Analysis of the Processes of Application of Ampere's Laws by Engineering Students in Introductory Physics Courses

The main objective of this study is to analyze the reasoning of university students regarding Ampere’s law of electromagnetism. It has been supposed that the problems observed in the understanding and application of the law do not only come from students’ misconceptions, but also from students’ reasoning based on ‘common sense’ methodology. To test our hypothesis four open questions, with an emphasis on explanations, were designed. The results seem to confirm that most of students use incorrect forms of reasoning that show a lack of understanding of the field circulation operator, as well as a lack of understanding of the magnetic field itself.