Difficulties experienced by university students in the conceptualizations of basic parameters from the equation of mechanical waves and their treatments in physics textbooks

Abstract

In the initial university cycle, and forming part of the Mechanics contents, the study of the transverse mechanical waves is addressed by representing them mathematically through a harmonic function of two variables. This function involves characteristic parameters whose nature is not easily understood by students. We present a study about the learning achieved by students from different scientific-technological careers, regarding the meanings of amplitude, frequency, the speed of propagation, wavelength and initial phase in this equation. Besides, we inquired about the treatment given to these parameters in Physics books which are frequently used in the initial cycle, observing if their physical origins are adequately explained. The study shows that students present difficulties in understanding the wave behavior from a phenomenological point of view, as well as in interpreting the physical meaning of the phase constant. Furthermore, we observed that not all the authors of the analyzed Mechanics books refer explicitly to them and with the necessary appropriate details. Recommendations about the design of didactic strategies that favour the understanding of the wave phenomenon and its propagation by students are given to teachers and professors.