Feedback
Help

Sign In
Your Recent History
View Cart

Keyword
Volume/Page
DOI
Advanced

Search Content Type

Volume: Page/Article:

article doi:

Home
Browse
Search
About
Authors
Features
Subscriptions
Advertisers
Scitation
American Journal of Physics

The Physics Teacher»
Browse»

SECTION LISTING

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
EDITORIAL
AAPT AWARDS
FIGURING PHYSICS
PAPERS
APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS
TRICK OF THE TRADE
FROM OUR FILES
PHYSICS CHALLENGES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
FOR THE NEW TEACHER
WEBSIGHTS
BOOK REVIEWS

BROWSE VOLUMES

Year Range:

2012

Volume 50

2011

Volume 49

2010

Volume 48

2009

Volume 47

2008

Volume 46

2007

Volume 45

2006

Volume 44

2005

Volume 43

2004

Volume 42

2003

Volume 41

Issue 9 | Dec 2003 | pp. 508-554

Issue 8 | Nov 2003 | pp. 444-504

Issue 7 | Oct 2003 | pp. 380-440

Issue 6 | Sep 2003 | pp. 316-376

Issue L2 | Jul 2003 | pp. L1-L3

Issue L1 | Jun 2003 | pp. L1-L3

Issue 5 | May 2003 | pp. 260-312

Issue 4 | Apr 2003 | pp. 196-256

Issue 3 | Mar 2003 | pp. 132-192

Issue 2 | Feb 2003 | pp. 68-128

Issue 1 | Jan 2003 | pp. 4-59

2002

Volume 40

2001

Volume 39

2000

Volume 38

1999

Volume 37

1998

Volume 36

1997

Volume 35

1996

Volume 34

1995

Volume 33

1994

Volume 32

1993

Volume 31

1992

Volume 30

1991

Volume 29

1990

Volume 28

1989

Volume 27

1988

Volume 26

1987

Volume 25

1986

Volume 24

1985

Volume 23

1984

Volume 22

1983

Volume 21

1982

Volume 20

1981

Volume 19

1980

Volume 18

1979

Volume 17

1978

Volume 16

1977

Volume 15

1976

Volume 14

1975

Volume 13

1974

Volume 12

1973

Volume 11

1972

Volume 10

1971

Volume 9

1970

Volume 8

1969

Volume 7

1968

Volume 6

1967

Volume 5

1966

Volume 4

1965

Volume 3

1964

Volume 2

1963

Volume 1

Search Term

Search Issue | RSS Feeds

RSS
Previous Issue Next Issue

Apr 2003

Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 196-256

Add

View

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Select this Article

More Mirror Calculations

James H. Andrews

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 196

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics
42.79.Bh	Lenses, prisms and mirrors
42.30.Va	Image forming and processing

Select this Article

Which Mirror?

Sam Lightner

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 196

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics
42.79.Bh	Lenses, prisms and mirrors
42.30.Va	Image forming and processing

Select this Article

Editor's Note

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 196

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics
42.79.Bh	Lenses, prisms and mirrors
42.30.Va	Image forming and processing

Select this Article

Bernoulli and Newton

Clifford Swartz

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 196 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics
45.20.D-	Newtonian mechanics
47.90.+a	Other topics in fluid dynamics (restricted to new topics in section 47)

Select this Article

Reference Frames

Morton Tavel

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 197

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics
45.90.+t	Other topics in classical mechanics of discrete systems (restricted to new topics in section 45)

EDITORIAL

Select this Article

Forty Years of TPT

Karl C. Mamola

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 198

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.30.-y

Physics literature and publications

AAPT AWARDS

Select this Article

2002 Distinguished Service Citations Awarded to: Patrick Callahan, Wolfgang Christian, Alexander Dickison, Dick Smith, Larry Martin

John L. Hubisz

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 200

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.60.+q

Biographies, tributes, personal notes, and obituaries

FIGURING PHYSICS

Select this Article

Internal Energy of Helium

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 204

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
05.70.Ce	Thermodynamic functions and equations of state

PAPERS

Select this Article

Specular Reflection from a Rough Surface

Hasan Fakhruddin

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 206

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

The rough surface of a ground glass plate generally gives a diffuse reflection. However, if light from an object is incident on it at a low enough grazing angle, the rough surface behaves like an optically plane surface and causes specular reflection of the incident light, producing a reflected image of the object. A reflected image is obtained from the rough surface of a ground glass plate.

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
42.25.Gy	Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction

Select this Article

Optical Property of the Ellipse Derived from Energy Conservation

Jorge Sztrajman and Agustín Rela

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 208 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

It is well known that rays of light originating at one of the foci of an elliptical mirror converge at the other focus after reflecting off the surface.¹ Usually this is proven using the equation of the ellipse and geometrical theorems² or by means of calculus.³ In this paper we show that the proof may be done very easily by considering a simple mechanical system having the same geometry and using conservation energy.

