  The Physics Education Group at the University of Washington is examining the
extent to which students are able to use graphs of potential energy vs.
position to infer kinematic and dynamic quantities for a system. The findings
indicate that many students have difficulty in relating the graphs to
real-world systems. Some problems seem to be graphical in nature (e.g.,
interpreting graphs of potential energy vs. position as graphs of position vs.
time). Others involve relating the graphs to total, kinetic, and potential
energies, especially when the potential energy is negative. The results have
implications beyond the introductory level since graphs of potential energy are
used in advanced courses on classical and quantum mechanics.
