1Charneique Mitchell

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4/29/15 4:14 AM

Spring 2015

The Nature of the Scientists Knowledge

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7sing the language of knowledge states and operators, how can we characterize
8more precisely the knowledge a scientist brings to solving problems? A physicist
9solving the sled problem might begin a solution in the following way.
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The key thing is that the sled (with the girl) moves at constant

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speed. That means theres no net force increasing or decreasing the speed of

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this system. So, in each direction, the forces on the girl-sled system must

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balance, yielding a zero net force. I can therefore separately add up the

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horizontal and vertical components of the forces on the girl-sled system and

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make them balance. In the horizontal direction, the forces are the horizontal

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component of force due to the rope Fry , and the frictional force f. These

The Nature of the Scientist_CMitchell

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forces balance, so Fry = f. In the vertical direction, the downward force is

Spring 2015

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equal to the weight of the girl-sled system (W). The upward force is a

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combination of the vertical component of the force due to the rope, Frv , and

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the normal force N exerted on the sled by the snow. The upward and

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downward forces must balance, so N + Frv = W. [Note that the expert

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picks up a point that the student, simply juggling symbols, missed:

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the normal force alone does not balance the full weight of the girl

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and sled, because the girl is pulling up as well as forward.] The

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frictional force f depends on the normal force N and the coefficient of friction

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. So f = N. I can now combine these equations to solve for r in terms of Fr

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and W. [Note that the expert has not yet used specific numerical values for

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any of the quantities, but first solves the problem in general.]

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ven these initial statements soggiest a very different solution

process from that of typical physics students. What can we infer
about the knowledge states and operators used here? First, the

scientists initial state seems to be quite different from the symbol-quantity

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state characteristic of students. The physicists initial state, for example,

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clearly contains the information that the sleds speed is constant and

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explicitly groups the girls and sled, calling them the girl-sled system. Then,

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the physicist applies successive operators, which each add more information

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about the system. The first operator applied adds the information that in

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every direction the forces on this system must balance, or yield a net force

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of zero. The next operators add information about the forces in the horizontal

The Nature of the Scientist_CMitchell

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and vertical direction. There is a very visual or spatial flavor to these

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comments, and physicist solutions often contain diagrams like that in Figure

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8.3. Using the language of knowledge states and operators, how can we

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characterize more precisely the knowledge a scientist brings to solving

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problems?

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Biology

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Physics

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Chemistry

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Biotechnology

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Biochemistry

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Astrology
Application Tools

Courseware

Operating Systems

Word Processing

Stimulation

Internet Explorer

Database

Problem Solving

Foxfire

Microsoft Excel

Drill and Practice

Netscape

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The Nature of the Scientist_CMitchell