What Physics

Knowledge Is

Assessed

in TIMSS Advanced

2008?

Chad Orzel

Department of Physics

and Astronomy

Union College

Schenectady, NY

Summary

TIMSS Advanced 2008 Overview:

9 countries

(Armenia, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands,

Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden)

Approx 8200 students

39 Physics questions (37 scored)

4 Content Domains:

Mechanics

Electricity and Magnetism

Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Heat and Temperature

Content Assessment

Overall Approach:

―Would this make our job

easier?‖

Does content tested correspond

to what students need to be

prepared for college physics?

Compare to: Introductory College Physics

State High School Curricula (US)

Physics Education Research

Introductory College PhysicsStandard Course Format:

2-semester survey

calculus-based

First Semester:

Primarily mechanics

Second Semester:

Primarily E&M

Standard Curriculum: First SemesterPART 1.

1 Measurement.

2 Motion Along a Straight Line.

3 Vectors.

4 Motion in Two and Three Dimensions.

5 Force and Motion — I.

6 Force and Motion — II.

7 Kinetic Energy and Work.

8 Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy.

9 Center of Mass and Linear Momentum.

10 Rotation.

11 Rolling, Torque, and Angular Momentum.

PART 2.

12 Equilibrium and Elasticity.

13 Gravitation.

14 Fluids.

15 Oscillations.

16 Waves — I.

17 Waves — II.

18 Temperature, Heat, and the First Law of Thermodynamics.

19 The Kinetic Theory of Gases.

20 Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Vectors/

Kinematics

Newton’s Laws

Energy

Momentum

Angular

Momentum

Applied Forces

Oscillations/

Waves

Heat/

Temperature

Standard Curriculum: Second Semester21 Electric Charge.

22 Electric Fields.

23 Gauss’ Law.

24 Electric Potential.

25 Capacitance.

26 Current and Resistance.

27 Circuits.

28 Magnetic Fields.

29 Magnetic Fields Due to Currents.

30 Induction and Inductance.

31 Electromagnetic Oscillations and

Alternating Current.

32 Maxwell’s Equations;

Magnetism of Matter.

33 Electromagnetic Waves.

34 Images.

35 Interference.

36 Diffraction.

37 Relativity.

38 Photons and Matter Waves.

39 More About Matter Waves.

40 All About Atoms.

41 Conduction of Electricity in Solids.

42 Nuclear Physics.

43 Energy from the Nucleus.

44 Quarks, Leptons, and the Big Bang.

Electric Forces/

Fields

Electric

Circuits

Magnetism

Electro-

magnetics

Optics Atomic/

Nuclear

Matter and Interactions: First Semester

Chapter 1 Interactions and Motion.

Chapter 2 The Momentum Principle.

Chapter 3 The Fundamental Interactions.

Chapter 4 Contact Interactions.

Chapter 5 Rate of Change of Momentum.

Chapter 6 The Energy Principle.

Chapter 7 Internal Energy.

Chapter 8 Energy Quantization.

Chapter 9 Multiparticle Systems.

Chapter 10 Collisions.

Chapter 11 Angular Momentum.

Chapter 12 Entropy: Limits on the Possible.

Chapter 13 Gases and Engines.

Momentum/

Force

Energy

Complex Systems

Ang. Momentum

Heat/ Temperature

Similar set of topics, focus on fundamental principles

Integrates modern physics, computation with VPython

Matter and Interactions: First Semester

Chapter 14 Electric Field.

Chapter 15 Electric Fields and Matter.

Chapter 16 Electric Field of Distributed

Charges.

Chapter 17 Electric Potential.

Chapter 18 Magnetic Field.

Chapter 19 Electric Field and Circuits.

Chapter 20 Circuit Elements.

Chapter 21 Magnetic Force.

Chapter 22 Patterns of Field in Space.

Chapter 23 Faraday's Law.

Chapter 24 Electromagnetic Radiation.

Chapter 25 Waves and Particles.

