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Spatial Reasoning in Comparative Analyses of Physics Diagrams

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Spatial Cognition IX (Spatial Cognition 2014)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 8684))

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Abstract

Spatial reasoning plays a critical role in STEM problem solving. Physics assessments, for example, are rich in diagrams and pictures, which help people understand concrete physical scenarios and abstract aspects of physical reasoning. In this paper we describe a system that analyzes sketched diagrams to solve qualitative physics problems from a popular physics textbook. Causal models describing each problem are formulated via visual and conceptual analyses of the sketched diagrams. We use a combination of qualitative and quantitative reasoning to solve vector addition, tension, and gravitation ranking problems in the introductory chapters of the book.

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Chang, M.D., Wetzel, J.W., Forbus, K.D. (2014). Spatial Reasoning in Comparative Analyses of Physics Diagrams. In: Freksa, C., Nebel, B., Hegarty, M., Barkowsky, T. (eds) Spatial Cognition IX. Spatial Cognition 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 8684. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11215-2_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11215-2_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-11214-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11215-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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