Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama 2010, 6 (1):235-266

Journal of Theory and Practice in Education Articles /Makaleler

ISSN: 1304-9496 http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/6/2/faadeoye.pdf

EFFECTS OF PROBLEM-SOLVING AND

COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON
SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’
ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICS
(PROBLEM ÇÖZME VE ĠġBĠRLĠKÇĠ ÖĞRENME STRATEJĠLERĠNĠN ĠLKÖĞRETĠM
SON SINIF ÖĞRENCĠLERĠNĠN FĠZĠK BAġARISI ÜZERĠNE ETKĠLERĠ)
Femi Adetunji ADEOYE1
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the effects of problem-solving and cooperative learning strategies on senior secondary two (SS.II)
students’ achievement in physics. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design represented by 3x2 factorial
designs in a pretest, posttest control group setting. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 141 physics
students comprising of 78 males and 63 females. A validated Physics Achievement Test (PAT) instrument with reliability
coefficient of 0.75 was administered. Also, three validated instructional materials namely: Instructional Packages on
Problem-Solving Strategy (IPPS), Cooperative Learning Strategy (1PCLS) and Convention/traditional Method (IPCM) with
reliability values of 0.82, 0.79 and 0.76 respectively were used. The experimental groups I and II were exposed to Problem-
Solving Strategy (PS) and Cooperative Learning Strategy (CLS) while the Conventional/traditional method (CM) was used
for the control group. The study which lasted for five weeks had the training of the participatory teachers and research
assistants taken one week while treatment session took four weeks. Data collected were analysed using ANCOVA. Answers
were provided to 3 research questions generated for the study. The results showed that there is a significant effect of
treatment on achievement in physics among SS.II students with cooperative learning strategy (CLS) resulted in higher
achievement followed by problem-solving strategy (PS). The study also reveals significant gender effect in favour of male
and significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on physics achievement. The investigation concludes that CLS is an
effective learning strategy, which physics teachers should be encouraged to use in their teaching/learning process. Based on
this finding, it was recommended that practicing physics teachers at senior secondary level of education should use CLS and
should as well be implemented in all teacher education programmes in Nigeria.
Keywords: Problem-solving, Cooperative learning, Gender, Achievement in Physics, Senior Secondary Students

ÖZ
Bu çalıĢma, problem çözme ve iĢbirlikçi öğrenme stratejilerinin ilköğretim ikinci kademe son sınıf (ĠĠSS) öğrencilerinin
Fizik’teki baĢarısına etkilerini araĢtırmaktadır. ÇalıĢma, ön-test, son-test ve kontrol grubundaki 3x2 faktöriyel deseniyle
temsil edilen yarı deneysel bir araĢtırma desenini kullanmıĢtır. 78 erkek ve 63 bayandan oluĢan 141 Fizik öğrencisini seçmek
için çok aĢamalı bir örneklem tekniği kullanıldı. 0.75 güvenilirlik katsayısı olan geçerli bir Fizik BaĢarı Testi (FBT)
uygulanmıĢtır. Ayrıca, sırasıyla 0.82, 0.79 ve 0.76 güvenilirlik değerlerine sahip Problem-çözme Stratejisiyle ilgili
Yönergesel Paketler (PSYP), ĠĢbirlikçi Öğrenme Stratejisi (ĠÖS) ve Geleneksel Yöntem (GY) adında üç geçerli yönerge
materyali kullanılmıĢtır. Deney grubu I ve II üzerinde PS ve ĠÖS uygulanırken, kontrol grubunda GY kullanılmıĢtır. BeĢ
haftalık çalıĢmanın bir haftasında araĢtırma görevlilerinin ve katılımcı öğretmenlerin eğitimi sürerken, diğer dört haftada da
iyileĢtirme toplantısı yapıldı. Toplanan veriler ANCOVA kullanılarak analiz edildi. ÇalıĢma için üretilen üç araĢtırma
sorusuna cevaplar bulundu. Sonuçlara göre baĢarı sıralamasında Problem çözme Stratejisinin (PS) uygulandığı öğrencilerin
takip ettiği ĠĢbirlikçi öğrenme stratejisinin uygulandığı öğrencilerde daha yüksek baĢarının görülmesi ilköğretim ikinci
kademe son sınıf öğrencileri (ĠĠSS) arasında Fizik baĢarısı açısından önemli bir tedavi etkisinin olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.
ÇalıĢma erkeklerin lehine bir cinsiyet faktörünün ve tedaviyle cinsiyet arasındaki etkileĢimin fizik baĢarısına önemli etkisinin
olduğunu da göstermektedir. AraĢtırma ĠĢbirlikçi Öğrenme Stratejisinin (ĠÖS) öğretme/öğrenme sürecinde Fizik öğretmenleri
tarafından kullanılmaya teĢvik edilmesi gerektiği sonucuna varmıĢtır. Bu sonuca bağlı olarak, son sınıf ilköğretim
seviyesindeki uygulama yapan Fizik öğretmenlerinin ĠÖS’yi kullanmaları tavsiye edilmiĢtir.

Anahtar Sözcükler: problem çözme, iĢbirlikçi öğrenme, fizik dersi baĢarısı, son sınıf ilköğretim öğrencileri.

1
Ph.D (Science Education), M.Ed., B.Sc. (Ed) (Physics Education), N.C.E. (Chemistry/Physics). School of Education,
National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected]

© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.

© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
On Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement In Physics

INTRODUCTION

Physics is and will remain the fundamental science (Weham, Dorlin,

Snell and Taylor, 1984). This suggests that other sciences depend upon the
knowledge obtained through the study of physics. Physics is therefore an
important base in science and technology since it studies the essence of natural
phenomena and helps people to understand the increasing technological
changing society (Zhaoyao, 2002). In order for physics to perform its function
properly, instructional strategies in physics must be centred on methods of
seeking the truth which include those of problem detecting, problem-solving,
decision making, learning by experimenting and discovery learning. A
versatile and competent teacher of physics must acquaint himself or herself
with physics methodology and be well groomed in the application of the
various methods of teaching physics. Of great concern to the investigator is
that physics teachers use mostly the lecture method otherwise known as
conventional/traditional method. For impacting information under the lecture
approach, the teacher, according to Fenton (1967), Bruner (1969), Berliner
(1975) simply becomes only the expositor and drill master while the learner
remains the listener and a storehouse of facts that can be retrieved when a
student sees himself/herself being pointed to by his/her teacher to talk.
Some of the researches conducted in Nigeria and abroad have shown
that conventional/traditional method has negative effects on most of the
students (Orji, 1998, Sotayo, 2002; Gok& Silay, 2008). It has been discovered
even in well-developed countries that goals of science teaching cannot be
reached through the conventional method (Dieck, 1997, Rivard and Straw,
2000). Regarding the situation in Nigeria, it can be said that most students have
a negative attitude towards science lectures, especially physics, during their
education (Okpala, 1985; Aina, 2006). Available evidences from literature in
Nigeria indicated that students’ enrolment and achievement in the subject at
public examinations ( i.e. Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination
(SSCE), National Examinations Council (NECO), National Board for
Technical Education and Business (NABTEB) and University Matriculation
Examination (UME) have continued to decrease and worsen year after year
(Egbugara,1985; Orji,1998; Adeoye,2000; Sotayo,2002). The problems of
declining trend in students’ enrolment and underachievement in physics is not
peculiar to Nigeria alone. It has become international issue which must be
tackled realistically. Maloney, 1994; Gaigher, 2004; Alant, 2004 also reported
similar issues in their studies respectively.

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2010, 6 (2):235-266

Prominent among the factors which have been identified as contributing

to the persistent low enrolment and poor level of achievement in physics are:
poor teaching methods adopted by physics teachers (Olarinoye,1979;
Daramola,1982; Orji,1998; Sotayo,2002), the predominant use of text and
lecture instructional strategy by physics teachers (Iroegbu,1998; Orji,1998),
learner variables such as gender and cognitive style (Okpala & Onocha,1995;
Okpala & Adeoye,1999), lack of problem-solving ability (Adeoye,1993) etc.
It has therefore become apparent that the lecture method, which is
currently the predominantly teaching approach in Nigerian secondary schools,
is inappropriate and ineffective for achieving the high objectives of the physics
education. In the light of this however, it would be necessary to search for
more effective strategies which are suitable and efficient for promoting the
level of secondary school physics achievement beyond contemporary limits
and to the satisfaction of the current physics curriculum requirements. To this
end, the use of teaching strategies such as problem-solving and cooperative
learning could help to solve the problem of poor achievement in physics
because these strategies have been found to enrich the personal experiences of
students (Hollabaugh, 1995; Agbayewa, 1996; Alio & Paters, 2003; Saglam &
Millar, 2006, Kolawole & Ilugbusi, 2007).
Problem-solving is an important activity in the teaching and learning of
Mathematics and Science related courses. Jonassen (1997) defined problem-
solving as a complex activity that engages a variety of cognitive components
and skills, motivation/attitudinal components as well as psychological
components. Bolton and Ross (1997) sees problem-solving as a complex,
multi-layered skill, and not one that most students can be expected to develop
unaided. Problem-solving according to Dhillon (1998) is an investigative task
whereby the solver explores the solution path to reach a goal from give
information. All the sciences, both pure and applied, are centrally concerned
with developing and systematizing knowledge useful for solving various kinds
of problems (Selçuk, Çaliskan and Erol, 2008). Thus, education in sciences
must address the crucially important task of teaching students to become more
proficient problem-solvers. The basic problem-solving process is a linear,
hierarchical process. Each step is a result of the previous step and a precursor
to the next step. A popular method of teaching problem-solving involves the
use of “stage models”. Stage models are simplified lists of stages and steps
used in general problem-solving (Johnson, 1994). Polya’s (1957) prescription
for solving problems consists of four steps: The first step is description, by
identifying the unknown, the data and the condition and then drawing a figure
and introducing suitable notation. The second step is planning, in which the

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
On Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement In Physics

solver seeks a connection between the data and the unknown. If an immediate
connection is not found, the solver considers related problems or problems that
have already been solved and uses this information to devise a plan to reach
the unknown. In the third step, implementation, the steps outlined in part two
are carried out and each step is checked for correctness. In the final step
checking, the problem solution is examined and arguments are checked. These
four steps form the essential basic structure on which the constructions of
various problem-solving models have developed (Maloney, 1994). The present
study therefore is centred on the use of the four steps of problem-solving
developed by Polya (1957).
Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups in which
pupils /students work together to maximize and gain from each other (Johnson
and Johnson, 1994; 1999). In cooperative learning, pupils are expected to help,
discuss and argue with each other; assess each other’s current knowledge; and
fill any gaps in each other’s understanding ( Slavin, 1995). Cooperative
learning is a mode of learning in which students of different levels of ability
work together in small groups to achieve a purpose (Akinbobola, 2006).It
involves the use of a variety of learning activities to improve their
understanding of a subject (Slavin,1992). Students in a group interact with
each other, share ideas and information, seek additional information, and make
decisions about their findings to the entire class (Kort, 1992). Cooperative
learning is a student centred versus teacher centred leading to a stronger
emphasis on the goal of learning of a performance goals. It encourages
teachers to use alternative assessment techniques further reducing the emphasis
on competitive examinations (Slavin, 1992). Cooperative learning can be
shown as a sample of education of this kind (Mills, McKittrick, Mulhall and
Feteris 1999) and this method can easily be adapted to the current structure of
physics education (Samiullah, 1995). There are many different cooperative
learning techniques, however, all of them have certain elements in common as
established by Johnson, Johnson and Holubec (1991). These elements are the
ingredients necessary to ensure that when students do work in groups, they
work cooperatively: first, the members of a group must perceive that they are
part of a team and that they are all have a common goal; second group
members must realize that the problem they are to solve is a group problem
and that the success or failure of the group will be shared by all members of
the group; third, to accomplish the group’s goal, all students must talk with one
another to engage in discussion of all problems; finally, it must be clear to all
that each member’s individual work has a direction effect on the group
success. Team work is utmost important. Cooperative learning strategies have

