International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE) Vol. 12, No. 3, September 2023, pp. 1206~1211 ISSN: 2252-8822, DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v12i3.25271  1206 Journal homepage: http://ijere.iaescore.com Physics mathematization assessment: The nominal group technique as a context to investigate student understanding Abdelwahab El Azzouzi, Fatiha Kaddari, Abdelrhani Elachqar Department of Computer Science, Signals, Automation, and Cognitivism (LISAC), Dhar El Mahraz Faculty of Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Received Aug 22, 2022 Revised Feb 11, 2023 Accepted Apr 3, 2023 This work has its origin in physics learning with secondary school students in Morocco. The present work focuses on the relationship between physics and mathematics as well as the source of difficulties in learning the half-life concept. To highlight our research objectives, the researchers resorted to the nominal group technique (NGT) which is used not only to identify students’ opinions about physics mathematization difficulties but also to assess the scientific education of this discipline. The results obtained showed that mathematics has an impact on Moroccan students’ understanding of the half- life concept. The results also showed that coherent and simultaneous management of physics and mathematics favors the learning of Moroccan students in both disciplines. Keywords: Assessment Half-life Nominal group technique Physics mathematization Secondary students Understanding This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Abdelwahab El Azzouzi Department of Computer Science, Signals, Automation, and Cognitivism, Dhar El Mahraz Faculty of Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University Fez, Morocco Email: abdelwahab.elazzouzi@usmba.ac.ma 1. INTRODUCTION Physics and mathematics are two disciplines deeply linked in the long history of science [1], [2] and often physics phenomena are explained via mathematical models [3], [4]. Indeed, the application of mathematics in physics is completely different from the ability to think mathematically in mathematics [5], [6]. In this sense, López-Gay, Sáez, and Torregrosa [7] argued that the mathematics used in physics, and pure mathematics, have distinct goals because the goal of physics is the description and understanding of a physics system, not the solution of equations. However, the scientific literature proposes quite a few models to describe the essence of how we use mathematics in physics [8], [9]. But briefly, all the models described show that once the physics analysis of a real problem or phenomenon has been carried out, the crucial step is a process of mathematization or mathematical modelling. It consists of expressing the ideas of the initial analysis through mathematical concepts and relationships [10]. It appears from the body of work in several Moroccan educational fields that the non-acquisition of physics mathematization can hinder the understanding of some physics concepts taught [11]. If the teacher presents learning according to the student’s learning style, this will have an impact on maximum student learning outcomes. Student learning outcomes could take the form of mastery of some concepts of nuclear physics [12]. In our case, this mastery has a relation to mathematics. In the same sense, several Moroccan teachers observe that students encounter great difficulties in physics mathematization. These teachers also note that students’ mathematical skills are insufficient to learn certain physics concepts [11]. In our case, the