A research on undergraduate students' conceptualizations of physics notions related to non-sliding rotational motion

Resumo

This paper presents research findings of a study on specific conceptions held by college students in an introductory physics course when they explain a non-sliding rotational motion from the kinematical standpoint, as a uniformly accelerated rectilinear motion, and from the rotational dynamics framework, as well as the role of rotational inertia in this situation. Students' written answers to a paper and pencil problem are analysed in the light of Vergnaud's conceptual fields theory. The research was carried out under the qualitative paradigm in which data are grouped in categories which are not previously defined by the theoretical framework. The analysis of the results allowed the identification of some elements of the schemes students would use to handle the task. The findings show the potentiality of such a framework to interpret the construction processes of students' representations, as well as to design instructional strategies to facilitate critical meaningful learning.