The broad science view is on the science teachers page. Physics deserves a page of its own because its misconceptions are among the most thoroughly studied in any subject, and because so much of the content is equations and graphs.
Misconceptions physics students hold
- Heavier objects fall faster. Everyday experience with feathers, paper and air resistance supports it. In the absence of air resistance, objects fall with the same acceleration regardless of mass.
- A force is needed to keep an object moving. Friction hides the truth on every surface students know. A moving object with no net force keeps its velocity, and many students still answer as if motion needs a push.
- A thrown ball carries an upward force. After release the only force on a ball in the air (ignoring drag) is gravity, but students picture the throw "used up" gradually.
- Current is used up in a circuit. The bulb nearest the battery gets the most, and the one after it gets what is left. In a series circuit the current is the same at every point; energy is what is transferred.
- The bigger object exerts the bigger force in a collision. A truck hitting a car feels, to students, like a larger force from the truck. The two forces are equal and opposite.
What a physics practice item should look like
ClassSense practice items are multiple choice, and each wrong option is tied to a named misconception. Here is the form (an illustration, not a transcript):
A hockey puck slides across ice at constant speed. Ignoring friction, which statement about the horizontal forces is correct? (a) There is a forward force that keeps it moving. (b) The net horizontal force is zero. (c) The forward force is slightly larger than gravity. (d) The force from the player's stick is still acting.
Options (a) and (d) are the force-to-keep-moving idea in two forms. Feedback that names the idea and reminds the student that velocity does not need a net force is worth far more than "incorrect".
What uploads well
Conceptual notes, slides with real text, reading guides, and problem sets where the question is a sentence with numbers in it. Word problems extract well. So do verbal statements of laws and the qualitative reasoning around them: what happens to the acceleration if the mass doubles, what happens to the brightness of a bulb if a second bulb is added in series.
Be realistic about equations and graphs. Equations typeset as images, free-body diagrams, motion graphs, ray diagrams, circuit schematics and field-line pictures do not extract. A kinematics unit that is mostly position versus time graphs will contribute only the words around them. The packs will still be accurate for the written reasoning, but they will under-represent the part of physics that is read from a picture. Test one unit before you commit a term to it.
Calculations and checking
Generated numerical items should be checked before release, as you would check any answer key. See checking AI lessons for errors. ClassSense grades the selected answer. It does not read a student's worked solution or award credit for a correct method, so setting up the free-body diagram and choosing the right equation remain things you teach and mark yourself.
Where it fits in a physics course
Use it before the lab
Prediction items on the concept, so students commit to an answer before they see the apparatus.
Use it after the lab
Items on interpreting what happened, with the misconception named when the prediction was wrong.
Use the grid to choose a reteach
A class that is Struggling on net force and Mastered on vectors needs a different Monday than the reverse.
ClassSense does not build labs or run demos, and it cannot grade the derivations or diagrams your students produce on paper. For the general mechanics of how mastery is calculated, the page on that topic has the specifics.
Common questions
Can it handle equations?
Equations typed as plain text come through. Equations typeset as pictures do not. Check one unit to see how much of yours arrives.
Will it grade a free-body diagram?
No. Student practice in the app is multiple choice, and diagrams drawn on paper are yours to mark.
Does it cover Newton's laws?
It follows your unit. If your notes cover them it will build packs on them and name the usual misconceptions, and you can review or remove anything.
Can it set up a lab?
No. It does not build labs or run live demonstrations.