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Title:
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Uneven Development of Students' Reasoning Regarding Concepts in Thermal Physics*
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Meeting:
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Location:
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Space 1 |
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Date:
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Monday, Jan. 23 |
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Time:
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8:30 p.m.
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Author:
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David Meltzer,
515-292-1992,
dem@physicseducation.net
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Co-Author(s):
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Warren M. Christensen, John R. Thompson
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Abstract:
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Our group has been engaged in an ongoing investigation of student
learning in thermal physics for the past several years. We have probed
students' reasoning about thermodynamics concepts in both introductory
and advanced-level courses, and we have tried to trace the development
of students' understanding as they progress through their studies. Here
we will compare introductory- and advanced-students' thinking on
concepts such as entropy and the first and second laws of
thermodynamics. We will attempt to draw a preliminary picture of the
uneven trajectory along which students' reasoning about these topics
evolves.
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Footnotes:
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*Supported in part by NSF DUE-9981140 and PHY-0406724
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