Online reading assignment question: confusing Midterm 2 physics topics

Physics 205B Online reading assignment 25, spring semester 2012
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

120514-Phys205B-MT2-confusing-1
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Wordle.net tag cloud for confusing topics covered in Midterm 2, generated by responses from Physics 205B students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA (www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5299128/Untitled).

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

List at least three words describing confusing subjects covered in class (up through this midterm). (Graded for completion.)

[Responses have been edited to consolidate related common subjects.]

Student responses
Sections 30882

householdelectricity, Eeq Req, capacitance
circuits, magentism, ammeters
magnetism capacitance magneticflux
inducedcurrent, magnetism, magneticflux
inducedcurrent, circuits, generators
inductance, idealemf, motionalemf
resistance, Kirchhoffsrules
circuits, generators, transformers
inductance
magnetism, inductance, magneticflux
magnetism, voltage, capacitance
magnetism, emf, power

RHR, magneticflux, units
sorryIgotnothing :(
everythingelse
Kirchhoffsrules, potentialenergy, householdelectricity.
inducedcurrent inductance magnetism
magneticflux, RHR
magneticflux, capacitance, inductance
flux capacitance magnetism
Kirchhoffsrules, RCcircuits, voltage.
currents, circuits, potentialdifference
magnetism, capacitance, potentialenergy
everything
circuits
circuits Kirchhoffsrules

Describe your most confusing subject, and briefly explain why this subject interested you. (Graded for completion.)

The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.

"With the equivalent emf and resistors I am having a hard time figuring out the best way to add everything up. Like should I add them up as a series then add that to the parallel or vise versa"

"circuits, my mind does not think like that and it was very hard to understand"

"Capacitance"

"Keeping track of induced currents and magnetic fields and all the other fields that effect the things we have learned"

"generators"

"Resistance. It was interesting to try to wrap my mind around how resistors act in series and in parallel, but this was also one of the most confusing concepts for me. It took me a while to figure out just how to sum multiple different types of resistors."

"Anything in circuit"

"Transformers because I missed this lecture"

"magnets and coils are complicated"

"Magnetism because people still do not have a full understanding of it and possibly never will."

"Magnets"

"Magnetic Field"

"the most confusing subject covered is circuits with resistors in parallel. it's the most difficult for me to find current and applying the rules."

"Theres a lot of new units to know"

"At the very beginning magnetism was a little confusing, but then it started making sense and I was fine."

"conduction"

"Kirchhoff's rules because it is hard to remember."

"The inductor, they user induced current to resist changes in current"

"Figuring out where the V and B and F"

"Magnetic flux, its just too conceptual and I can't visualize it."

"the circuit things are difficult because of the drawings"

"Kirchhoff's Rules, because it is difficult to determine the change in voltage or the change in current."

"Circuts still confuse me I don't understand parallel and series."

"Magnetic fields are hard to wrap my mind around."

"all of them"

"circuits are the most confusing to me and how to add them together in parallel or series and whether you subtract them or add them."

"I have never had such a hard time understanding something and the lab yesterday just confused me more with all those wires"