La distribuzione di Maxwell-Boltzmann: i risultati di una sperimentazione svolta nell'ambito dei corsi di laurea in ingegneria

This paper describes the outcomes of an teaching experiment conducted in the seminar held at the Faculty Engineering of Palermo University. The theme of the seminar focused on undergraduate experiment that yields the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons by analyzing the I-V characteristics of diodes and triodes. By using a simple model, the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons emitted by the vacuum tube cathode can be described by Maxwell's distribution. The experiment allows students to focus on the distribution function more than on difficulties arising from the complexity of thermionic emission. Questo articolo descrive i risultati di una sperimentazione didattica condotta in un seminario tenutosi presso la Facoltà di Ingegneria dell'Università di Palermo. La tematica del seminario è stata concentrata su di un esperimento attraverso cui ottenere la distribuzione di velocità degli elettroni termoionici, analizzando le caratteristiche I-V di diodi e triodi. Utilizzando un semplice modello, la distribuzione della velocità degli elettroni termoionici emessi dal catodo tubo a vuoto può essere descritta dalla distribuzione di Maxwell. L'esperimento permette agli studenti di concentrarsi sulla funzione di distribuzione piuttosto che sulle difficoltà derivanti dalla complessità dell' emissione termoionica

A quantitative method to analyse an open-ended questionnaire: A case study about the Boltzmann Factor

This paper describes a quantitative method to analyse an openended questionnaire. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are quantitatively analysed by not hierarchical clustering called k-means method. Through this we can characterise behaviour students with respect their expertise to formulate explanations for phenomena or processes and/or use a given model in the different context. The physics topic is about the Boltzmann Factor, which allows the students to have a unifying view of different phenomena in different contexts

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the mental models deployed by undergraduate students in explaining thermally activated phenomena

In this contribution we describe a research aimed at pointing out the quality of mental models undergraduate engineering students deploy when asked to create explanations for phenomena/processes and/or use a given model in the same context. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are initially analyzed using researchergenerated categories of reasoning, based on the Physics Education Research literature on student understanding of the relevant physics content. The inferred students’ mental models about the analyzed phenomena are categorized as practical, descriptive, or explanatory, based on an analysis of student responses to the questionnaire. A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with students after the questionnaire administration is also used to deepen some aspects which emerged from the quantitative analysis and validate the results obtaine

An approach to the concept of statistical distribution: a pedagogical path based on Guided Inquiry

This paper describes a teaching approach to the concept of distribution that uses a specific activity related to the field of statistical mechanics. The concept of velocity distribution of a particle system is dealt with using an Inquiry Based approach involving an experimental examination of Maxwell’s Distribution. Some outcomes of a teaching experiment are described

Investigating the quality of mental models deployed by undergraduate engineering students in creating explanations: The case of thermally activated phenomena

This paper describes a method aimed at pointing out the quality of the mental models undergraduate engineering students deploy when asked to create explanations for phenomena or processes and/or use a given model in the same context. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are quantitatively analyzed using researcher-generated categories of reasoning, based on the physics education research literature on student understanding of the relevant physics content. The use of statistical implicative analysis tools allows us to successfully identify clusters of students with respect to the similarity to the reasoning categories, defined as "practical or everyday," "descriptive," or "explicative." Through the use of similarity and implication indexes our method also enables us to study the consistency in students' deployment of mental models. A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with students after they had completed the questionnaire is used to clarify some aspects which emerged from the quantitative analysis and validate the results obtained. Some implications of this joint use of quantitative and qualitative analysis for the design of a learning environment focused on the understanding of some aspects of the world at the level of causation and mechanisms of functioning are discussed

Exploring the Coherence of Student Reasoning when Responding to Questionnaires on Thermally Activated Phenomena

Many research results show that students often highlight \u201cmixed-type\u201d reasoning when tackling problematic situations and problems. This reasoning is based on the simultaneous use of common-sense and mere descriptions of facts, perceived as sufficient to build an \u201cexplanation\u201d of observed or proposed situations and problems. This fact can be interpreted as a lack of coherence. In this paper, we study the coherence of responses that a sample of undergraduate chemical engineering student give when they are asked to face real-life situations, to create explanations, and to use models in different contexts. We administered open-ended questionnaires before and after a twenty-hour Inquiry-Based workshop related to phenomena activated by a thermal overcoming of a potential barrier. Based on the Physics Education Research literature on student understanding of relevant physics contents, the student responses are analysed by using researcher-generated categories of reasoning and their coherence is studied. Finally, we discuss some implications of the results to improve the development of students' explicative skills. \ua9 2021 the authors; licensee Modestum. All Rights Reserved

An experience of elicited inquiry elucidating the electron transport in semiconductor crystals

In this study we report the results of an inquiry-driven learning path experienced by a sample of 10 electronic engineering students, engaged to investigate the electron transport in semiconductors. The undergraduates were first instructed by following a lecture-based class on condensed matter physics and then involved into an inquiry based path of simulative explorations. The students were invited by two instructors to explore the electron dynamics in a semiconductor bulk by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The students, working in group, had to design their own procedure of exploration, as expected in a traditional guided inquiry. But they experienced several difficulties on planning and carrying out a meaningful sequence of simulative experiments, many times coming to a standstill. At this stage, the two instructors actively participated to the students’ debate on the physics governing the observed phenomena, never providing exhaustive explanations to the students, but giving comments and hints, sometimes expressly incorrect, but effective to stimulate students’ reasoning and activating a proficient scientific inquiry. The relation between this teaching intervention and student cognitive and affective development has been investigated by methods of discourse and behaviour analysis, as well as by the analysis of a student motivation/satisfaction inventory. The elicited inquiry stimulated the students to follow a question-driven path of exploration, starting from the validation of the model of electron dynamics within the semiconductor, up to performing reasoned inquiries about the observed characteristic of charge transport. Our results show that the stimulated activation of the inquiry process constitutes an efficient teaching/learning approach both to effectively engage students into an active learning and, at the same time, to clarify important experimental and technological aspects of semiconductor science, representing a viable example of integration of a traditional lecture-based teaching approach with effective learning strategies

2D simulation of wave-particle coupling inspired by walking droplets

In recent years, a fluid dynamics phenomenon has been observed that shows interesting analogies with several quantum mechanical ones. Under specific experimental conditions, a liquid droplet released on a vibrating liquid persists in jumping, forming a localized wave-particle, and its behaviour resembles that of a de Broglie wave-particle. In this paper we discuss a simplified model for this phenomenon and the results of numerical fluid dynamics simulations implemented on the basis of the model. In spite of the relevant simplifying assumptions of our approach, we observe that a wave-droplet coupling is obtained and the droplet travels at nearly constant velocity, as it is observed in experiments. This suggests that the model describes the basic features of the phenomenon well, and that the simulation could be used to introduce undergraduate students to the study of quantum mechanics