student interviews, one professor interview, and one laboratory technician interview. Results indicated that student participants were more likely to choose a physics degree program if they felt that they had enough interest in the subject matter, they had experienced good teaching, and they could see how to apply the degree to a career. In addition, a newly implemented, research-based laboratory curriculum proved beneficial, especially for female students. Fifteen percent of participating students continued into a physics major, which is more than the average of under 10% reported by Nicholson and Mulvey in 2016 (Roster of physics departments with enrollment and degree data, 2013. Focus on: American Institute of Physics. 2016. Available from https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/statistics/rosters/physrost15.1.pdf ). This study provides a Canadian perspective on the choice to major in physics or not, which had been missing from the literature. Findings from this case could be infused into other first-year physics courses to boost student retention rates.

Going Beyond Equations With Disciplinary Thinking In First-Year Physics

Students in first-year physics courses generally focus on hunting for suitable equations and formulas when tackling a variety of physical situations and physics problems. There is a need for a framework that can guide them to disciplinary ways of thinking and help them begin to think like physicists. To serve this end, in this study, a framework of disciplinary thinking in physics was presented to the students and incorporated in the delivery of a first-year course on electricity and magnetism for engineering students. The framework consisted of three types of thinking: principlebased thinking (PBT), case-based thinking (CBT), and experiential-intuitive thinking (EIT). The students’ experiences of learning this framework were tracked through weekly reflection reports, which were analyzed using a coding scheme comprised of the following four categories of increasing cognitive complexity for each type of thinking: mentioning the type of thinking learned without elaboration (code A), mentioning the type of thinking learned with elaboration (code B), applying the type of thinking learned (code C) and making meaning of the type of thinking learned (code D). Examples of students’ reflections for these codes for each type of thinking are included. The students most predominantly reflected on PBT followed by CBT with a very few reflections on EIT. Within both PBT and CBT, most reflections fell under the code B. Overall, the results are encouraging and point to a students’ shift from formula hunting to the thinking framework based strategies.

Forelimbs of Tyrannosaurus Rex: A pathetic vestigial organ or an integral part of a fearsome predator?

In this paper, we examine a first-year torque and angular acceleration problem to address a possible use of the forelimbs of Tyrannosaurus rex. A 1/40th-scale model (see Fig. 1) is brought to the classroom to introduce the students to the quandary: given that the forelimbs of T. rex were too short to reach its mouth, what function did the forelimbs serve? This issue crosses several scientific disciplines including paleontology, ecology, and physics, making it a great starting point for thinking “outside the box.” Noted paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter has suggested that the forelimbs of T. rex were an integral part of its predatory behavior. Given the large teeth of T. rex, it is assumed that they killed with their teeth. Lipkin and Carpenter1 have suggested that the forelimbs were used to hold a struggling victim (which had not been dispatched with the first bite) while the final, lethal bite was applied. If that is the case, then the forelimbs must be capable of large angular accelerations α in order to grab the animal attempting to escape. The concepts of the typical first-year physics course are sufficient to test this hypothesis by solving α=τ/I. Naturally, students love solving any problem related to Tyrannosaurus rex!

Student evaluation of research projects in a first-year physics laboratory

We describe the evaluation by students of a scheme of open-ended, research-based group project work which has become a standard component of first-year physics courses at the University of Sydney and is now in its 19th year of operation. Data were gathered from two sources: direct observations of the classes and a written survey. A summary of the classroom observations and the results from a detailed analysis of the survey responses are presented. The feedback from the cohort of approximately 800 students is largely positive but we identify a few discrepancies between stated course goals and the results from the survey.

Resistivity in Play-Doh: Time and Color Variations

The study of electricity and magnetism is fundamental to all first-year physics courses. Developing simple electricity laboratory experiences that are open ended and inquiry based can be difficult. We wished to create a lab experiment where the students have some control over the experimental design, data analysis is required, and students investigate the concept of resistivity as found in Halliday Resnick, and Walker.1 This experiment uses modeling clay or Play-Doh™ to demonstrate the properties of ohmic materials and resistivity. We were familiar with the paper “Resistance Measurements on Play-Doh™” by Jones2 and we have worked to more accurately explain the physics of the experiment. We have also further developed the experiment to better understand how the resistivity of Play-Doh changes with time. This lab is an exciting, fun experiment that connects a new concept with a familiar childhood toy.

A quantitative analysis of coupled oscillations using mobile accelerometer sensors

In this paper, smartphone acceleration sensors were used to perform a quantitative analysis of mechanical coupled oscillations. Symmetric and asymmetric normal modes were studied separately in the first two experiments. In the third, a coupled oscillation was studied as a combination of the normal modes. Results indicate that acceleration sensors of smartphones, which are very familiar to students, represent valuable measurement instruments for introductory and first-year physics courses.

