PROCEEDINGS OF THE 18TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2015
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The generalization of the function schema: The case of parametric functions
Page: 953
This paper reports on an investigation of fifteen second-semester calculus students’ understanding of the concept of parametric function, as a special relation from a subset of R to a subset of R2. A substantial amount of research has revealed that the concept of function, in general, is very difficult for students to understand. Furthermore, several studies have investigated students’ understanding of various types of functions. However, very little is known about how students reason about parametric functions. Employing APOS theory as the guiding theoretical perspective, this paper describes how students reason about parametric functions given in the form p(t) = (f(t),g(t)). One common misconception that was observed among students is addressed.