Students’ use of conceptual resources for understanding superposition

Abstract

In this paper, we report the preliminary results of an investigation into introductory physics students' conceptual resources for understanding the principle of superposition. We analyzed 368 written responses to a conceptual question that asked students about situations for which the principle of superposition is useful/relevant. We identified four recurring resources related to superposition: (1) localization; (2) independence; (3) quantifiability; and (4) additiveness. Our objective is to support educators by drawing attention to these resources and by suggesting how they can be taken up alongside students to enhance instruction.