Introductory College Physics Course Research Articles

Introduction to concept inventories for medical physics education.

Concept inventories are multiple choice exams designed with the intention to test core concepts on specific subjects and evaluate common misconceptions. These tests serve as a useful tool in the classroom to assess value added by the instructor's educational methods and to better understand how students learn. They can provide educators with a method to evaluate their current teaching strategies and to make modifications that enhance student learning and ultimately elevate the quality of medical physics education. The use of concept inventories in introductory college physics courses revealed important gaps in conceptual understanding of physics by undergraduate students and motivated a shift of physics teaching towards more effective methods, such as active learning techniques. The goal of this review is to introduce medical physicists to concept inventories as educational evaluation tools and discuss potential applications to medical physics education by development through multi-institutional collaboration.

Enhancing students’ understanding of vectors through personalized adaptive learning

In introductory college physics courses, it is important that students have a thorough understanding of vectors since several topics depend on vectors. When the test of understanding of vectors (TUV) was administered to the students completing the algebra-based College Physics I course, it was found that students had considerable difficulties in certain vector concepts. To overcome these difficulties, the question-bank for personalized adaptive learning (PAL) was modified. These modifications were implemented in a later semester for the students of the same course. In the current work, we present students’ performance on 12 questions on TUV for two semesters with a focus on improvement in students’ performance on graphic representation and determination of direction and magnitude of a vector presented in unit vector notation, understanding of graphical methods for vector addition, subtraction and multiplication of a vector by a negative scalar. This study presents the development of questions in PAL assignments which may be beneficial for the teaching community.

Strategies for teaching waves in the next generation science standards

Waves and their applications are one of the disciplinary core ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), but the performance expectations include concepts that have not historically been an important part of teaching waves in high school science classrooms, with a particular focus on technologies that utilize waves and on students making connections between different types of waves including sound, seismic waves, and electromagnetic waves. In this talk, I will share resources and strategies that I use to teach some of these concepts, including both hands-on activities and digital resources. Many of these resources are also appropriate to other physics courses, including AP Physics and introductory college physics courses.

The relationship between gender and academic performance in undergraduate physics students: the role of physics identity, perceived recognition, and self-efficacy

Abstract Studies focusing on physics undergraduate students have found that women tend not to identify as strongly with physics, compared to men. Recent research has examined potential factors that influence the experience of women in physics. Several of these factors, such as students’ beliefs in their ability to complete physics-based tasks (i.e., self-efficacy) and students’ belief that others perceive them as a physicist (i.e., perceived recognition), have been associated with physics identity in the context of introductory university physics courses in the United States (US). The current study extends this previous work, surveying students at all levels of the undergraduate degree at a research-intensive university in the UK. Students were asked about their physics identity, physics self-efficacy, and the extent to which they believed others perceived them as physicists. The survey responses were then matched with students’ grades. Using matched responses from the start and end of an academic year from 169 students (110 men, 59 women), two analyses were performed. The first analysis found that average scores for women for physics identity, and self-efficacy were lower than for men both at the start and end of the academic year. The second analysis found that after controlling for the start-of-year scores in physics identity, self-efficacy, and perceived recognition, students’ mid-year grades significantly predicted variance in their end-of-year scores for self-efficacy, perceived recognition, and (possibly also) physics identity. This study also found that the gap in perceived recognition between men and women increased over the academic year. The results contribute to understanding potential barriers for women in physics and have implications for instruction in terms of promoting students’ physics identity, self-efficacy, and perceived recognition.

A Skateboarding Experiential Learning Activity for Introductory Physics

Instructors of introductory college physics courses are in a unique position to explain the physics of skateboarding and its associated risks. A field trip to a skate park to explore the law of conservation of energy and measure the impact forces can enhance student analytical thinking skills and their appreciation of physics in everyday life. Through the measurement of the impact forces and student discussions of their own skateboarding experiences, students are better prepared to protect themselves from skateboarding-related physical injuries.

Theoretical and experimental studies of the Wilberforce pendulum

This work focuses on exploring the phenomenon of Wilberforce pendulum, a research problem for the International Young Physicists’ Tournament in 2021. A Wilberforce pendulum is a system which has a mass hanging vertically from the bottom of a long helical string. The mass is allowed to undergo both rotational motion about and translational motion along its vertical axis with the spring. Under appropriate initial conditions, the pendulum can exhibit coupled oscillations, where the mass switches between vertical oscillations (where it bobs up and down) and azimuthal oscillations (periodic rotations about the vertical axis). This paper aims to explore this phenomenon in three stages: firstly, an analysis on the mechanics of helical springs for an intuitive explanation for the onset of coupled oscillations; secondly, a comprehensive Lagrangian formulation which models the ‘beating’ motion path of the pendulum and its lightly damped oscillations; thirdly, an experimental verification of our model and the conditions required for clear coupling between the two modes of oscillations. The findings presented in this paper reveal some interesting features of the Wilberforce pendulum and help us gain some understanding of its physical properties. This phenomenon can also be regarded as an extremely insightful problem for introductory college physics courses focussed on the subject of oscillations and resonance, as its construction is easy and inexpensive, and it is a clear demonstration of coupled oscillatory motion.

