Using a stair-step pattern of solar wind input conditions in the simulation portion of the lab led to much better student results than linearly varying conditions¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · design r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2007 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Having solar wind parameters vary linearly with time leads to poor results because changes take time to propagate through the magnetosphere. → Crumley 2007 q2 i? Holding conditions constant for multiple time steps so the magnetopause reaches equilibrium, using a stair-step pattern, has led to much better results. → Crumley 2007 (2)

Evidence¶

Crumley 2007¶

Crumley, Palczewski, and Kaster. (2007). Examining the Location of the Magnetopause in an Undergraduate Lab. https://arxiv.org/abs/0706.1985 doi:10.48550/arxiv.0706.1985

q2 · i? · the article prints no effect size for this finding · design · r2

Instructor-reported outcome from the lab-development section describing early versions of the simulation exercise in which students varied solar wind speed and density linearly. No effect size or test statistic is printed.

"The obvious option of having the solar wind parameters vary linearly with time leads to poor results because it takes time for changes in the solar wind conditions to propagate throughout the magnetosphere."

Crumley 2007 (2)¶

Crumley, Palczewski, and Kaster. (2007). Examining the Location of the Magnetopause in an Undergraduate Lab. https://arxiv.org/abs/0706.1985. doi:10.48550/arxiv.0706.1985

q2 · i? · the article prints no effect size for this finding · design · r2

Instructor-reported improvement from the lab-development section: after switching to the stair-step input pattern shown in Figure 4, student results improved substantially. The authors note the instructions for creating the pattern have evolved over time. No effect size is printed.

"Using this stair-step pattern, as shown in Figure 4, for input conditions has led to much better results, though over time the instructions on how to create the stair-step pattern have evolved."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Students' empirical fits of simulated magnetopause locations show good internal agreement, though student estimates and simulation-calculated locations often disagree beyond uncertainties — related
• Students achieve reasonable agreement between their magnetopause-crossing findings and model predictions, gaining exposure to the tools and techniques of space physics — related
• Students find magnetopause crossings well in magnetic field data but have more difficulty with particle data, and some data sets contain no crossings at all — related