What Physics Knowledge Is Assessed in TIMSS Advanced 2008?
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What Physics
Knowledge Is
Assessed
in TIMSS Advanced
2008?
Chad Orzel
Department of Physics
and Astronomy
Union College
Schenectady, NY
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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
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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
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Introductory College PhysicsStandard Course Format:
2-semester survey
calculus-based
First Semester:
Primarily mechanics
Second Semester:
Primarily E&M
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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‖
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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)
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Conceptual MechanicsTIMSS question: FCI question:
50.8% correct (all countries)
Lowest of Mechanics MC (62% avg)
Consistent with known results from Physics Education Research
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Conceptual E&MTIMSS Question CSEM Question
41.4% Highest in E&M free-response
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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
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Atomic Structure
Subjective impression:
too many atomic structure
questions
2/3 questions about notation
76%
70.9%
40.7%
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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
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TIMSS Global Warming
66.6%
51.1%
Two questions with a global
warming theme
(Just an observation, not
a complaint…)
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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
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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
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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