Electric Field

Energy

Circuits

Electromagnetics

Similar set of topics, focus on fundamental principles

Integrates modern physics, computation with VPython

Magnetism

Magnetism

Atomic/Nuclear

Six Ideas: First Semester

Unit C: Conservation Laws Constrain Interactions

Momentum, Energy, Angular Momentum

Some thermodynamics

Unit N: The Laws of Physics are Universal

Newton’s Laws, Forces, Dynamics

Oscillations/ Waves

Unit R: The Laws of Physics are Frame-Independent

Special Relativity

~4wks

~4wks

~3wks

Six Ideas: Second Semester

Unit E: Electric and Magnetic Fields are Unified

Electricity, Magnetism

Wave motion

Unit Q: Particles Behave like Waves

Classical Optics

Quantum Physics

Atomic/Nuclear

Unit T: Some Processes are Irreversible

Heat, Temperature, Thermodynamics

~4wks

~4wks

~3wks

Introductory College Physics

Central, common principles:

Mechanics:

Newton’s Laws

Momentum

Energy

Angular Momentum

Electromagnetism:

Coulomb’s Law/ Electric Fields

Magnetic Fields

Electric Circuits

Maxwell’s Equations

Atomic/ Nuclear:

Particle Nature of Light

Wave Nature of Matter

Atomic Structure

Nuclear Processes

Thermodynamics

Heat and Temperature

Kinetic Theory/ Ideal Gases

Entropy

Heat Engines/ Efficiency

Helpful for entering students to have seen at least some of these

State Curricula

North Carolina Standards

Mechanics: ~144/180 classes

Kinematics: 48

Newton’s Laws: 31

Momentum: 14

Energy: 27

Waves: 24

Electricity and Magnetism: ~27/180 classes

Coulomb’s Law, E-field: 7

Electric Circuits: 20

Good coverage of mechanics

sparser coverage of E&M, no H&T or A&N

State CurriculaNew York: ―The student will be able to…‖

Mechanics: 25 items

―…verify Newton’s Second Law for linear motion‖

―…describe and explain the exchange between potential

energy, kinetic energy, and internal energy for simple

mechanical systems, such as a pendulum, a roller coaster,

a spring, a freely falling object‖

―… recognize and describe conversions among different

forms of energy in real or hypothetical devices such as a

motor, a generator, a photocell, a battery.‖

Kinematics: 4

Newton’s Laws: 4

Momentum: 1

Energy: 7

Waves: 9 (includes EM waves/optics)

State CurriculaNew York: ―The student will be able to…‖

Electricity and Magnetism: 8 items

―… use measurements to determine the resistance of a

circuit element‖

―… map the magnetic field of a permanent magnet,

indicating the direction of the field between the N

(north-seeking) and S (south-seeking) poles‖

―… draw and interpret circuit diagrams which include

voltmeters and ammeters‖

Circuits: 7

Magnetic Field: 1

Atomic/Nuclear: 2 items

―… interpret energy-level diagrams‖

―… correlate spectral lines with an energy-level diagram‖

State CurriculaCalifornia: ―Students know…‖

Mechanics: 22 items

―… that when forces are balanced, no acceleration

occurs; thus an object continues to move at a constant

speed or stays at rest (Newton’s first law). ‖

―… applying a force to an object perpendicular to the

direction of its motion causes the object to change

direction but not speed (e.g., Earth’s gravitational

force causes a satellite in a circular orbit to change

direction but not speed).‖

Kinematics: 2

Newton’s Laws: 7

Momentum: 4

Energy: 3

Waves: 6 (includes EM waves/optics)

State CurriculaCalifornia: ―Students know…‖

Electricity and Magnetism: 11 items

―… how to predict the voltage or current in simple

direct current (DC) electric circuits constructed from

batteries, wires, resistors, and capacitors. ‖

―… magnetic materials and electric currents (moving

electric charges) are sources of magnetic fields and are

subject to forces arising from the magnetic fields of

other sources.‖

Coulomb’s Law, E-Fields: 2

Circuits: 4

Magnetic Field: 5

Heat and Thermodynamics: 7 items―… that the work done by a heat engine that is working in a cycle is the difference

between the heat flow into the engine at high temperature and the heat flow out at a

lower temperature (first law of thermodynamics) and that this is an example of the

law of conservation of energy.

State Curricula Summary

Overall Picture:

Good, fairly complete coverage of mechanics

Selected topics in Electricity and Magnetism

Tend to emphasize circuits over fields

Highly variable coverage of other areas

Extensive coverage in some states, none at all in others

Tend to assume the first-year college students have seen nothing

but mechanics, very basic E&M

Physics Education Research

Active and well-established

within physics departments

Numerous research-based

subject tests

FCI: Force Concept Inventory

FMCE: Force and Motion

Conceptual Evaluation

CSEM: Conceptual Survey of

Electricity and Magnetism

Conceptual TestsResearch shows that students can learn to solve problems by rote

without fully understanding the underlying concepts

Calculation:

75% correct

Concept:

40% correct

From Peer Instruction by Eric Mazur

12 V

8 V 1W

2W

1W

a

b

In the circuit at right, find the current

through the 2 ohm resistor and the potential

difference between points a and b.

