Activity Based Physics Thinking Problems |
In many introductory physics textbooks, most, if not all,
of the end-of-chapter problems are find-the-equation and plug-and-chug.
Those that are not tend to be difficult and require a sophisticated mix
of skills. Qualitative questions are usually "fuzzy". As a result, they
are rarely assigned, and when they are, students don't gain much from solving
them.
In the pages linked to this one, we have collected a number
of problems which attempt to link a student's qualitative understanding
of concepts with specific problems. Some serve well as probes of student
understanding in a think-aloud taped-interview protocol. Most have been
written by the Maryland PERG. Some are adapted from other sources. Some
valuable sources of problems include:
Maintained by
University of Maryland PERG
Other collections of thinking problems available include:
Table of Contents
Thinking Problems in Mechanics
Thinking Problems in Oscillations and
Waves
Thinking Problems in Thermodynamics
Thinking Problems in Electricity and Magnetism
Go back to the Activity Based Physics page
Comments and questions may be directed to
E. F. Redish
Last modified June 21, 2002