Visualizing Physics Questions

Abstract

Physics is an essential subject for most fields of study within science and engineering. Students cannot master it by simply watching their lecturer solving the problems at the end of each chapter, they must fully engage in solving these problems. However, in order to solve these problems students must be able to extract the information from the problems necessary for setting up the equations. This often requires that they visualize the problem, and that skill can present quite a challenge for some, and especially students who are studying physics in a second language. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the ability to visualize physics problem on students’ success in answering physics exam questions. Twenty-eight undergraduate and 10 preparatory students were randomly assigned to participate in this study and asked to solve physics problems related to their mechanic’s physics course. These problems contained a few sentences of English text which described a situation or image, and students were asked to draw the scenario or image described in the text. The result of the study highlights the difficulty in solving physics questions faced by students who lack the ability to visualize and the importance of training students to visualize physics problems in order to help them solve problems and to enhance their understanding of the physics concepts.