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Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire
In a prior study, we investigated graduate student reasoning on a set of entropy-related conceptual tasks in a think-aloud format. The tasks involved entropy from microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, ideal gases, and a novel context involving a system with a dynamic string. In the current study, we conducted interviews with undergraduates using the same questionnaire. Most students were interviewed during the second half of their upper-division Thermal Physics course at the University of Colorado Boulder while two were upper-division undergraduates from other institutions with strong physics programs. We analyze the responses of the undergraduates to a section of the interview involving a novel system of a dynamic string waving in a bath of water and discuss the similarities and differences between the undergraduate and graduate students' responses. The responses from the two populations share many similarities with a few noteworthy exceptions. The undergraduates generally did not produce multiple macrostate classifications in the novel system, and some expressed a concern with what they perceived to be an infinite number of microstates---and thus infinite entropy---which was not a concern among the graduate students.
Physics Education Research Conference 2021
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: August 4-5, 2021 Pages 105-110
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![]() <a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15733">Crossette, N, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox. "Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021.</a>
![]() N. Crossette, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467).
![]() N. Crossette, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox, Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467>.
![]() Crossette, N., Vignal, M., & Wilcox, B. (2021, August 4-5). Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467
![]() Crossette, N, M. Vignal, and B. Wilcox. "Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467 (accessed 15 March 2025).
![]() Crossette, Nathan, Michael Vignal, and Bethany Wilcox. "Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire." Physics Education Research Conference 2021. Virtual Conference: 2021. 105-110 of PER Conference. 15 Mar. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Nathan Crossette and Michael Vignal and Bethany Wilcox",
Title = {Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2021},
Pages = {105-110},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {August 4-5},
Year = {2021}
}
![]() %A Nathan Crossette %A Michael Vignal %A Bethany Wilcox %T Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire %S PER Conference %D August 4-5 2021 %P 105-110 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %O August 4-5 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Crossette, Nathan %A Vignal, Michael %A Wilcox, Bethany %D August 4-5 2021 %T Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on a conceptual entropy questionnaire %B Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %C Virtual Conference %P 105-110 %S PER Conference %8 August 4-5 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15733&DocID=5467 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.
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