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Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem
The divergence theorem is an important mathematical tool used in many areas of physics, most notably, electricity and magnetism. Students have nominally encountered the divergence theorem in their math courses; however, its application in physics often differs meaningfully from its application in a pure math context. In this paper, we investigate physics students' understanding and interpretation of the divergence theorem through written responses to a brief two-part prompt which was designed to elicit separate responses for students' literal and qualitative interpretations of the divergence theorem. This differentiated between understanding the mathematical statement and being able to interpret its fundamental meaning. We found that students provided moderately successful literal interpretations but provided fewer meaningful qualitative interpretations. We also found that the ability to accurately translate the mathematical statement of the divergence theorem appeared to be a necessary, but not sufficient condition for being able to provide a meaningful
interpretation.
Physics Education Research Conference 2020
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: July 22-23, 2020 Pages 222-227
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15487">Huffman, J, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox. "Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020.</a>
AIP Format
J. Huffman, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335).
AJP/PRST-PER
J. Huffman, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox, Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335>.
APA Format
Huffman, J., Vignal, M., & Wilcox, B. (2020, July 22-23). Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335
Chicago Format
Huffman, J, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox. "Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335 (accessed 3 December 2024).
MLA Format
Huffman, James A., Michael Vignal, and Bethany Wilcox. "Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem." Physics Education Research Conference 2020. Virtual Conference: 2020. 222-227 of PER Conference. 3 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "James A. Huffman and Michael Vignal and Bethany Wilcox",
Title = {Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2020},
Pages = {222-227},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 22-23},
Year = {2020}
}
Refer Export Format
%A James A. Huffman %A Michael Vignal %A Bethany Wilcox %T Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem %S PER Conference %D July 22-23 2020 %P 222-227 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %O July 22-23 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Huffman, James A. %A Vignal, Michael %A Wilcox, Bethany %D July 22-23 2020 %T Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem %B Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %C Virtual Conference %P 222-227 %S PER Conference %8 July 22-23 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15487&DocID=5335 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. Investigating Upper-Division Students' Interpretations of the Divergence Theorem:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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