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Location:
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SS Ballroom DE |
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Date:
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Tuesday, Aug.2 |
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Time:
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2:45 PM -3:15 PM
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Author:
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Beth Lindsey, Penn State Greater Allegheny
412-675-9148, bal23@psu.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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None
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Abstract:
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The first law of thermodynamics states that doing work on an otherwise isolated system will cause its energy to change. A set of curricular materials1 has been developed, designed to help students interpret and apply the relation between work and energy, but many difficulties persist even after targeted instruction. This persistence may be related to a failure to choose an appropriate system of interest and identify the interactions of that system with its environment. I will present data on student thinking about systems, and the connection to student thinking about energy in contexts from introductory mechanics and beyond. Data presented will be from pre-tests, post-tests, and video recordings of classroom interactions and one-on-one interviews at three institutions of differing sizes and student populations.
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Footnotes:
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1Tutorials in Introductory Physics, Lillian C. McDermott, Peter S. Shaffer, and the Physics Education Group, Preliminary Second Edition, Pearson Education, Inc. (2009)
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