Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Physics XIII: Differential Equations

This question may very well be beyond the scope of a traditional introductory calculus-based physics course, but given the recent trend in early introduction to computational physics with curricula like Matter & Interactions it may be within the scope of a reformed course. In classical physics, finding a particle’s trajectory under the influence of a […]

Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Physics XI: Conservative Forces

In this post, I present a conceptual question that is so important, I feel that no undergraduate student should complete an introductory calculus-based physics course without being able to correctly answer it. Given the way introductory calculus and introductory physics are traditionally taught, I just don’t think there is nearly enough carryover from the calculus […]