dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaStudent understanding of time in special relativity: simultaneity and reference frames
| Authors | Rachel E. Scherr, Peter S. Shaffer, Stamatis Vokos |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0207109 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0207109 |
| DOI | 10.1119/1.1371254 |
| Journal | Physics Education Research, American Journal of Physics Supplement, 69, S24-35 (2001) |
Abstract
This article reports on an investigation of student understanding of the concept of time in special relativity. A series of research tasks are discussed that illustrate, step-by-step, how student reasoning of fundamental concepts of relativity was probed. The results indicate that after standard instruction students at all academic levels have serious difficulties with the relativity of simultaneity and with the role of observers in inertial reference frames. Evidence is presented that suggests many students construct a conceptual framework in which the ideas of absolute simultaneity and the relativity of simultaneity harmoniously co-exist.
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"abstract": "This article reports on an investigation of student understanding of the\nconcept of time in special relativity. A series of research tasks are discussed\nthat illustrate, step-by-step, how student reasoning of fundamental concepts of\nrelativity was probed. The results indicate that after standard instruction\nstudents at all academic levels have serious difficulties with the relativity\nof simultaneity and with the role of observers in inertial reference frames.\nEvidence is presented that suggests many students construct a conceptual\nframework in which the ideas of absolute simultaneity and the relativity of\nsimultaneity harmoniously co-exist.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0207109",
"authors": [
"Rachel E. Scherr",
"Peter S. Shaffer",
"Stamatis Vokos"
],
"categories": [
"physics.ed-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1119/1.1371254",
"journal_ref": "Physics Education Research, American Journal of Physics\n Supplement, 69, S24-35 (2001)",
"title": "Student understanding of time in special relativity: simultaneity and reference frames",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0207109"
},
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