Vector Addition in Different Contexts

Southey, Philip; Allie, Saalih

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Vector Addition in Different Contexts

written by Philip Southey and Saalih Allie

The acquisition metaphor of learning is often used by teachers of physics: Students are thought to acquire a particular concept and then transfer this concept to new contexts. For example, one might argue that students acquire the mathematical concept of "vector addition" and then apply it in different physical contexts. In this study, 200 freshmen taking an introductory physics course were asked to calculate total force, total displacement and total momentum in simple contexts involving vector addition at right angles. Another similar group of students were asked to calculate net force, net displacement, and net momentum. When asked to calculate the "net" quantity, students did significantly better than when asked to calculate the "total" quantity. Students did significantly worse when adding momenta as opposed to adding forces or displacements. These results are inconsistent with a basic "acquisition–transfer" perspective of learning. An analysis of subsequent interviews and questionnaires was also conducted.

Physics Education Research Conference 2014
Part of the PER Conference series
Minneapolis, MN: July 30-31, 2014
Pages 243-246

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Last Modified: April 28, 2015

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Linear Momentum - Newton's Second Law = Force, Acceleration Education - Basic Research - Alternative Conceptions - Communication = Language - Student Characteristics = Skills Mathematical Tools - Vector Algebra = Vector Addition	- Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

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Format:: application/pdf
Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2014…
Access Rights:: Free access
License:: This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:: American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:: 10.1119/perc.2014.pr.057
PACS:: 01.40.Fk
Keywords:: Mechanics, PERC 2014, transfer, vector addition
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created April 28, 2015 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: May 20, 2015 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: April 28, 2015

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<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=13497">Southey, Philip, and Saalih Allie. "Vector Addition in Different Contexts." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, July 30-31, 2014.</a>

AIP Format

P. Southey and S. Allie, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, 2014, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092).

AJP/PRST-PER

P. Southey and S. Allie, Vector Addition in Different Contexts, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, 2014, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092>.

APA Format

Southey, P., & Allie, S. (2014, July 30-31). Vector Addition in Different Contexts. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved December 6, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092

Chicago Format

Southey, Philip, and Saalih Allie. "Vector Addition in Different Contexts." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, July 30-31, 2014. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092 (accessed 6 December 2024).

MLA Format

Southey, Philip, and Saalih Allie. "Vector Addition in Different Contexts." Physics Education Research Conference 2014. Minneapolis, MN: 2014. 243-246 of PER Conference. 6 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Philip Southey and Saalih Allie", Title = {Vector Addition in Different Contexts}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2014}, Pages = {243-246}, Address = {Minneapolis, MN}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 30-31}, Year = {2014} }

Refer Export Format

%A Philip Southey %A Saalih Allie %T Vector Addition in Different Contexts %S PER Conference %D July 30-31 2014 %P 243-246 %C Minneapolis, MN %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2014 %O July 30-31 %O application/pdf

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%0 Conference Proceedings %A Southey, Philip %A Allie, Saalih %D July 30-31 2014 %T Vector Addition in Different Contexts %B Physics Education Research Conference 2014 %C Minneapolis, MN %P 243-246 %S PER Conference %8 July 30-31 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13497&DocID=4092

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