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2010, 6 (2):235-266

been shown to enhance students’ learning and social relations relative to

conventional/traditional whole class methods of learning ( Esan, 1999;
Adeyemi, 2002; Kolawole, 2008; Adesoji and Ibraheem, 2009). The present
study therefore adopted Students Team-Achievement Division (STAD)
cooperative learning strategy to teach the participants with a view to finding
out its efficacy in the teaching of physics.
Researches (Balogun, 1994; Erinosho, 1994; Park and Norton, 1996;
Raimi, 2002) have shown that both in Nigeria and abroad that learner
characteristics such as gender affect learning outcomes in Mathematics and
science. This issue of gender in relation to performance in Mathematics and
Science had been a major concern to science educators and science education
researchers for long (Adeoye, 2000; Raimi, 2002). This is due to three
conflicting nature of results from researches that focus on gender issues in
science and Mathematics achievement. The first trend portrays a significant
gender difference in science achievement in favour of males (Lynch and
Patterson, 1980; Howe and Shayer, 1981, Nworgu, 1985; Opyene and Okurut,
1995; Raimi, 2002); the second portrays a significant gender difference in
science achievement in favour of females ( Balogun and Olanrewaju, 1985;
Deboer, 1986; Iroegbu, 1998), while the third portrays non-significant gender
difference in achievement in both subjects ( Ivowi,1983, Nworgu, 1986, Orji,
1998). These results suggest that gender stereotyping is still persisting in
Nigeria learning environment (Obanya, 2004), thus, the study also sought to
establish the impact of gender on physics achievement.
This study therefore investigated the effects of problem-solving,
cooperative learning and conventional/traditional strategies on senior
secondary two (SS.II) students’ achievement in physics. Specifically the study
addressed the following research questions:
(i.) Is there any significant effect of treatment (Problem-solving, cooperative
learning and conventional/traditional strategies) on achievement in physics
among SS.II students?
(ii.) Do SS.II males and females exposed to the different treatments differ in
their achievement in physics?
(iii.) Is there any significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on
achievement in physics among SS.II students?

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
On Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement In Physics

METHOD

Design
The study employed a quasi-experimental research design represented
by 3x2 factorial design. Specifically, the study was non-randomized pre-test,
post-test control group design. This design was chosen because intact classes
were used instead of randomly composed samples. This is in view of the fact
that secondary school classes exist as intact groups and school authorities do
not normally allow the classes to be dismantled and reconstituted for research
purposes ( Fraenkel and Wallen, 2002). The advantage of this design over
others is its ability to control the major threats to internal validity except those
associated with interaction and history, maturity and instrumentation (Cook
and Campbell, 1979). In the present study, no major event was observed in the
sample schools to introduce the threat of history and interaction. The
conditions under which the instruments were administered were kept as similar
as possible across the 9 schools in order to control instrumentation and
selection. The schools were randomly assigned to the treatments and control
groups to control for selection, maturation and interaction (Ary, Jacobs and
Razavien, 1996).
Symbolically, the design of the study may be represented as shown below.

O1 X O2 = Experimental group 1(E1)

O1 Y O2 = Experimental group 11(E2)
O1 Z O2 = Control group (C)
where O1 = Pre-test
O2 = Post-test
X = Problem-Solving Strategy (PS)
Y = Cooperative Learning Strategy (CLS)
Z = Conventional/Traditional Method (CM)

Selection of Content for the Study

The physics concepts selected for this study were Electricity and
Magnetism. The choices were based on students’ conceptual misunderstanding
of electricity and magnetism as the most difficult topics within physics to learn
and understand (Coftus, 1996; Aina, 2006; Chabay and Sherwood, 2006).
According to students, the topic contains difficult mathematical operations and
they find most of the concepts relating to the topic intangible and cannot
directly be associated with daily life (Kocakulah, 1999; Raduta, 2005).

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2010, 6 (2):235-266

Population
The population of the study comprised of all the Senior Secondary Two
(SS.11) physics students in all the co-educational secondary schools in Lagos
Island Local Government of Lagos State, Nigeria.

Sample and Sampling Technique

The study involved the use of a multi-stage sampling technique. Firstly,
a purposive sampling was employed to select 9 public secondary schools. The
criteria used for the selection included:
i. schools that have at least one graduate physics teacher with at least
twelve years of post-graduation teaching experience.
ii. schools that have fairly equipped and functional laboratory for
physics teaching.
iii. schools that are co-educational
iv. schools located in the urban area of the local government area
considered for the study.
Intact classes of the 9 schools were used for the study. 3 schools each were
randomly assigned to problem-solving, cooperative learning and
conventional/traditional method groups respectively. A total of 141 senior
secondary two physics students consisting of 78 male and 63 female formed
the sample of this study.

Research Instrument
The two measuring instruments used for the study are Physics
Achievement Test (PAT) and Problem-solving Worksheets.
(i). Physics Achievement Test (PAT)
The PAT consisted of 40 Multiple Choice Items developed by the
investigator from selected content for the study on Electricity and Magnetism
(see Appendix 1). The face validity of PAT was determined by 3 experienced
Physics educators from University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria and 2 seasoned
and experienced physics teachers from two secondary schools in Ikeja Local
Government Area of Lagos State. The PAT was constructed using a balanced
table of specification inline with the classification of Education Testing
Service (ETS) of United States to reflect three categories of cognitive tasks
namely: remembering, understanding and thinking. PAT was trial tested on a
group of students that had similar characteristics as the sample students and
whose schools met the criteria used for selection of sample but not used for the
main study. The reliability coefficient of PAT was calculated using Kuder-

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
On Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement In Physics

Richardson Formula 21 (K-R 21) which gives a value of 0.75. This value is
considered adequate for this study.
(ii). Problem-solving Worksheets
Problem-solving worksheets had been prepared to determine the
problem-solving strategies used by students while solving a physics problem.
The problems were arranged at different difficulty level and students in the 2
experimental and control groups were required to solve them i.e. physics
problem-solving performance test (see Appendix 11). The responses to the
problem-solving worksheets were to be solved individually. Evaluation of the
problems solved by the 3 groups was made by the investigator. Common
strategies of the students were determined while students were solving physics
problems according to achievement and gender. Problem-solving performance
of the students was evaluated according to “evidence of conceptual
understanding, usefulness of description, match of equations with description,
reasonable plan, logical progression, proper mathematics (Heller, Keith and
Anderson, 1992). The characteristics in this scheme were graded equally and
normalized to obtain a score over 100 scores. Problem prepared during this
study were based on the classification of Education Testing Service (ETS) of
United States to reflect three categories of cognitive tasks namely:
remembering, understanding and thinking. Problem-solving steps which would
be used to solve the problems were selected as, understanding (focus on the
problem), planning (plan the solution), solving (execute the plan), and
checking (evaluate the answer) (Polya, 1957; Heller, Keith and Anderson,
1992).

