ORONO, Maine, Aug. 27 -- University of Maine issued the following news release:
A student can earn a good grade in calculus, walk into a physics class and suddenly feel like none of it makes sense.
The equations may look familiar. The math may even be something the student has already practiced. But figuring out which idea applies, how to set up the problem and what the answer means in the physical world can be much harder.
It is like a new driver learning the rules of the road, then having to apply them in real traffic.
John Thompson, a professor of physics at the University of Maine, studies that disconnect.
"The mathematical computation is typically the easiest part," Thompson said. "Setting up the math problem that you have to do, ...