Small White Board Question: Representations of Vectors
AIMS Maxwell 2021
Students each recall a representation of vectors that they have seen before and record it on an individual whiteboard. The instructor uses these responses to generate a whole class discussion that compares and contrasts the features of the representations. If appropriate for the class, the instructor introduces bra/ket notation as a new, but valuable representation.
- assignment_ind Small White Board Question 5 min. Student handout (PDF)
- Search for related topics
Vectors graphing visualization Matrix BraKet
What students learn
There are many different representations of vectors, including:
- an algebraic name (preferably with an arrow over it);
- arrows in the plane or in space;
- rows or columns of numbers;
- a linear combination of basis vectors;
- a periodic function
(This representation may be new to some students. Do not introduce it unless it is appropriate for the course.) - an algebraic name inside a ket
(This representation may be new to some students. Do not introduce it unless it is appropriate for the course.)
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Media
Write one representation of a vector. The class as a whole should try to generate as many representations as possible.
- Keywords
- Vectors graphing visualization Matrix BraKet
- Learning Outcomes
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