Living Physics Portal: Reading the physics in a graph - Electric fields, potentials, and currents

Abstract: Graphs can be a powerful tool in helping students learn to build the blend between physical concepts and mathematical symbology to develop their physical intuition and ability to think with math. This unit contains 20 homework problems concerning electric fields and potentials, including within ionic fluids, and electric currents (DC). Problems are presented in two forms: as PDFs with solutions and access restricted to instructors, and as links the to ComPADRE version that can be assigned to students. The problems are also available in a (mostly) autograded commercial version (ExpertTA).

Resource Types: Homework, Instructor supplement, Restricted access

Authors:

Edward Redish (he/him)

University of Maryland, College Park

NEXUS Physics

Living Physics Portal Team

TOPICS

Physics Topics:

Classical Mechanics > Work and Energy

Electricity & Magnetism > Capacitance, DC Circuits, Electric Fields and Potential

Thermo & Stat Mech > Probability

Life Sciences Topics:

Healthy Neural Function

Chemistry Topics:

Energy

Intermolecular Forces

Math Topics:

Differential Calculus; Exponentials and Logarithms; Graphical Analysis

FILES Download0

Reading the physics in a graph - Problems with solution > Reading the physics in a graph - Electric fields, potentials, and currents

Reading the physics in a graph - Electric fields, potentials, and currents

Adding up the energy stored in a capacitor.pdf

Charges near the origin.pdf

Debye length change.pdf

Details on dipoles.pdf

Electric field and potential from 4 charges.pdf

Electric field and potential near a water molecule.pdf

Electric fields in solution.pdf

Electric potential from a water molecule.pdf

Electrical loops in a membrane.pdf

Field and potential near points and sheets.pdf

Field and potential near a water molecule.pdf

Fields in a capacitor.pdf

Fields in a membrane.pdf

Orienteering in an electric potential.pdf

Potential near a dipole.pdf

Potential near a long molecule.pdf

Stuffing a capacitor.pdf

Tracking round a circuit 1.pdf

Tracking round a circuit 2.pdf

Tracking round a circuit.pdf

Adding up the energy stored in a capacitor.url

Charges near the origin.url

Debye length change.url

Details on dipoles.url

Electrical loops in a membrane.url

Electric field and potential from 4 charges.url

Electric field and potential near a water molecule.url

Electric fields in solution.url

Electric potential from a water molecule.url

Field and potential near a water molecule.url

Field and potential near points and sheets.url

Fields in a capacitor.url

Fields in a membrane.url

Orienteering in an electric potential.url

Potential near a dipole.url

Potential near a long molecule.url

Stuffing a capacitor.url

Tracking round a circuit 1.url

Tracking round a circuit 2.url

Adding up the energy stored in a capacitor.pdf

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INSTRUCTOR GUIDE

IMPLEMENTATION

Equipment required: Computers / software

Specific equipment needed: Computers needed to access the problems, though they could be printed and distributed on paper.

Basic implementation tips & tricks: When students struggle with homework problems, it's valuable to encourage them to work together rather than giving them answers or explanations. It's therefore useful to set up spaces where they can get together to work on homework with an instructor available for help as a last resort. (That will be less often than you — and they — might expect!)

How does this resource fit into the flow of your course? I bring graphs in to whatever topic is being discussed throughout the class. The readings are assigned during the section on kinematics. Whatever topics we are discussing, I explicitly use graphs for coding physical information in lecture, homework, quizzes, exams, and group learning activities. Homework on graphs on a particular topic are typically assigned after the readings, after discussions in lecture, and after group activities if one is available. I assign a graph problem on almost every homework, quiz, and exam.

PEDAGOGY

Pedagogical approach: Collaborative problem-solving; Conceptually-oriented activities; Context-rich problems; Mathematically-focused activities

Skills / Competencies: Multiple representations; Intuition building

What insights or realizations do you hope students gain from this resource? that graphs are more than just a task assigned by an instructor — they are a valuable tool in analyzing and making sense of physical situations, and they are an important component both of building physical intuition and of complex problem solving

Why is this resource useful to life sciences students? Life science students often have difficulty in seeing physical meaning in mathematical representations — graphs and symbols. Seeing how physical meaning is represented in graphs can help them learn to see the value of mathematical representations in reasoning about the physical world.

DISCUSSION

SUBMISSION DETAILS

License: CC BY-NC-SA - Attribution, No Commercial uses and Share Alike. Derivative works must have the same license.

Last Edit Date: August 16, 2024