New to my school, I inherited a variety of second year
(and some first year) students for APB. On our
circuits and fields test, there was one question;
given three identical resistors in a series/parallel
circuit (2 in parallel with one in series with the
pair), how does the current change in the remaining 2
resistors when one of the parallel pair burns out
(opens)? The vast majority of the second year students
got this question wrong, but yet could quite easily
solve end-of-chapter problems. These students had been
thru a traditional course last year. I'd maintain that
"problem solving ability" should at least include
(maybe focus on) solving problems of this sort where
one cannot simply rely on a set of algorithms. I think
this is an example of the value of non-quantitative
problems in assessing conceptual understanding. John
Barrere Apex Hs Apex, NC
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