Comparative Analysis of Mathematical Knowledge in Physics Textbooks

Abstract

When different disciplines that physics lesson is related are examined, it is seen that mathematics becomes prominent as one of the most used fields. Physics textbooks are the most significant resources to clarify this relationship. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to analyze the involvement of mathematical knowledge in physics textbooks used during 2011-2012 and 2016-2017 academic year in Turkey and to evaluate them according to mathematics subject distribution. In line with this aim, 9 th , 10 th , 11 th , and 12 th-grade textbooks used in physics lessons during 2011-2012 and 2016-2017 academic years are examined through document analysis method. According to the research results, it is found that mathematical knowledge is mostly located in Force and Movement chapters in both physics textbooks belonging to two different years. The involvement of mathematical knowledge in the chapters can result from the fact that Force and Movement chapters are the most suitable chapters for daily practices of mathematics. Besides, it occurs that the most used mathematical knowledge is the category of numbers and operations. This is because of the fact that basic level knowledge is used more because all mathematical knowledge is based on numbers and four operations. In this respect, that mathematical knowledge involved in physics textbooks is very excessive stands as the most significant evidence for that there is a strong connection between physics and mathematics.