Scherr & Redish, The Physics Teacher (2005)

Newton's zeroth law: Learning from listening to our students

R. E. Scherr & E. F. Redish, The Physics Teacher, 43, p 41-45 (2005).

Abstract: Introductory physics students have difficulty with free-body diagrams. A principle we call “Newton’s Zeroth Law” articulates important (but usually tacit) ideas underlying them. In this paper we explain our use of Newton’s Zeroth Law in the introductory algebra-based course at the University of Maryland. We also discuss how one student’s “misconception” led us to see that an alternative formulation of Newton’s laws is possible, one that we had not previously considered, even after many years of teaching the subject.