Electrical Engineering Students’ Alternative Conceptions: Capacitance in Electronic Circuits

An alternative conception is an idea that does not conform to the accepted scientific viewpoint. Undergraduate students’ alternative conceptions have been extensively investigated in the case of electrical circuits. However, the literature is sparse regrading alternative conceptions about electronic circuits in general and capacitance in electronic circuits in particular. Given the importance of capacitance in electronics as well as in related areas of knowledge, the study aimed to analyze electrical engineering students’ alternative conceptions regarding capacitance in analog and digital circuits. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 electrical engineering students and 15 instructors from two institutions of higher education in Israel and with 10 employers in the electronics industry. The interviews dealt with characterizing students’ alternative conceptions regarding capacitance in electronic circuits. In addition, about 300 undergraduate-level exams in electronics were analyzed. The alternative conceptions found are at two consecutive levels of abstraction. At the circuit level, students claim that parasitic capacitance does not affect circuit performance. Additionally, they argue that capacitors cannot be used in feedback loops. At the device level, students think that capacitors can only be charged or discharged through resistors.