The looping pendulum: optimization with analytical and computational analysis

A looping pendulum is a setup that consists of two loads connected by a light string, which in turn is put over a fixed rod, with the lighter load being held by a person, and the heavier close to the rod. When the lighter load is released, experience shows there is an instant when the heavier load stops falling, and the lighter winds around the rod, bringing the system to rest. This setup is used in science demonstrations to prevent a fragile object, such as a ceramic mug, from falling to the ground, using washers as the lighter load. In this paper we propose a mathematical model for this demonstration, which we use to analyze the main parameters that influence the effectiveness of the setup. We find its equations of motion analytically, and use numerical methods to relate relevant parameters (such as falling distance and trajectory) to the initial configuration, determine the conditions that allow the phenomenon to happen, and display results as plots and parameter spaces. Lastly, through careful experimentation we found strong evidence for the validity of our theoretical predictions. We found the looping pendulum to be an extremely useful problem for introductory college physics courses interested in strengthening analytical and computational physics skills, as its construction is easy, inexpensive, and its analysis encompasses various mechanics concepts, solving differential equations numerically, and data collection through video software.

Balls rolling down a playground slide: What factors influence their motion?

Take a selection of balls and marbles along to a nearby playground slide and let students investigate factors that may influence how balls accelerate down an inclined plane. Students can make hypotheses in small groups, plan investigations to test multiple possible explanations and draw conclusions about the importance of different variables. The experiments illustrate the principle of equivalence between inertial and gravitational mass, as well as of the importance of mass distribution. Students can develop an intuitive feeling for these concepts even without dealing with the full mathematical treatment, which involves torque, angular momentum and moment of inertia, typically treated in high-school or introductory university physics courses. The paper discusses this investigation as part of a setup of teacher professional development events on a playground.

Supporting Inclusive Teaching in Introductory College Physics

Even among the sciences, physics stands out as an unusually White- and male-dominated field. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) reports that only 19% of physics faculty are women, and less than 6% of physics faculty are African American or Hispanic. Particularly for female students, the transition from high school to a college major in physics has been identified as the most important point of attrition. As such, undergraduate physics education is a critical juncture where these trends can be interrupted. We approached this problem by using teaching strategies intended to promote inclusiveness in a calculus-based, introductory college physics course, a key requirement in many STEM majors and a gateway to the undergraduate physics major. Proponents of inclusive teaching strategies argue that using such strategies will benefit all students, particularly those from marginalized groups, increase the diversity of physics majors, and ultimately contribute to a more diverse community of physicists.

Buquoy’s problem in an introductory physics course

The Buquoy’s problem represents an interesting example of a one-dimensional motion in which a uniform thin fibre is pulled upwards from a horizontal plane by a constant vertical force exerted against the homogeneous gravitational field. The problem includes several interesting concepts that are developed within the introductory university physics course, like motion with a variable mass, the use of the effective potential and a solution of a non-linear ODE of the second order, which provides an opportunity for some numerical modelling of the motion. It is a specific example of damped oscillations and according to our experience it can be discussed e.g. within a course in classical mechanics. Our contribution concentrates on the correspondence between a theoretical model and the experimental realization of this problem, which can be demonstrated in a standard classroom. In our set, the upward force is represented by buoyancy acting on a helium filled balloon. The experiment helps to develop some other competences of the students and naturally leads to a little bit more general mathematical model with an equation of motion that includes the constant mass of the helium ball and the dumping resistance force.

Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom

We compared students' self-reported perception of learning with their actual learning under controlled conditions in large-enrollment introductory college physics courses taught using 1) active instruction (following best practices in the discipline) and 2) passive instruction (lectures by experienced and highly rated instructors). Both groups received identical class content and handouts, students were randomly assigned, and the instructor made no effort to persuade students of the benefit of either method. Students in active classrooms learned more (as would be expected based on prior research), but their perception of learning, while positive, was lower than that of their peers in passive environments. This suggests that attempts to evaluate instruction based on students' perceptions of learning could inadvertently promote inferior (passive) pedagogical methods. For instance, a superstar lecturer could create such a positive feeling of learning that students would choose those lectures over active learning. Most importantly, these results suggest that when students experience the increased cognitive effort associated with active learning, they initially take that effort to signify poorer learning. That disconnect may have a detrimental effect on students' motivation, engagement, and ability to self-regulate their own learning. Although students can, on their own, discover the increased value of being actively engaged during a semester-long course, their learning may be impaired during the initial part of the course. We discuss strategies that instructors can use, early in the semester, to improve students' response to being actively engaged in the classroom.

What do AP physics courses teach and the AP physics exam measure?

