It has long been suspected by general relativists that physicists who do not specialize in general relativity (GR) believe that special relativity (SR) is incapable of modeling dynamics within accelerated reference frames. Consequently, many physicists may conclude that certain phenomena, such as time dilation due to acceleration, can only be…

Anyone who has taught introductory physics should know that roughly a third of the students initially believe that any object at rest will remain at rest, whereas any moving body not propelled by applied forces will promptly come to rest. Likewise, about half of those uninitiated students believe that any object moving at a constant speed must be…

Questions often arise as to how a device attached to a transformer can draw power from the electrical power grid since it seems that the primary and secondary are not connected to one another. However, a closer look at how the primary and secondary are linked together magnetically and a consideration of the role of Lenz's law in this linkage…

Newton's second law is one of the cornerstones of the introductory physics curriculum, but it can still trouble a large number of students well after its introduction, hobbling their ability to apply the concept to problem solving and to related concepts, such as momentum, circular motion, and orbits. While there are several possibilities for…

Floating and sinking might be common phenomena, encountered on a daily basis, but still represent conceptually complex scientific topics. Research has shown that most students have certain experiences and their own "theories" that explain why objects sink or float. Unfortunately, many of these "theories" are either misconceptions or are valid only…

Several misconceptions abound among college students taking their first general physics course, and to some extent pre-engineering physics students, regarding the physics and applications of electric circuits. Analogies used in textbooks, such as those that liken an electric circuit to a piped closed loop of water driven by a water pump, do not…

Energy is a critical concept in physics problem-solving but is often a major source of confusion for students if the presentation is not carefully crafted by the instructor or the textbook. The first article in this series discussed student confusion generated by traditional treatments of work. In any discussion of work, it is important to state…

Energy is a critical concept that is used in analyzing physical phenomena and is often an essential starting point in physics problem-solving. It is a global concept that appears throughout the physics curriculum in mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and modern physics. Energy is also at the heart of descriptions of processes in biology,…

One means of preventing the top of a pond from freezing involves running a circulating pump near the bottom to agitate the surface and expose it to air throughout the winter months. This phenomenon is similar to that of the flowing of streams in subzero temperatures and to the running of taps to prevent pipe bursts in winter. All of these cases…

Energy is a critical concept in physics problem-solving, but is often a major source of confusion for students if the presentation is not carefully crafted by the instructor or the textbook. Confusion can be caused by the careless use of language in energy discussions. Students consciously or unconsciously imitate a teacher in their use of…

Energy is a critical concept in physics problem-solving, but is often a major source of confusion for students if the presentation is not carefully crafted by the instructor or the textbook. In the first three articles in this series we discussed several issues related to the teaching of energy concepts. We have saved a major single issue for this…

As often happens, a lot of physics can come out of a toy. What we found interesting is the observation of the magnetic field produced by different configurations built with GEOMAG[TM]. This toy provides small magnetic bars and steel spheres to play with. Amusing 3-D structures can be built; nevertheless, this possibility is not so obvious. Indeed,…

States that students have misconceptions about the principles of mechanics internationally providing examples and two problems. Describes Nachtigall's program to train teachers and reports its application to classroom teaching. (YP)