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 XII: Combining Position and Velocity

This is post is long overdue, and I’m sorry for that. Life and work got busy late in the semester. I have far many more ideas for more posts in this thread that I doubt I’ll ever be able to write them all up but I will try. In this post, I focus on an […]

Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Physics X: Resolving a Vector

For this post, I decided to ask what I think is a very simple question. It is simple at first, but it also gets to the heart of the meaning of vector quantities, at least as they are typically presented in introductory physics. It also emphasizes the fact that vector quantities have an existence all their own, […]

Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Physics III: Interpreting Physical Quantities

This series continues with a question which, I hope, causes readers and students to reflect on something that is frequently omitted from traditional introductory physics courses. I contend that words are all we have to convey conceptual understanding in physics or any other topic. Yet, in science courses, and especially in physics courses, we tend […]