In the circuit at the left, explain what will

happen to the following variables when the

switch is closed:

* The current through the battery

*The brightness of the bulbs

* The voltage drop across the bulbs

* The total power dissipated

TIMSS Question Breakdown

Mechanics: 12 questions (11 scored)

Electricity and Magnetism: 12 questions

Atomic and Nuclear: 8 questions (7 scored)

Heat and Temperature: 7 questions

Content Domain distribution:

Fairly close to distribution of high school and intro college

curricula

Primary emphasis on Mechanics and E&M

TIMSS Mechanics

12 Questions (11 scored)

Kinematics: 3

Newton’s Laws: 4

Momentum: 1

Energy: 1

Waves: 2

Primarily computational, rather

than conceptual

Energy, momentum underrepresented

Conceptual MechanicsTIMSS question: FCI question:

50.8% correct (all countries)

Lowest of Mechanics MC (62% avg)

Consistent with known results from Physics Education Research

TIMSS Energy

2 21 1

2 2

0.125

i f

i s

E

U

mv kx

mv m

k

E

K

x

Very information dense question

Need to know KE, PE, cons. of E

46.8% correct (international average)

Would be good to have additional energy question(s) to identify

problem areas

TIMSS E&M

12 Questions

Electric Field: 3

Circuits/Conduction: 4

Magnetic force: 1

Radiation: 3

Good mix of calculational/

conceptual questions

Good connections to mechanics

No questions dealing with energy or magnetic fields

Radiation questions over-emphasized

E&M Radiation

Three radiation questions in

E&M section

Very fact-based, almost trivia50.1%

45.1%

38.5%

Seems excessive, especially

given omission of energy

and magnetic field questions

E&M MechanicsGood questions making

conceptual linkage between

E&M and mechanics

Conceptual: Both Coulomb’s

Law and Newton’s 3rd

Reasoning: Both Lorentz force

on moving charge and

centripetal acceleration

22.3% correct–

Lowest E&M MC

9.8% correct– Lowest in data set

Conceptual E&MTIMSS Question CSEM Question

41.4% Highest in E&M free-response

TIMSS Atomic and Nuclear

8 Questions (7 scored)

Atomic Structure: 4

Radioactive Decay: 3

Photoelectric Effect: 1

Large variance in curricula in this area makes assessment difficult

Questions generally reasonable

No questions on atomic spectra, or nuclear fission/ fusion

Atomic Structure

Subjective impression:

too many atomic structure

questions

2/3 questions about notation

76%

70.9%

40.7%

TIMSS Heat and Temperature

7 Questions:

Heat Capacity: 3

Radiation: 3

Ideal Gas Law: 1

Large variance in curricula in this area makes assessment difficult

Notable omissions: kinetic theory, heat engines

2nd Law of Thermodynamics probably most important

idea from this area of physics not tested

TIMSS Global Warming

66.6%

51.1%

Two questions with a global

warming theme

(Just an observation, not

a complaint…)

Overall Results

Scores by section:

Mechanics: 51%

E&M: 37%

H&T: 49%

A&N: 51%

(Median % getting full credit,

averaged over all questions)

Scores by type:

Mechanics: 50% 34%

E&M: 45% 27%

H&T: 52% 28%

A&N: 58% 28%

(Mean % getting full credit,

averaged over all questions)

Mult. Choice Free Resp.

Of note:

Ned. has top scores in Mech, H&T, A&N, Arm in E&M

Italy last or 2nd to last in all 4, Leb. last in E&M, H&T

Gender Breakdown

Scores by section:

Mechanics: -3.6%

E&M: -4.0%

H&T: -6.2%

A&N: -2.5%

(F % full credit- M% full credit

averaged over all questions)

Scores by type:

Mechanics: -9% -6%

E&M: -13% -9%

H&T: -16% -12%

A&N: -6% -2%

(F%-M% as %-age of avg. score

averaged over all questions of type)

Mult. Choice Free Resp.

Of note:

Lebanon: avg(F)>avg(M) for all sections, Armenia 3/4

Iran, Italy, Rus., Ned., Nor.: all have M>F for all questions on

2/4 sections

Conclusions

TIMSS Physics subjects areas generally aligned with standard

curricula

Primary emphasis on Newtonian mechanics and E&M

TIMSS Physics questions emphasize calculations over concepts

PER shows these aren’t necessarily the same

Some good conceptual questions, would be good to see more

Some overemphasis/ omissions

Too much:

Radiation

Atomic Structure

Not enough:

Energy/ momentum

Magnetism

Kinetic theory/ entropy