Students must learn to make assumptions to solve “real-world” physics problems

Transitioning from textbook-style problems to ""real-world"" physics problem-solving requires participants to set limiting assumptions. In textbook-style questions these assumptions aren't necessary because all the numerical values are provided by the textbook. However, in real-world challenges this is often not the case. The article has implications for educators who are thinking about how to use real-world problems in their work.