AP physics exam scores are a weak measure of the level of physics understanding one would expect from an introductory university physics course.

Energy-interaction diagrams: Fostering resources for productive disciplinary engagement with energy

The use of graphical representations structures students' reasoning about a physical scenario or problem. Different graphical representations for energy in physical situations highlight different aspects of energy and therefore may represent and foster different conceptualizations of energy. One particular representation of energy dynamics in a physical system, the Energy-Interaction Diagram, embodies a Stores and Transfer model of energy. In this paper, I show how the Energy-Interaction Diagram can evoke productive resources for disciplinary engagement with energy. In the presented example, students in an introductory college physics course activated the resources indicator reasoning, systems thinking, and substance metaphor while employing the Energy-Interaction Diagram to make sense of a puzzling scenario: Two billiard balls on parallel incline tracks with different widths—why does one ball roll down the ramp faster than the other?

The symmetrical energy and momentum principles in introductory university physics courses

The conservation law of energy and momentum can be examined and demonstrated by a well-known collision experiment. In this experiment, several identical elastic balls are suspended from a horizontal frame. When the ball at one end is pulled aside and released, thus allowing it to swing like a pendulum, it hits the next ball. The outcome is fascinating: the ball at the farthest end is knocked away from the others with nearly the same speed that the first ball had initially, and all the other balls remain almost at rest. Why does this happen? Why is this the only outcome that occurs? Why not others? What happens if we change the size or mass of the ball? In the current essay, the authors describe this principle and provide examples where students can apply it. For each problem, the authors provide both the force consideration solution approach and the energy consideration solution approach.

Modifying the test of understanding graphs in kinematics

In this article, we present several modifications to the Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics. The most significant changes are (i) the addition and removal of items to achieve parallelism in the objectives (dimensions) of the test, thus allowing comparisons of students' performance that were not possible with the original version, and (ii) changes to the distractors of some of the original items that represent the most frequent alternative conceptions. The final modified version (after an iterative process involving four administrations of test variations over two years) was administered to 471 students of an introductory university physics course at a large private university in Mexico. When analyzing the final modified version of the test it was found that the added items satisfied the statistical tests of difficulty, discriminatory power, and reliability; also, that the great majority of the modified distractors were effective in terms of their frequency selection and discriminatory power; and, that the final modified version of the test satisfied the reliability and discriminatory power criteria as well as the original test. Here, we also show the use of the new version of the test, presenting a new analysis of students' understanding not possible to do before with the original version of the test, specifically regarding the objectives and items that in the new version meet parallelisms. Finally, in the PhysPort project (physport.org), we present the final modified version of the test. It can be used by teachers and researchers to assess students' understanding of graphs in kinematics, as well as their learning about them. © 2017 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.

Interweaving the Principle of Least Potential Energy in School and Introductory University Physics Courses

Understanding advanced physical phenomena such as vertically hanging elastic column, soap bubbles, crystals and cracks demands expressing and manipulating a system’s potential energy under equilibrium conditions. However, students at schools and universities are usually required to consider the forces acting on a system under equilibrium conditions, rather than taking into account its potential energy. As a result, they find it difficult to express the system’s potential energy and use it for calculations when they do need to do so. The principle of least potential energy is a powerful idea for solving static equilibrium physics problems in various fields such as hydrostatics, mechanics, and electrostatics. In the current essay, the authors describe this principle and provide examples where students can apply it. For each problem, the authors provide both the force consideration solution approach and the energy consideration solution approach.

Characterizing interactive engagement activities in a flipped introductory physics class

Towards the development of more refined descriptions of type and amount of interactivity in an introductory college physics course.

Effective student teams for collaborative learning in an introductory university physics course

Students in randomly assigned collaborative learning groups do just as well as those in carefully assigned groups.

Cross section for (nearly) everyone

Both total and differential cross sections for the reflection of light beams off finite solid surfaces obtained by the rotation of a generic derivable convex function are presented. The calculations are developed using elementary notions of mathematics and are therefore suitable for introductory undergraduate university physics courses. Three particular cases are discussed as examples of the general procedure and of the possible considerations about cross sections in general and the physical properties of specific systems.

Towards Explaining the Water Siphon

Many high school and introductory college physics courses cover topics in fluidics through the Bernoulli and Poiseuille equations, and consequently one might think that siphons should present an excellent opportunity to engage students in various laboratory measurement exercises incorporating these fascinating devices. However, the flow rates (or average exit velocities) of simple water siphons have not been sufficiently explained,1 nor has an associated analytical model been developed demonstrating sufficient experimental correspondence to allow physics instructors to bring closure between theoretical concepts and laboratory experiences. We present such an explanation and analytical model for the flow rates of simple water tube siphons. Further, we report measurements that show the model gives good correspondence to flow rates of siphons over a wide range of tube lengths, inner diameters, and water heights (hydrostatic head), and for which the Reynolds numbers range from 102 to 105.