Instructional Materials Used for Study

Three instructional materials used for the study are:

(i) Instructional Package on Problem-Solving Strategy (IPPS)

(ii) Instructional Package on Cooperative Learning Strategy (IPCLS)
(iii) Instructional Package on Conventional/Traditional Method (IPCM)

The IPPS, IPCLS and IPCM were designed by the investigator based on
the selected content of the study. The packages were validated by the set of
experts used for PAT and the reliability coefficient of each was calculated
using split half reliability method. The reliability indices of 0.82, 0.79 and 0.76
were obtained for the three packages respectively. The values were considered
adequate for this study.

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2010, 6 (2):235-266

Research Procedure
This study was carried out in 4 stages namely training, pre-testing,
treatment and post-testing.
Training Stage: This involved a one week training programme for the 9
regular physics teachers who performed the teaching during treatment period.
The training involved grouping the teachers to reflect the group of students
they were to handle (i.e.3 teachers each for each of the two experimental and
the control groups.
The experimental group 1 (E1) teachers were trained by the investigator
on how to use the IPPS, the experimental group 11 (E2) teachers were trained
on how to use the IPCLS while the control group ( C) teachers were trained
with the IPCM, that is, lesson notes prepared by the investigator. Hence, all the
experimental and the control groups’ teachers were very familiar with their
respective assignments. Also trained were 9 research assistants who served as
observers throughout the treatment period.
Pre-testing Stage: This involved the administration of PAT on the
subjects in all the 9 selected schools. The PAT was administered to all the 3
treatment groups as Pre-test in order to ascertain the homogeneity of the
treatment groups.
Treatment Stage: The 9 trained physics teachers commenced treatment
after their pre-testing session. During treatment, all the trained teachers applied
what they learnt from the training session in their various groups as stated
below.

(i). Experimental Group 1 (E1)

Treatment in this group involved the following steps.
- The trained physics teachers conduct practice sessions where they
explain the problem-solving process and strategies to raise students’
awareness of the purpose and rationale of strategy use.
- Teachers give students opportunities to practice the strategies which
they are being taught.
- Teachers provide frequent feedback to students on the quality and
strengths of the strategy being used.
- Teachers provide students with the content of instruction and then
strategy application practices to implement within the regularly
scheduled physics lectures.
- Teachers provide students a problem-solving worksheet which
contained 10-multistep problems related with the selected contents of
study during practice sessions to facilitate strategy application.

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
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- Students were strongly encouraged to solve these problems individually

by using strategies taught and complete the worksheets by handwritten.
- Teachers did not provide assistance in this process.
- Teachers collect all completed worksheets and examined to determine
the extent to which students effectively use the strategies taught.
- In the first 10minutes of the next lesson, students should be given
feedback showing how they responded and corrections if necessary.

(ii). Experimental Group 11 (E2)

Treatment in this group involved the following steps.
- The trained physics teachers conduct practice sessions where he
explains the problem-solving process and strategies to raise students’
awareness of the purpose and rationale of strategy use.
- Students in 5 heterogeneous academic teams within the group engaged
themselves in intensive cooperative study by practicing the strategies
being taught.
- Teachers provide frequent feedback to students in the teams on the
quality and strengthen of the strategy being used.
- Teachers provide students with the content of instruction and then
strategy application practices to implement within the regularly
scheduled physics lectures.
- Teachers provide students a problem-solving worksheet which
contained 10-multistep problems related with the selected contents of
study during practice sessions to facilitate strategy application.
- Students were directed to solve the problems individually without
assistance from their teammate using strategies taught and complete the
worksheets by handwritten.
- Teachers collect all completed worksheets and examine to determine the
extent to which students effectively use the strategies taught.
- The average scores of members of each team are calculated to find the
team’s mark.
- In the first 10minutes of the next lesson, students should be given
feedback showing how they responded and corrections if necessary.

(iii). Control Group (C)

Treatment in this group involved the following steps.
- Here students sat individually and not in group throughout the lesson.
- The trained physics teachers conduct practice sessions in form of lecture
using conventional/traditional technique of teaching problem-solving.

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2010, 6 (2):235-266

- Students listened to the teachers and wrote down chalkboard summary.

- Students asked teachers questions on areas of the content that is not
clear to them.
- Teachers provide students a problem-solving worksheet which
contained 10-multistep problems related with the selected contents of
study during practice sessions to facilitate strategy application.
- Students were strongly encouraged to solve these problems individually
during the problem-solving hours without explicit problem-solving
instruction and complete the worksheets by handwritten.
- Teachers did not provide assistance in this process.
- Teachers collect all completed worksheets and examined to determine
the extent to which students effectively use the strategies taught.
- In the first 10minutes of the next lesson, students should be given
feedback showing how they responded and corrections if necessary.

The subjects in the 2 experimental and control groups were taught the same
content using the same length of time to learn the content. The trained physics
teachers taught the 2 experimental groups with lesson notes prepared using the
stages from Polya’s prescription for solving problems.
During the treatment period which lasted for 4 weeks of 3 periods of 40
minutes per period per week, the 9 trained observers monitored the teaching in
all the 9 schools to make sure the teachers were implementing the various
teaching strategies. The investigator also paid unannounced visit to the 6
experimental and 3 control groups classes once a week to monitor the activities
of both the teachers and observers so as to determine how accurate and
consistent they are in operationalization of the treatment conditions.

Post-testing Stage
This involved the administration of PAT at the end of the 5th week of
treatment on the subjects in all the 9 selected schools. The test methodology
and the time allotted for the post-test measures were equal to those of the pre-
test measures. At the end, the investigator scored the pre-tests and post-tests
and generated quantitative data, which were analysed.

