Formulas in Physics Have a “Standard” Form
Author(s) -
Matthew J. Moelter,
Martin A. Jackson
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the physics teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.411
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1943-4928
pISSN - 0031-921X
DOI - 10.1119/1.4758146
Subject(s) - reading (process) , mathematics education , theoretical physics , physics education , standard model (mathematical formulation) , physics , calculus (dental) , mathematics , philosophy , linguistics , history , archaeology , gauge (firearms) , medicine , dentistry
We discuss the importance of the ordering of symbols in physics formulas and identify implicit conventions that govern the “standard” form for how formulas are written and interpreted. An important part of writing and reading this form is understanding distinctions among constants, parameters, and variables. We delineate these conventions and encourage instructors to make them explicit for students.
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