Here is a list of surprising things that students don't know:
{{ whitepapers:dontknow:confusedstudent.jpg?300|Engaged Student}}
  * basis vectors that go with curvilinear coordinates 
  * matrices as transformations 
  * power series as approximations 
  * eigenvectors as the things that are "unchanged" by a transformation 
  * a geometric conception of fields 
  * that [[zeronumber|zero is a number]]
  * how to add two functions pointwise 
  * how to read equations as words 
  * what is planar about plane waves? 
  * geometric interpretations of dot and cross products 
  * the meaning of the vertical axis on a graph 
  * how to shift a graph left or right, up or down 
  * how to expand a sum (see video from E&E 5/29/09 FIXME)
  * do not understand what "features" are when asked to describe the features of a physical situation


  * Also see [[..:IntroContent:start|Intro Physics Content that Students Still Struggle with in Upper-Divison Courses]]