Upper-division Student Understanding of Coulomb's Law: Difficulties with Continuous Charge Distributions

TL;DR

This study investigates upper-division students' difficulties with applying Coulomb's Law to continuous charge distributions, highlighting specific conceptual and mathematical challenges they face.

Contribution

It identifies key student difficulties in mapping physical systems to mathematical expressions and offers insights for improving instruction in advanced E&M courses.

Findings

Students struggle with coordinate mapping and differential element expressions.

Common errors include incorrect limits of integration and vector differences.

The study suggests targeted instructional strategies to address these difficulties.

Abstract

Utilizing the integral expression of Coulomb's Law to determine the electric potential from a continuous charge distribution is a canonical exercise in Electricity and Magnetism (E&M). In this study, we use both think-aloud interviews and responses to traditional exam questions to investigate student difficulties with this topic at the upper-division level. Leveraging a theoretical framework for the use of mathematics in physics, we discuss how students activate, construct, execute and reflect on the integral form of Coulomb's Law when solving problems with continuous charge distributions. We present evidence that junior-level E&M students have difficulty mapping physical systems onto the mathematical expression for the Coulomb potential. Common challenges include difficulty expressing the difference vector in appropriate coordinates as well as determining expressions for the differential charge element and limits of integration for a specific charge distribution. We discuss possible implications of these findings for future research directions and instructional strategies.