Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics

Singh, Chandralekha; Marshman, Emily

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Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics

written by Chandralekha Singh and Emily Marshman

The expectation value of an observable is an important concept in quantum mechanics. However, upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in physics have both conceptual and procedural difficulties when determining the expectation value of physical observables, especially when using Dirac notation. To investigate these difficulties, we administered free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducted individual interviews with students. Here, we discuss the analysis of data on student difficulties when determining the expectation value.

Physics Education Research Conference 2016
Part of the PER Conference series
Sacramento, CA: July 20-21, 2016
Pages 320-323

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Last Modified: December 1, 2016

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education - Basic Research - Alternative Conceptions Quantum Physics - Foundations and Measurements = Eigenstates = Probability and Interference = Projection Operators	- Graduate/Professional - Upper Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

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Format:: application/pdf
Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2016…
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.2016.pr.075
NSF Number:: 1505460
Keyword:: PERC 2016
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created December 1, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: December 30, 2016 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: December 29, 2016
Other Collections:: The Quantum Exchange

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=14259">Singh, Chandralekha, and Emily Marshman. "Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, July 20-21, 2016.</a>

AIP Format

C. Singh and E. Marshman, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, 2016, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613).

AJP/PRST-PER

C. Singh and E. Marshman, Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, 2016, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613>.

APA Format

Singh, C., & Marshman, E. (2016, July 20-21). Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA. Retrieved September 17, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613

Chicago Format

Singh, Chandralekha, and Emily Marshman. "Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, July 20-21, 2016. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613 (accessed 17 September 2024).

MLA Format

Singh, Chandralekha, and Emily Marshman. "Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics." Physics Education Research Conference 2016. Sacramento, CA: 2016. 320-323 of PER Conference. 17 Sep. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Chandralekha Singh and Emily Marshman", Title = {Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2016}, Pages = {320-323}, Address = {Sacramento, CA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 20-21}, Year = {2016} }

Refer Export Format

%A Chandralekha Singh %A Emily Marshman %T Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics %S PER Conference %D July 20-21 2016 %P 320-323 %C Sacramento, CA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2016 %O July 20-21 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Singh, Chandralekha %A Marshman, Emily %D July 20-21 2016 %T Student difficulties with determining expectation values in quantum mechanics %B Physics Education Research Conference 2016 %C Sacramento, CA %P 320-323 %S PER Conference %8 July 20-21 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14259&DocID=4613

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