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Session:
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Upper Division Undergraduate
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Paper Type:
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Contributed
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Title:
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Using Expert Solutions to Map a Thermodynamics Maze
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Meeting:
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2013 Winter Meeting: New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Location:
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N/A |
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Date:
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Time:
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2:40PM
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Author:
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Mary Bridget Kustusch, Oregon State University
541-737-6080, mary.bridget@physics.oregonstate.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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David Roundy, Tevian Dray, Corinne A. Manogue
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Abstract:
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One of the challenges that upper-division students face in dealing with thermodynamics is the multitude of ways one can deal with the sea of partial derivatives. We conducted interviews with experts (faculty and graduate students), asking them to solve a challenging thermodynamics problem in order to better understand what is required to successfully solve these problems. This presentation discusses a procedural task analysis that uses these expert solutions to identify three choices that must be addressed in order to solve the problem: (1) what mathematical formalism to use, (2) which energy equation(s) to employ, and (3) how to deal with variables that are held constant (entropy, in this case). Any successful route through the problem must address these decision points and could be categorized in terms of these choices. The physical and mathematical sense-making surrounding these decisions will be addressed in a separate presentation.
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Footnotes:
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None
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