Data Analysis
The post-test achievement scores were subjected to Analysis of
Covariance (ANCOVA) using pre-test scores as covariates. The data were
further subjected to the Scheffe post-hoc analysis to determine the sources of

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
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observed differences. Graphical illustrations were also employed as post-hoc

measures to disentangle significant interaction effects.

RESULTS

Table 3.1. Summary of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of Physics

Post-test Achievement Scores by Treatment and Gender

Sources of Sum of Mean

Variation Squares df Square F Sig. of F

Covariates 36.532 1 36.532 1.946 .165

Pre-test 36.532 1 36.532 1.946 .165

Main Effects 4422.050 3 1474.017 78.519 .000
Treatment 4267.012 2 2133.506 113.649 .000*

Gender 155.039 1 155.039 8.259 .025*

2-Way
Interaction 1052.136 2 526.068 28.023 .000

Treatment X
Gender 1052.136 2 526.068 28.023 .000*

Explained 5510.718 6 918.453 48.927 .000

Residual 2515.551 134 18.773

Total 8026.270 140 57.330

*
Significant at p < 0.05

Table3.1 shows data on analysis of covariance of physics test scores by

treatment (teaching strategies) and gender. The table shows a significant main
effect of treatment (F2, 140 = 78.519; p < 0.05) as well as significant main effect
of gender (F1, 140 = 8.259; p < 0.05). There is also a significant interaction
effect of treatment and gender (F2, 140 = 28.023; p < 0.05).

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Table3.2. Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) of Post-test

Achievement Scores by Treatment and Gender
Grand Mean = 18.35

Variable + Category Unadjusted Unadjusted Adjusted for

Deviation Deviation Independent + Beta
N ‘Eta’ Variable

Treatment
(i). Problem-solving Strategy 48 .92 .95

(ii). Cooperative Learning 42 6.95 6.95

Strategy
(iii).Conventional/Traditional 51 -6.59 -6.61
Method
.73 .73
Gender
(i).Male 78 .85
.94
(ii). Female 63 -1.05 -1.17

.13 .14

Multiple R Squared .555

Multiple R .745

Table 3.2 shows data on MCA of PAT Scores by treatment and gender
groups. The data show that the cooperative learning strategy group has the
highest adjusted post-test mean scores of 25.30 followed by the problem-
solving strategy group and the conventional/traditional method group with
adjusted post-test mean scores of 19.30 and 11.74 respectively. The MCA table
also shows that male students had higher adjusted post-test mean scores of
19.29 than their female counterparts with 17.18. In all, the MCA reveals a
multiple R squared value of 0.555 and beta values of 0.73 and 0.14 for
treatment and gender respectively. It means that the treatment alone is able to
account for 53.29% (0.73)2 of the variation in students achievement in physics.
The beta value of gender influence is 0.14 indicating that only 1.96% (0.14)2 of
the variation in students (generally) can be accounted for by gender.

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
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Table 3.3. Scheffe Test Comparison of Treatment Groups

Mean Strategies Group Treatment Groups

C/TM PS CL

11.7647 C/TM
19.2708 PS *
25.3095 CL * *

* Denotes pairs of groups significantly different at p< 0.05

C/TM = Conventional/Traditional Method
PS = Problem-Solving
CL = Cooperative Learning

The results from the post-hoc analysis (Table3.3) show that students in
the cooperative learning strategy group performed significantly better than
their counterparts in either of the problem-solving strategy or
conventional/traditional method groups. The result also shows that students in
problem-solving strategy group performed significantly better than those in
conventional/traditional method group. The table also shows that significant
differences in students’ achievement existed between students exposed to
cooperative learning (CL) (experimental group 11) and
conventional/traditional method (C/TM) (control group), students exposed to
problem solving (PS) (experimental group 1) and conventional/traditional
method (C/TM) as well as between students exposed to cooperative learning
(CL) (experimental group 11) and problem solving (PS) (experimental group
1). These results are indications that students’ achievement in physics could be
significantly improved by exposing the students to cooperative learning
strategy and problem solving strategy. Thus, cooperative learning is the most
preferred strategy of all the methods considered in this study.
The significant two-way interaction of treatment and gender was disentangled
as shown in Figure 1.

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40

35

30

25

Score
20

M
15 F

10

0
E1 E2 C
Treatment

Figure 1: Graphical Illustration of Effect of Treatment and Gender on

Achievement in Physics

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

First, the analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the
pre-test mean scores of students in the 3 groups (i.e. PS, CL and C/T
methods).Hence; the groups were homogenous since the highest and lowest
means do not differ by more than the shortest significant range within the
group (Best and Kahn, 1989).
A significant difference has been detected between pre-test and post-test
achievement scores for the 3 groups of students selected for the study. The
differences are in favour of post-test scores indicating that at the end of the
teaching (treatment) there was an improvement in academic achievement of
the students of the 3 groups. However, when the post-test achievement scores
of the 3 groups were compared, it was found that cooperative learning strategy
(E2) students had higher achievement score than the problem solving strategy
(E1) students while problem solving strategy (E1) students also had higher
achievement score than conventional/traditional method (C) students. At this
point, it was found that cooperative learning strategy increased academic

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
On Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement In Physics

