A CONCEPTUAL EXERCISE TO ENHANCE STUDENT UNDERSTANDING IN PHYSICS: A CASE STUDY IN INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS

Introductory course in physics such as mechanics, electricity and magnetism is one of the main courses that is mainly important to engineering student. Student must deeply understand such these topics to proceed in his advance courses. A teaching methodology is very important in this case and need be implemented in the class. A case study has been designed to show the effect of conceptual exercises on the overall understanding of certain topics in introductory physics. The topic that we chose is the concept of the time constant in RC circuits. RC circuits are part of every introductory physics class in the electricity and magnetism. Students usually struggle to grasp the idea of the time constant. A conceptual exercise has been designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of its physical meaning. A sample of engineering students in physics class have been chosen to perform this methodology. Pre- and post-exercise results are compared to show the overall effectiveness of the process. Students' performance will be studied and analyzed to see how effective this methodology is on the undergraduate engineering students.