The impact of the pre-instructional cognitive profile on learning gain and final exam of physics courses: a case study.

The case study described in this paper investigates the relationship among some pre-instructional knowledge, the learning gain and the final physics performance of computing engineering students in the introductory physics course. The results of the entrance engineering test (EET) have been used as a measurement of reading comprehension, logic and mathematics skills and basic physics knowledge of a sample of 47 Computing Engineering freshmen at the University of Palermo (Italy). These data give a significant picture of the initial knowledge status of a student choosing engineering studies. The students' physics learning gain has been calculated using a standardized tool in mechanics: the fo…

Diffusion of neutrons by a slab of moderating material: an application of the Monte Carlo Method

An application of the Monte Carlo method to the diffusion of neutrons passing through a slab of a moderating material is presented. This method can be used as a tool to improve the student's comprehension of the statistical properties of many particle systems, showing the necessity of simulation procedures to obtain information on the expected results of real experiments. We have chosen a very simple example to illustrate it: the evaluation of the transmission, reflection and absorption probabilities of a monochromatic beam of neutrons diffusing through a slab of a moderator material. After a collision with a nucleus of the moderator the neutron may be either elastically scattered or captur…

Diffusion of neutrons by a slab of moderating material