Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective

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written by Christian H. Kautz, Paula R. L. Heron, Michael E. Loverude, and Lillian C. McDermott

Our findings from a long-term investigation indicate that many students cannot properly interpret or apply the ideal gas law after instruction in introductory physics and chemistry as well as more advanced courses. The emphasis in this paper is on the concepts of pressure, volume, and temperature at the macroscopic level. We describe some serious conceptual and reasoning difficulties that we have identified. Results from our research were applied in the design of a curriculum that has helped improve student understanding of the ideal gas law.

American Journal of Physics: Volume 73, Issue 11, Pages 1055-1063

https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education - Applied Research - Instructional Material Design = Tutorial Education - Basic Research - Alternative Conceptions Thermo & Stat Mech - Models = Ideal Gas - Thermal Properties of Matter = Pressure = Temperature	- Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Article = Research study

PER-Central Type	Intended Users	Ratings
- PER Literature	- Researchers - Professional/Practitioners - Educators	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Formats:: application/pdf
non-digital
text/html
Access Rights:: Available by subscription and
Available for purchase
Restriction:: © 2005 American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:: 10.1119/1.2049286
PACS:: 01.50.-i
Keyword:: Thermodynamics
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created July 11, 2012 by Zachary Davis
Record Updated:: February 27, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: November 1, 2005
Other Collections:: The PSRC

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=12218">Kautz, C, P. Heron, M. Loverude, and L. McDermott. "Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective." Am. J. Phys. 73, no. 11, (November 1, 2005): 1055-1063.</a>

AIP Format

C. Kautz, P. Heron, M. Loverude, and L. McDermott, , Am. J. Phys. 73 (11), 1055 (2005), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286).

AJP/PRST-PER

C. Kautz, P. Heron, M. Loverude, and L. McDermott, Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective, Am. J. Phys. 73 (11), 1055 (2005), <https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286>.

APA Format

Kautz, C., Heron, P., Loverude, M., & McDermott, L. (2005, November 1). Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective. Am. J. Phys., 73(11), 1055-1063. Retrieved April 27, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286

Chicago Format

Kautz, C, P. Heron, M. Loverude, and L. McDermott. "Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective." Am. J. Phys. 73, no. 11, (November 1, 2005): 1055-1063, https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286 (accessed 27 April 2025).

MLA Format

Kautz, Christian, Paula R. L. Heron, Michael Loverude, and Lillian C. McDermott. "Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective." Am. J. Phys. 73.11 (2005): 1055-1063. 27 Apr. 2025 <https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286>.

BibTeX Export Format

@article{ Author = "Christian Kautz and Paula R. L. Heron and Michael Loverude and Lillian C. McDermott", Title = {Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective}, Journal = {Am. J. Phys.}, Volume = {73}, Number = {11}, Pages = {1055-1063}, Month = {November}, Year = {2005} }

Refer Export Format

%A Christian Kautz %A Paula R. L. Heron %A Michael Loverude %A Lillian C. McDermott %T Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective %J Am. J. Phys. %V 73 %N 11 %D November 1, 2005 %P 1055-1063 %U https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Kautz, Christian %A Heron, Paula R. L. %A Loverude, Michael %A McDermott, Lillian C. %D November 1, 2005 %T Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective %J Am. J. Phys. %V 73 %N 11 %P 1055-1063 %8 November 1, 2005 %U https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2049286

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