achievement of students to a higher level followed by the problem- solving

strategy and conventional/traditional method in that order. This finding is in
agreement with the results of other studies such as Okebukola (1984), Alebiosu
(1998), Johnson, Johnson & Smith (1998), Esan (1999), Boxtel, Linden &
Kanselaar (2000), Balfakih (2003), Daubenmire (2004).
The result that cooperative learning strategy is the most successful
among the 3 teaching strategies is explicable considering the views of Tanel &
Erol (2008) that cooperative learning strategy provides a better learning
environment with discussions while learning physics topics and helps students
to learn in an easily, effective and meaningful way. In addition, the interaction
of students with each other when solving problems, deciding on a solution by
discussing with each other and evaluating different views provide them a better
understanding atmosphere as pointed out by other studies (Heller &
Hollabaugh, 1992; Yu & Stokes, 1998; Alebiosu, 1998; Esan, 1999.
On the issue of significant gender difference, the mean scores of both
the male and female students in the post-test reflect that there were
improvement in the achievement from what they were in the pre-test for the 3
groups in physics. However, the improvement was more to the side of the male
students. That is, the post-test mean score of the male students is greater than
that of the female students in physics achievement. This significant effect of
gender in favour of male students corroborates the findings of Golbeck (1986),
Okpala & Onocha, (1988), Onafowokan & Okpala (1998). In the light of this
result, it seems that the gender issues associated with physics achievement is
traceable to numerical ability of the testees (Iroegbu, 1998; Adeoye, 2000).
This result seems explicable considering the study results of Iroegbu and
Okpala (1998) and Okpala and Adeoye (1999) that males would achieve better
than females when test items are based on physics concepts that require
learners of high numerical ability while the reverse would be the case when the
test is based on physics concepts that require learners of low numerical ability.
The result of significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on
physics achievement simply suggests that the effects of using cooperative
learning strategy followed by problem solving strategy while teaching physics
seems to be students gender sensitive. The reported interaction (see figure 1) is
such that students exposed to cooperative learning strategy (E2) followed by
problem solving strategy (E1) performed better than their counterparts in the
conventional/traditional method group irrespective of the student’s gender. In
addition, figure 1, shows that the differential effect of treatments taking
together (i.e. E1, E2 & C) on physics achievement across the students’ gender
group was such that the impact was more on male than female. That is, the

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differences that exist in the scores of male students in the three groups are
more than that of the female students. Nevertheless, a critical look at the figure
1 would reveal that male and female students exhibited highest achievement
under cooperative learning strategy (males= 38, females = 31) as against their
achievement under problem solving strategy (males = 20, females = 29) and
the conventional/traditional method (males = 19, females = 17). The figure
also shows that male students appear to benefit more from cooperative learning
than female students; while female students tend to benefit more from
problem-solving strategy than male students. That is, the male students have
advantages over their female counterparts in cooperative learning strategy
while the reverse is the case in the problem-solving strategy. Both male and
female students in the control group were at disadvantage when compared with
their colleagues in other two groups. These are irrespective of the tendency for
both male and female students to exhibit highest performance in physics when
exposed to cooperative learning strategy.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the use of
cooperative learning strategy as the most suitable method for teaching physics
and hence it should be preferred. It is obvious from the results of this study that
improved learning ability of male and female students depends on their
exposure to many teaching strategies. Therefore, in order to improve senior
secondary school males and females learning ability in physics, all the
stakeholders in teaching and learning should embrace the cooperative learning
strategy in our schools. In view of these findings, the idea of the physics
teachers limiting students to only conventional/traditional method should be
discouraged. Physics teachers should encourage team work among physics
students in order to work together cooperatively.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the above findings, the following recommendations are made:

(i) Pre-service and in-service method courses aimed at facilitating teachers’
capacity in integrating cooperative learning strategy in teaching should
be organised for physics teachers in Nigerian secondary schools.

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 Effects Of Problem-Solving And Cooperative Learning Strategies
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(ii) Educational policies and practices should be made to ensure that

cooperative learning strategy is used while teaching for acquisition of
knowledge of physics concepts.

(iii) Curriculum developers would find the study helpful in designing

appropriate instructional strategies involving cooperative learning,
which would enhance the learning of physics.

(iv) Practising physics teachers should be encouraged to use cooperative

learning strategy as a remedial treatment for female students who are
under-achievers in physics because of their gender orientation.

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Weham, E.J., Dorlin, G.W., Snell, J.A.N. and Taylor, B. (1984). Physics:
Concepts and Models (2nd ed). Addison Wesley.
Wright, D.S. and Williams, C.D. (1986). A wise-strategy for introductory
physics. The Physics Teacher, 24: 211-216.
Yu, K.N. and Stokes, M.J. (1998). Students teaching students in a teaching
studio. Physics Education, 33: 282 – 285.
Zhaoyao, M. (2002). Physics Education for the 21st Century: Avoiding a
Crisis. Physics Education, 37 (1): 18-24.

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APPENDIX 1

PHYSICS ACHIEVEMENT TEST (PAT)

1. Which one/ones of the following expression(s) is(are) correct where the resultant force vector
applied on the positive unit charge at point K by q1 and q2 charges was as in the figure above?.
q
I. 1 has positive charge q2 has negative charge
q q
II. Magnitude of the forces applied on the unit charge at point K by 1 and 2charges are
equal
q q
III. 1–2 2

(a) Only II (b) I and II (c) I and III (d) II and III (e) I, II and III

2. Two plates having surface area of 20 x 10 -4 m2 and distance of 0.4 x 10-3m between them are
connected to a 120 V battery. How much charge flows to the plates in nC?

(a) 5.31 (b) 4.12 (c) 2.30 (d) 8.56 (e) 12

3. An air capacitor is connected to a battery, and charged, and after charged, it is disconnected
from the battery, and then, connected to an ideal voltmeter. If a non conducive material
having higher dielectric constant is placed between its plates, then, which one/ones of the
following(s) occur(s)?

I. Its capacity increases

II. Its energy increases
III. The potential difference between its ends increases
IV. Its charge does not change

(a) Only III (b) Only II (c) Only II and III (d) I and IV (e) I, II, III and IV

4. A point charge of -8µC is located at the center of a sphere with a radius of 20cm. What is the
electric flux through the surface of this sphere in N.m2/C

(a) 19 x 105 (b) 8 x 105 (c) 2 x 105 (d) 105 (e) 6 x 105

5. Find i2, i2 and i3 currents at the circuit in the figure. (The internal resistances of the batteries
are neglected)

i1 i2 i3

(a) 2 -1 -1
(b) 1 1 2
(c) 1 2 1
(d) 2 -1 1
(e) -1 2 1

6. A circular surface with a radius of 30cm is turned to a position where the maximum flux was

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obtained in a regular electric field. At this position, the flux is measured as 5.4 x 104 N.m2/C.
How many N/C is the magnitude of the electric field?

