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Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics
written by
Nathaniel R. Amos, David Harris, and Jeffrey Hutchinson
Proficiency in units/dimensional analysis is a useful skill in the sciences and engineering, and STEM instructors often presume competence from their students in this area. However, unit analysis techniques and unit systems are not always formally taught, and even with explicit emphasis during instruction, many students lack the repeated exposure necessary to master them. To assess student understanding of units and unit systems, we administered a brief, itemized survey to N = 53 calculus-based introductory university physics students. The survey was intended to uncover possible misconceptions and identify previously unknown obstacles to student success within this topic. Our results suggest that as many as half of surveyed participants may not recognize the adaptability of symbolic physical equations to different unit systems. Furthermore, a similar proportion failed to eliminate non-viable answer choices involving analytic functions with units inside their arguments. Consequently, we believe units/dimensional analysis is a topic ripe for further investigation.
Physics Education Research Conference 2020
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: July 22-23, 2020 Pages 23-27
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15453">Amos, N, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson. "Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020.</a>
AIP Format
N. Amos, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301).
AJP/PRST-PER
N. Amos, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson, Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301>.
APA Format
Amos, N., Harris, D., & Hutchinson, J. (2020, July 22-23). Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference. Retrieved January 17, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301
Chicago Format
Amos, N, D. Harris, and J. Hutchinson. "Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301 (accessed 17 January 2025).
MLA Format
Amos, Nathaniel, David Harris, and Jeffrey Hutchinson. "Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics." Physics Education Research Conference 2020. Virtual Conference: 2020. 23-27 of PER Conference. 17 Jan. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "Nathaniel Amos and David Harris and Jeffrey Hutchinson",
Title = {Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2020},
Pages = {23-27},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 22-23},
Year = {2020}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Nathaniel Amos %A David Harris %A Jeffrey Hutchinson %T Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics %S PER Conference %D July 22-23 2020 %P 23-27 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %O July 22-23 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Amos, Nathaniel %A Harris, David %A Hutchinson, Jeffrey %D July 22-23 2020 %T Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics %B Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %C Virtual Conference %P 23-27 %S PER Conference %8 July 22-23 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15453&DocID=5301 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The AJP/PRST-PER presented is based on the AIP Style with the addition of journal article titles and conference proceeding article titles. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Excerpts from an exploratory survey of units/dimensional analysis in introductory physics:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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