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Physical Review Physics Education Research
written by Gerd Kortemeyer, Marina Babayeva, Giulia Polverini, Ralf Widenhorn, and Bor Gregorcic
We investigate the multilingual and multimodal performance of a large language model-based artificial intelligence (AI) system, GPT-4o, using a diverse set of physics concept inventories spanning multiple languages and subject categories. The inventories, sourced from the PhysPort website, cover classical physics topics such as mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, and thermodynamics, as well as relativity, quantum mechanics, astronomy, mathematics, and laboratory skills. Unlike previous text-only studies, we uploaded the inventories as images to reflect what a student would see on paper, thereby assessing the system's multimodal functionality. Our results indicate variation in performance across subjects, with laboratory skills standing out as the weakest. We also observe differences across languages, with English and European languages showing the strongest performance. Notably, the relative difficulty of an inventory item is largely independent of the language of the survey. When comparing AI results to existing literature on student performance, we find that the AI system outperforms average post-instruction undergraduate students in all subject categories except laboratory skills. Furthermore, the AI performs worse on items requiring visual interpretation of images than on those that are purely text-based. While our exploratory findings show GPT-4o's potential usefulness in physics education, they highlight the critical need for instructors to foster students' ability to critically evaluate AI outputs, adapt curricula thoughtfully in response to AI advancements, and address equity concerns associated with AI integration.

This article has passed review and is accepted to PRPER, but not yet published. The attached documents are provided for data analysis disclosure.
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The research article and code are freely available for download. The concept inventory files that were used for analysis are protected. To request access, you must have a PER-Central account and contact us here.
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© 2025 Gerd Kortemeyer, Marina Babayeva, Giulia Polverini, Ralf Widenhorn, and Bor Gregorcic
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Metadata instance created May 20, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
June 11, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
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AIP Format
G. Kortemeyer, M. Babayeva, G. Polverini, R. Widenhorn, and B. Gregorcic, , Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21 (2), (2025), WWW Document, (https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143).
AJP/PRST-PER
G. Kortemeyer, M. Babayeva, G. Polverini, R. Widenhorn, and B. Gregorcic, Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21 (2), (2025), <https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143>.
APA Format
Kortemeyer, G., Babayeva, M., Polverini, G., Widenhorn, R., & Gregorcic, B. (2025). Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories. Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res., 21(2). Retrieved July 18, 2025, from https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143
Chicago Format
Kortemeyer, G, M. Babayeva, G. Polverini, R. Widenhorn, and B. Gregorcic. "Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, no. 2, (2025), https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143 (accessed 18 July 2025).
MLA Format
Kortemeyer, Gerd, Marina Babayeva, Giulia Polverini, Ralf Widenhorn, and Bor Gregorcic. "Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21.2 (2025). 18 July 2025 <https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{ Author = "Gerd Kortemeyer and Marina Babayeva and Giulia Polverini and Ralf Widenhorn and Bor Gregorcic", Title = {Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories}, Journal = {Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.}, Volume = {21}, Number = {2}, Year = {2025} }
Refer Export Format

%A Gerd Kortemeyer %A Marina Babayeva %A Giulia Polverini %A Ralf Widenhorn %A Bor Gregorcic %T Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories %J Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. %V 21 %N 2 %D 2025 %U https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143 %O application/zip

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Kortemeyer, Gerd %A Babayeva, Marina %A Polverini, Giulia %A Widenhorn, Ralf %A Gregorcic, Bor %D 2025 %T Multilingual Performance of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence System on Multisubject Physics Concept Inventories %J Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. %V 21 %N 2 %U https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06143


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