(a) 1.10 5 (b) 2.105 (c) 4.105 (d) 6.105 (e) 8.105

7. Which one/ones of the followings are not the features of a conductor in an electrostatic
equilibrium?

I. The electric field in a conductor is zero

II. Excess charge is collected at the surface
III. Distribution of the charges is regular and independent of the geometry of the conductor
IV. No charge exists within the conductor

(a) Only II (b) Only III (c) Only IV (d) I, II and III (e) III and IV

8. Among the electrical charged spheres K.L.M.N; K attracts L, and repels N, and
M attracts N. According to this, which ones of the following spheres have the
same charge sign?

(a) K and L, M and N (b) K and M, L and N © K and N, L and M

(d) L, M, N (e) K, L, M

9. How many ohms is a resistance of a silver wire having a vertical cross section
area of 0.4mm2 and a length of 40m at 20oC temperature? (At 200C, the
resistively of the silver is p=1.6.0-8 Ωm)

(a) 4 (b) 10 (c) 1.6 (d) 1.2 (e) 50

10. Which one/ones of the following information given for the electric field lines
constituted by the standing charges are correct?
I. The lines must begin on positive charges and terminates on negative charges
II. The electric field vector is tangent to the electric field line at each point
III. E is small when the field lines are close together and large when they are far part.

(a) Only I (b) Only II (c) Only III (d) I and II (e) II and III

11. The total electric flux passing through a cylinder shape closed surface is 8.6 x 104 N.m2/C.
How many nC is the net electric charge within the cylinder?
(a) 860 (b) 124.2 (c) 570 (d) 213 (e) 761.1

12. A thermocouple has an e.m.f of 3mV. It can not be balanced directly on a

potentiometer wire of length 100cm connected to a driver (supply) of 2.0V
because

(a) the current in the wire is too low

(b) the balance – length would be too high
(c) the wire p.d. is too high
(d) the balance – length would be near the middle of the wire
(e) the thermocouple e.m.f needs to be lower.

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13. A 0-10m A moving –coil meter of 5ohm resistance can be coverted into a 0-2A meter by a
resistance R with the meter when

(a) R= 0.025uL in parallel

(b) R = 0,025uL in series
(c) R = 190uL in series
(d) R=0.050uL in parallel
(e) R = 0.10uL in parallel

14. A 50V d.c motor has a coil of 0.1uL. At 30rev min-1, the current flowing is 5.0A. When the
current flowing is less than 5.0A, the number of rev min -1 is

(a) less than 30

(b) more than 30
(c) 30
(d) 10
(e) 0

15. The flux linking a solenoid is 10Wb when the steady current flowing is 2A. If the inductance
of the coil is L henries, H, then the best is as follows:

(a) L =5H and the solenoid core is air

(b) L = 5H and the solenoid core is iron
(c) L =0.2H and the solenoid core is air
(d) L = 0.02H and the solenoid core is air
(e) L = 20H and the solenoid core is iron

16. The angle between the magnetic and geographical (longitudinal) meridians is called the angle
of dip

(a) Inclination
(b) Elevation
(c) Depression
(d) Declination (variation

17. It is adequate to protect a building from lightning by

(a) fixing a long wooden pole with sharp spikes to the outside wall
(b) fixing a long copper strip from the ground along the outside wall to a sharp vertical spike
on the roof
(c) fixing a long, thick rubber strip with sharp spikes to the outside wall
(d) using a long, wire to suspend high resistances diagonally across the roof
(e) using no metal materials for the roof of the house

18 A transformer is connected to a 24OV supply. The primary coil has 2, 4000 turns and the
secondary voltage is found to be 30V. Calculate the number of turns in the secondary coil.

(a) 57,600 (b) 3000 (c) 30 (d) 10 (e) 1

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19. The defect in simple cell which results in a back e.m.f. and increase in internal resistance is
known as

(a) Local action (b) Reduction (c ) polarization (d )oxidation (e) depolarization

20. Calculate the electric field intensity 40cm from a point charge of 10C

(a) 5.62NC-1 (b) 10-2 NC-1 (c) 5 x 103NC-3 (d) 5.62 x 105NC-1 (e) 1010 NC-1

21. Which of the following statements about electric field strength and potential is
incorrect?

(a) Electric field intensity is force per unit charge

(b) An electric field is an area where an electric force is felt
(c ) The electric potential is force used in taking a positive unit charge from infinity to the point
(d) The electric field = Potential difference
Distance apart
(e) Work done = Charge x Potential difference

22. Calculate the potential at a point 1m from a charge of 10-0 C in vacuum

(assume 1 = 9 x 109 m)
4ΩF

(a) 1/9 x10 -18 V (b) 9 x 10-18V (c) 9V (d) 9 x 1018V (e) 1/9V

23. Two plate conductors are placed parallel and 50cm apart. One of the plates is earthed and the
other is at a potential of + 10KV. What is the electric intensity between them?

(a) 2 x 10-1V (b) 2V (c) 20V (d) 2 x 102V (e) 2 x 104V

24. Which of the following statements about a capacitor is incorrect?

(a) It is used for strong electric charges

(b) It is mostly made of two parallel plates
(c ) It is charged by connecting a battery across the terminals
(d) The charge on it is inversely proportional to the p.d across the terminals
(e) The capacitance of the capacitor is the ratio of charge to the p.d across it.

25. Two capacitors of capacitance 3uF and 6uF are connected in series. Calculate the
equivalent capacitance

(a) 9µF (b) 6µF (c) 2µF (d) ½ µF (e) 1/4µF

26. A capacitor stores 10-4C of charge when the p.d between the plates is1KV, what is the
capacitance?

(a) 10-4µF (b) 0.1µF (c) 4µF (d) 10µF (e) 10-7µF

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27. Which of A-E is suitable for converting an a.c generator to a d.c generator?

(a) By replacing the magnet with iron

(b) By replacing the slip rings with brushes
© By replacing the slip rings with split ring or commutator
(d) By replacing the brushes with split ring or commentator
(e) By replacing the armature with a commutator or split ring.

28. Which of the followings is not correct?

Large e.m.f. can be produced with a.c. or d.c generators by:

(a) Increasing the number of turns of coil

(b) Increasing the strength of the magnet
(c) Winding the coil on soft iron core
(d) Using a solenoid instead of a magnet
(e) Increasing the rate of rotation of that coil

29. Which of the following is not correct about the indication coil?

(a) It is used in ignition system of motor vehicles

(b) It has a make –and break device
(c) An e.m f of about 10,000V would be obtained at the secondary coil by
applying a voltage of 50,000V at the primary coil?
(d) The induced e.m.f. in the secondary coil is large enough to cause a spark
across the gap;
(e) One main advantage is that it works from d.c.

