Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics

Superposition gives rise to the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics and is therefore one of the concepts at the heart of quantum mechanics. Although we have found that many students can successfully use the idea of superposition to calculate the probabilities of different measurement outcomes,...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Gina Passante, Paul J. Emigh, Peter S. Shaffer
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Physical Society 2015
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Physics QC1-999
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/bab3bf05f9df41fca6cf3ea34f8a1fc3
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:bab3bf05f9df41fca6cf3ea34f8a1fc3
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:bab3bf05f9df41fca6cf3ea34f8a1fc32021-12-02T11:12:18ZStudent ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.0201351554-9178https://doaj.org/article/bab3bf05f9df41fca6cf3ea34f8a1fc32015-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020135http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020135https://doaj.org/toc/1554-9178Superposition gives rise to the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics and is therefore one of the concepts at the heart of quantum mechanics. Although we have found that many students can successfully use the idea of superposition to calculate the probabilities of different measurement outcomes, they are often unable to identify the experimental implications of a superposition state. In particular, they fail to recognize how a superposition state and a mixed state (sometimes called a “lack of knowledge” state) can produce different experimental results. We present data that suggest that superposition in quantum mechanics is a difficult concept for students enrolled in sophomore-, junior-, and graduate-level quantum mechanics courses. We illustrate how an interactive lecture tutorial can improve student understanding of quantum mechanical superposition. A longitudinal study suggests that the impact persists after an additional quarter of quantum mechanics instruction that does not specifically address these ideas.Gina PassantePaul J. EmighPeter S. ShafferAmerican Physical SocietyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691PhysicsQC1-999ENPhysical Review Special Topics. Physics Education Research, Vol 11, Iss 2, p 020135 (2015)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Physics QC1-999
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Physics QC1-999 Gina Passante Paul J. Emigh Peter S. Shaffer Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
description	Superposition gives rise to the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics and is therefore one of the concepts at the heart of quantum mechanics. Although we have found that many students can successfully use the idea of superposition to calculate the probabilities of different measurement outcomes, they are often unable to identify the experimental implications of a superposition state. In particular, they fail to recognize how a superposition state and a mixed state (sometimes called a “lack of knowledge” state) can produce different experimental results. We present data that suggest that superposition in quantum mechanics is a difficult concept for students enrolled in sophomore-, junior-, and graduate-level quantum mechanics courses. We illustrate how an interactive lecture tutorial can improve student understanding of quantum mechanical superposition. A longitudinal study suggests that the impact persists after an additional quarter of quantum mechanics instruction that does not specifically address these ideas.
format	article
author	Gina Passante Paul J. Emigh Peter S. Shaffer
author_facet	Gina Passante Paul J. Emigh Peter S. Shaffer
author_sort	Gina Passante
title	Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
title_short	Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
title_full	Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
title_fullStr	Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
title_full_unstemmed	Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
title_sort	student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics
publisher	American Physical Society
publishDate	2015
url	https://doaj.org/article/bab3bf05f9df41fca6cf3ea34f8a1fc3
work_keys_str_mv	AT ginapassante studentabilitytodistinguishbetweensuperpositionstatesandmixedstatesinquantummechanics AT pauljemigh studentabilitytodistinguishbetweensuperpositionstatesandmixedstatesinquantummechanics AT petersshaffer studentabilitytodistinguishbetweensuperpositionstatesandmixedstatesinquantummechanics
_version_	1718396185207635968

Student ability to distinguish between superposition states and mixed states in quantum mechanics

Ejemplares similares