Understanding of mechanical waves among second-year physics majors

We investigate the understanding of mechanical waves in a class of second-year physics majors at a Canadian university. We administered a previously-developed diagnostic test (Wittmann. Ph.D. thesis, University of Maryland. Unpublished. 1998.) pre- and post-instruction to second-year students, and pre-instruction to a group of first-year students. We find that common misconceptions identified in previous studies involving students in first-year physics courses persist among our second-year students, although the fraction of students holding these misconceptions decreases with instruction. We also find that application of wave concepts becomes more consistent, and that the correlation between the students’ own perception of their understanding and their diagnostic test scores increases significantly as their level of instruction advances. We describe two tutorial exercises developed to address areas in which conceptual understanding is weak.

How fast can you go on a bicycle?

The bicycle provides a context-rich problem accessible to students in a first-year physicscourse, encircling several core physics principles such as conservation of total energy andangular momentum, dissipative forces, and vectors. In this article, I develop a simplenumerical model that can be used by any first-year physics student to investigate themaximum speed of a road bicycle under various real-world conditions. The model calculatesspeed as a function of time for a given set of input parameters, such as the rider’s inputpower (delivered through the drive train to the rear wheel) and frontal surfacearea.

Physics Exam Problems Reconsidered: Using Logger Pro to Evaluate Student Understanding of Physics

In the past few decades, the physics teaching community has witnessed a surge in creative and often effective ways of using technology to improve physics instruction.1–3 Most of these findings suggest how technology can help instructors create interactive learning environments and how interactivity influences the effectiveness of physics learning.4 However, every physics teacher knows that in order for any teaching method to be effective, the exams have to test the skills and concepts addressed by the teacher. Exam content and style sends the clearest message to students about what skills and content are valued by instructors. The mismatch between what we intend to teach and what we effectively test in exams is of great concern to many science teachers. These were our motives for creating data-rich questions to be used in the exams in a large undergraduate first-year physics course at the University of British Columbia. These data-rich questions were developed to support the use of an innovative teaching pedagogy called Interactive Lecture Experiments.3

Finding the Center of Volume of the Forearm

A typical first-year physics course teaches students about the center of mass using both regular and irregularly shaped objects. Students often suspend an object in each of two dimensions from a string with the intersection determining the center of mass of the object. While these methods can be effective, they are not particularly exciting or motivating. Wouldn't it be more interesting to find the center of mass of a body part, such as the forearm? Through a series of simple measurements and assumptions, students can generate a first-order approximation of the center of volume and center of mass of their forearm. Comparisons can be made between the muscular forearm of the football player in the class with the scrawniest arm in the room, creating a deeper understanding of center of mass and how it relates to the human body.

The New Studio format for instruction of introductory physics

We have developed the New Studio format of instruction for improved conceptual learning while retaining problem-solving skill development in large, first-year physics courses. This format retains the large lecture, but combines traditional recitation and laboratory instruction. The New Studio format integrates simplified laboratories with assigned homework problems to integrate conceptual and problem-solving skills. The studio format combines 2hours of lecture with 4hours of studio each week. The studio is taught for 2hours twice per week, and consists of up to 40 students working in groups of four at tables equipped with modern instructional technology and apparatus. The group setting allows for peer instruction and development of group skills. The combination of traditional lecture with the studio format enables a research-oriented physics department with a large service teaching load to implement research-based pedagogy. Student gains on the Force Concept Inventory were similar to other courses taught by interactive engagement methods.

Expanding the role of computers in physics education: a computer-based first-year course on computational physics and data analysis

We describe the design and implementation of a new first-year physics course introduced at Memorial University. This course makes extensive use of computers for the collection and analysis of experimental data and for modeling of physical phenomena. Major goals of the course are to educate students in the use of computers as a tool for doing science, to emphasize the interplay between theory and experiment in physics, and to enhance the students' learning of physics through inquiry-based and collaborative learning. Some preliminary results as to the effectiveness of the course in meeting these goals are presented. PACS Nos.: 01.50.Ht, 01.40.Di, 01.50.Lc

Evaluation of a physics multimedia resource

The evaluation of a computer-based learning package is described, in which the resource was used for primary delivery of first-year physics courses in six universities. The results presented show that the computer-based method performs marginally better than traditional teaching methods, particularly for weaker students. Pedagogic and implementational issues arising from this evaluation are discussed. Significant changes introduced to the package as a result of an earlier formative evaluation are described where these were seen to be critical to the success of this study.

A computer-assisted approach to learning physics concepts

A study is described that tested the effectiveness of computer-assisted tutorial modules in dispelling common student misconceptions in first-year mechanics. Most of the subject matter for the tutorial modules was based on examples drawn from kinematics and dynamics, which one would find on many first-year physics tests. One of the examples, involving qualitative comparison of speeds of two differently moving objects, has been the subject of investigations of student misconceptions conducted by other workers. The present study involved a total of 96 student volunteers drawn from all of our first-year physics courses. The results of the study suggest that computer-assisted tutorials of the kind described here can be effective in teaching material that presents conceptual difficulties, and is often not learned directly from textbooks or from lectures delivered to large classes.

Exact Averages for Use in the First-Year Physics Course

Exact Averages for Use in the First-Year Physics Course