Investigating Student Understanding of a Heat Engine: A Case Study of a Stirling Engine

Autor/inn/en	Zhu, Lilin; Xiang, Gang
Titel	Investigating Student Understanding of a Heat Engine: A Case Study of a Stirling Engine
Quelle	In: Physics Education, 57 (2022) 1, Artikel 015011 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Zhu, Lilin) ORCID (Xiang, Gang)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0031-9120
Schlagwörter	Heat; Physics; Science Instruction; Engines; Difficulty Level; Science Tests; Science Experiments; Engineering Education; Knowledge Level; Teaching Methods; Case Studies; Thermodynamics; Research Universities; Foreign Countries; Scientific Principles; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hitze; Physik; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Maschine; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Ingenieurausbildung; Wissensbasis; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Thermodynamik; Forschungseinrichtung; Ausland
Abstract	We report on the study of student difficulties regarding a heat engine in the context of a Stirling cycle by the method of measurement. An in-class test about a Stirling engine with a regenerator was taken by three classes, and the students were asked to perform one of the most basic activities--calculate the efficiency of the heat engine. Our data indicate that quite a few students have not developed a robust conceptual understanding of basic engineering knowledge of the heat engine. Notably, the error ratio of the class given a simple tutorial of engineering knowledge is smaller than those of the other two classes by more than 20%. In addition, both the written answers and post-test interviews show that most of the students cannot associate Carnot's theorem with a Stirling cycle. Our results suggest that both scientific and engineering knowledge are important and should be included in instructional approaches, especially in the thermodynamics course taught in the countries and regions with a tradition of not paying much attention to experimental education or engineering training. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01