Students' Models of Newton's Second Law in Mechanics and Electromagnetism

We investigated students' use of Newton's second law in mechanics and electromagnetism contexts by interviewing students in a two-semester calculus-based physics course. We observed that students' responses are consistent with three mental models. These models appeard in mechanics contexts and were transferred to electromagnetism contexts. We developed an inventory to help instructors identify these models and direct students towards the correct one.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figues and 4 table

The Vocabulary of Introductory Physics and its Implications for Learning Physics

We investigate studnets' use of words used in everyday language as well as in physics. We find students are more likely to identify and explain the meaning of the word as it is used in physics when they have become familiar with the associated physical variables.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures and 2 tables, Resubmission to The Physics Teache