Physics Commons^™

Framework For The Natures Of Negativity In Introductory Physics, Suzanne White Brahmia, Alexis Olsho, Trevor Smith, Andrew Boudreaux

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Mathematical reasoning skills are a desired outcome of many introductory physics courses, particularly calculus-based physics courses. Novices can struggle to understand the many roles signed numbers play in physics contexts, and recent evidence shows that unresolved struggle can carry over to subsequent physics courses. Positive and negative quantities are ubiquitous in physics, and the sign carries important and varied meanings. The mathematics education research literature documents the cognitive challenge of conceptualizing negative numbers as mathematical objects—both for experts, historically, and for novices as they learn. We contribute to the small but growing body of research in physics contexts that examines …