Students ’ mental models of Newton’s second law: mechanics to electromagnetism

We investigated students ’ mental models of Newton’s second law in various contexts encountered in mechanics, and for the first time, in electricity and magnetism. We interviewed a cohort group of 16 students enrolled in a two-semester calculus-based sequence of physics courses. We find that there are two predominant mental models: the “F = ma ” or Newtonian model and the alternative “F = mv”, often called the Aristotelian model. Our results indicate that although the contexts may change, no new mental models emerge over two-semesters of physics instruction. However, we do find that some students, who may have adopted a Newtonian model after instruction in Newton’s laws during the early part of the first semester, may revert back to using an Aristotelian model when they encounter unfamiliar contexts. Our research also provides some insight into how students transfer their understanding of Newton’s second law from contexts in mechanics, where the law is first introduced, to contexts in electricity and magnetism where Newton’s laws are typically not explicitly addressed. Relevant Previous Research Mental models Researchers have been probing students ’ internal knowledge structures to better understand the origi