期刊名称：Physical Review ST Physics Education Research
电子版ISSN：1554-9178
出版年度：2015
卷号：11
期号：2
页码：1-14
DOI：10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020129
出版社：American Physical Society
摘要：Understanding Maxwell’s equations in differential form is of great importance when studying the electrodynamic phenomena discussed in advanced electromagnetism courses. It is therefore necessary that students master the use of vector calculus in physical situations. In this light we investigated the difficulties second year students at KU Leuven encounter with the divergence and curl of a vector field in mathematical and physical contexts. We have found that they are quite skilled at doing calculations, but struggle with interpreting graphical representations of vector fields and applying vector calculus to physical situations. We have found strong indications that traditional instruction is not sufficient for our students to fully understand the meaning and power of Maxwell’s equations in electrodynamics.
