Identifying Student Resources in Reasoning about Entropy and the Approach to Thermal Equilibrium

Autor/in	Loverude, Michael
Titel	Identifying Student Resources in Reasoning about Entropy and the Approach to Thermal Equilibrium
Quelle	In: Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, 11 (2015) 2, S.020118-1 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1554-9178
DOI	10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020118
Schlagwörter	Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; Physics; Thermodynamics; Heat; Scientific Principles; Interviews; Learning Strategies; College Science; Logical Thinking; Coding; Student Reaction; Energy; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; California + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Physik; Thermodynamik; Hitze; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Learning methode; Learning techniques; Lernmethode; Lernstrategie; Codierung; Programmierung; Schülerkritik; Energie; Qualitative Forschung; Statistische Analyse; Kalifornien
Abstract	As part of an ongoing project to examine student learning in upper-division courses in thermal and statistical physics, we have examined student reasoning about entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. We have examined reasoning in terms of heat transfer, entropy maximization, and statistical treatments of multiplicity and probability. In this paper, we describe student responses in interviews focused on the approach of macroscopic systems to thermal equilibrium. Our data suggest that students do not use a single simple model of entropy, but rather use a variety of conceptual resources. Individual students frequently shifted between resources, in some cases leading to contradictory predictions. Among the resources that students employed were some that have been previously described in the literature, including inappropriate use of conservation. However, our results suggest that student use of resources connected to disorder are neither simple nor monolithic. For example, many students used a previously unreported association between the equilibrium state of a system and an increase in order, rather than disorder. [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01