A study of student teachers’ misconceptions on uniform circular motion

Uniform circular motion is one of the key mechanics topics in Physics that students fail to comprehend and master. In South Africa, uniform circular motion is currently not taught to Physical Sciences Matriculate learners and thus students are only introduced to it at university level. It is appreciated that poor comprehension of fundamental concepts and tenets of uniform circular motion leads to difficulties in understanding related topics such as Rotational Kinematics and Rotational Dynamics . This study investigated student teachers’ misconceptions about uniform circular motion and its pertinent underlying concepts such as tangential acceleration and centripetal acceleration. The study also attempted to figure out the source(s) of the ensuing misconceptions. The sample of the study consisted of 41 second-year Physical Sciences student teachers at a South African university. A multiple-choice test consisting of 20 questions on uniform circular motion was administered. Simple and explanatory statistical techniques were employed to analyse the data and appropriate intervention methods were proposed to curtail the identified misconceptions. The study revealed that factual misconceptions and conceptual misunderstandings were prevalent amongst the student teachers who took part in the research exercise.