30. Which of A-E below is correct about the transmission of electrical power over long distances?
I. It is distributed at low current and high voltage
II. A step-up transformer is used to reduce the voltage at the point of use
III. A step –ip transformer is used before the power is fed into the transmission line

(a) I only (b) III only (c ) I and III only (d) II and I only (e) II and III only

31. If an object weighs 96kgf on the surface of the earth what is it likely to weigh on the moon’s
surface? (gm = 1/6gE)

(a ) 6kgf (b)9kgf (c)16kgf (d) 96kgf (e) 26kgf

32. A boy cleared a height of 1.5m on the earth’s surface. What height is he likely to clear if taken
to the moon? (gm = 1/6gE)

(a) 1.5m (b) 3.0m (c) 4.5m (d) 9.0m (e) 10.05m

33 When an object is undergoing a free fall in a vacuum, its acceleration after 2 seconds is

(a) 9.8ms-2 (b) 19.6ms-2 (c) 29.4ms-2 (d) 39.2ms-2 (e) 49.4ms-2

34 Which of the following materials is non-magnetic?

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(a) Steel needle (b) Wood (c) Steel pin (d) Iron nail (e) Brass
35 The attractive force of a bar magnet tend to concentrate at the
I. N-pole
II. S-pole
III. Middle of the bar

(a) I only (b) II only (c) I and II only (d) II and III only (e) I, II and III

36 Two reason, 6Ω and 3Ω are connected in parallel. A battery of e.m.f 12V and internal
resistance 3Ω is connected across the combination. Calculate the current delivered by the
cell.

(a) 1.0A (b) 1.3A (c) 2.0A (d) 2.4A (e) 14.4.A

37 Which of the following instruments is most accurate for comparing e.m.f. of two cells?

(a) Wheatstone bridge (b) Galvanometer (c) Potentiometer (d) Metre bridge
(e) Volumeter

38 A resistor is connected in series with a battery of two cells each having an e.m.f
of 1.5V and an internal resistance of 0,5 Ω.
What is the resistance of the resistor if a current of 0.3 A flows through it?

(a) 0.9 (b) 4.5 (c) 9.0 (d) 9.5 (e) 10.0

39. Three resistors, each of resistance 1Ω, are connected in parallel. The combination is
connected in series with 1Ω resistor. Calculate the effective resistance of the combination.

(a) 4Ω (b)3Ω (c ) 4/3Ω (d) 1Ω (e) 0.5 Ω

(a)
40 Calculate the resitivity of a wire 4.00m long which has a cross sectional area of 0.500mm2
and resistance of 3.5Ω

(a) 1.75 x 10-7 (b) 2.80 x 10-7 (c) 4.38 x 10-7 (d) 4.38 x 10-6 (e) 4.38 x 10-5

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2010, 6 (2):235-266

APPENDIX II

PHYSICS PROBLEM-SOLVING PERFORMANCE TEST

Question 1
An electron moving parallel to the x axis has an initial velocity of 3.7 x 106 m/s at the origin. The
velocity of the electron is reduced to 1.5 x 10 5 m/s at the point x = 2 cm. Calculate the potential
difference between the origin and the point x = 2 cm. Which point is the higher potential?
Question 2
Two charged concentric spheres have radii of 10.0 and 15.0 cm. The charge on the inner sphere is 4.00 x 10 -
8
C and that on the outer sphere is 2.00 x 10-8 C. Find the electric field (a) at r = 12.0 cm and (b) at r = 20.0
cm.
Question3
A parallel-plate capacitor is constructed using three different dielectric materials, as shown in figure below,
(a) Find the expression for the capacitance of the device in terms of the plate area A and d, K1, K2 and K3.
( b ) Calculate the capacitance using the v alu es A=1 cm2, d = 2 mm, K1= 4.9, K2 = 5. 6 and K3 = 2.1
Question 4
A certain toaster has a heating element made of nichrome resistance wire. When first connected to a
1200V voltage source (and the wire is at a temperature of 20 °C) the initial current is 1.8 A, but the
current begins to decrease as the resistive element heats up. When the toaster has reached its fi n a l
operating temperature, the current has dropped to 1.53A.
(a) Find the power he toaster consumes when it is as its operating temperature
(b) What is the final temperature of the heating element?
Question 5
An electron, with speed 1.9 x 106 ms-1, is circulating in a plane at right angles to a uniform magnetic
field of 1.0 x 10-4T. Given that mass of electron is 9.1 x 10 -31kg and change of electron is 1.6 x10-19C.
Determine:
(i) the radius of the orbit of the electron
(ii) the cyclotron frequency
(iii) the period of revolution and
(iv) the direction of circulation as viewed by an observer sighting along the field
Question 6
A motor has an armature resistance of 4.0Ω. On a 240V supply and a light load, the motor speed is 200
rev. min-1 and the armature current is 5A. Calculate the motor speed at a full load when the armature
current is 20A
Question 7
A motor operating on a 100-volt circuit develops a back e.m.f. of 90 volts. If the resistance of the
armature is 2Ω, calculate
(i) the electric current which flows in the armature, and
(ii) the power that is delivered by the motor
Question 8
The primary and secondary windings of a transformer have 400 and 2000 turns respectively. If the
primary is connected to a 220V a. c. Supply, what will be the voltage across the secondary? If the
secondary had been connected to the 220V supply what voltage would be developed in the primary
coil?
Question 9
A series of R-L-C circuit is connected to 50-cycle a.c. mains of voltage 240V. If R=50Ω, C=8µF and L
= 0.80H. Find
(i) the current and
(ii) the power used in the circuit

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Question 10
A toroid is 100cm long and has a cross sectional area of 30.0cm2. It is wound with a coil of 800 turns
of wires and there is a current of 2.50A in it. The iron core has a relative permeability under the given
condition of 300. Calculate the magnetic field strength in the coil, the total flux and the flux density.

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