• Open Access

Does using a visual-representation tool foster students’ ability to identify forces and construct free-body diagrams?

Antti Savinainen, Asko Mäkynen, Pasi Nieminen, and Jouni Viiri
Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 9, 010104 – Published 24 January 2013

Abstract

Earlier research has shown that after physics instruction, many students have difficulties with the force concept, and with constructing free-body diagrams (FBDs). It has been suggested that treating forces as interactions could help students to identify forces as well as to construct the correct FBDs. While there is evidence that identifying interactions helps students in quantitative problem solving, there is no previous research investigating the effect of a visual-representation tool—an interaction diagram (ID)—on students’ ability to identify forces, and to construct the correct FBDs. We present an empirical study conducted in 11 Finnish high schools on students (n=335, aged 16) taking their first, mandatory, introductory physics course. The study design involved groups of students having heavy, light, or no use of IDs. The heavy and light ID groups answered eight pairs of ID and FBD questions in various physical contexts and the no ID group answered two of the eight FBD questions. The results indicate that the heavy ID group outperformed both the light and the no ID groups in identifying forces and constructing the correct FBDs. The analysis of these data indicates that the use of IDs is especially beneficial in identifying forces when constructing FBDs.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 15 October 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.010104

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Antti Savinainen, Asko Mäkynen, Pasi Nieminen, and Jouni Viiri

  • Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FIN-40014, Finland

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 9, Iss. 1 — January - June 2013

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Physics Education Research

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×