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
42.25.Gy	Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction

Select this Article

Conceptual Physics in Two-Year Colleges

William R. Warren

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 210

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

Introductory physics courses for nonscience students are available at most four-year colleges and universities, but are less common in two-year colleges. Offering and promoting more such courses in two-year colleges would be a good way to increase the number of students who study physics and raise the overall quality of undergraduate education.

Show PACS

01.40.G-	Curricula and evaluation
01.55.+b	General physics

Select this Article

Physics to Go

Aaron McAlexander

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 214 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

“Physics to Go” is basically a solution in search of a problem. Consisting of 18 physics exercises that were collected for use in an online conceptual physics course, “Physics to Go” originated as a possible solution to the problem of how to conduct the laboratory experience for students who were taking conceptual physics through some form of distance learning. (It would appear that much of the advantage of taking a course through distance-learning methods is negated if students must come to the central campus to perform their laboratory exercises.) Physics to Go exercises are appropriate for use in introductory physics courses taught by distance learning, home schooling, and for providing make-up labs. The total cost of the apparatus is about $40 and it will all fit in a bread box.

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.40.G-	Curricula and evaluation

Select this Article

Figuring Physics: A Full Solution and a Challenging Problem

John Pratt

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 220 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

This paper gives a full analysis of a projectile problem in which it is desired to find the required firing angle to hit a target level with the point of projection and to relate this angle to the “line-of-sight” angle of a point directly above the target a distance equal to the distance of the point directly below the target which the projectile would have hit had it been fired horizontally.

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
01.40.G-	Curricula and evaluation
45.50.Dd	General motion

Select this Article

University and High School Partnership: Challenging Physics II Students

Joan Mackin and Paul E. Sokol

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 222

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

A partnership between Penn State University and a suburban high school allowed high school students to complete a calculus-based high school physics II course in mechanics and electricity∕magnetism. This course was not an AP course or a traditional high school second-level course but was modeled on the dynamic physics course at Penn State. This article describes the strategies and technology tools used, data on student outcomes and achievement, and the development and implementation of the course.

Show PACS

01.40.G-

Curricula and evaluation

Select this Article

The Population Game: A Socially Significant Laboratory Activity

Art Hobson

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 227 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

A game-like activity using dice-like cubes can bring population growth home to all students, scientists, and nonscientists alike, while demonstrating many aspects of probability and uncertainty that are too often ignored in the physics curriculum. The activity can proceed at a variety of levels of sophistication and complication, from a simple demonstration of exponential growth through an elaborate modeling of life expectancy, advanced versus primitive societies, family planning, birth rate, and population momentum. Variations can demonstrate radioactive decay, resource depletion, and the approach of a thermodynamic system to statistical equilibrium.

Show PACS

01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.75.+m	Science and society
02.50.-r	Probability theory, stochastic processes, and statistics

Select this Article

“Sweetening” Technical Physics with Hershey's Kisses

Chuck Stone

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 234 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

This paper describes an activity in which students measure the mass of each candy in one full bag of Hershey's Kisses and then use a simple spreadsheet program to construct a histogram showing the number of candies as a function of mass. Student measurements indicate that one single bag of 80 Kisses yields enough data to produce a noticeable variation in the candy's mass distribution. The bimodal character of this distribution provides a useful discussion topic. This activity can be performed as a classroom project, a laboratory exercise, or an interactive lecture demonstration. In all these formats, students have the opportunity to collect, organize, process, and analyze real data. In addition to strengthening graphical analysis skills, this activity introduces students to fundamentals of statistics, manufacturing processes in the industrial workplace, and process control techniques.

Show PACS

01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics
06.30.Dr	Mass and density

Select this Article

The Bungee Jumper: A Comparison of Predicted and Measured Values

Hubert Biezeveld

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 238 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

The greater-than-g acceleration of a bungee jumper discussed in a previous article in this journal by Kagan and Kott¹ led to many lively discussions among Dutch physics teachers. These inspired me to look for an inexpensive experimental setup, suitable for use in a high school physics class, that can be used to confirm that indeed the acceleration is greater than g. In this paper I describe an exercise to compare the predicted and the measured graphs for the displacement y(t) of the jumper and the force F_b(t) exerted by the bungee on the bridge to which it is fastened. In my apparatus, the “bungee” consists of a light chain and the “jumper” is a small piece of brass. Data collection and the calculation of predicted values were carried out using Coach.² The analysis reliably leads to the conclusion that the acceleration of the falling jumper does indeed exceed g.

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
06.30.Gv	Velocity, acceleration, and rotation

Select this Article

Collecting and Recording Bicycle Speed Data by CBL

William M. Wehrbein

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 243 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

Modern bicycle computers (actually electronic bicycle speedometers) display the current speed of the bicycle, but don't record the data so that a history of the motion can be investigated later. Euler et al.¹ devised a method using an ordinary cassette audiotape recorder to store up to two hours of speed data. This paper describes another method employing the LabPro⁶ interface that was used to capture a record of the speed of a bicycle coasting to a stop.

Show PACS

01.50.ht	Instructional computer use
46.55.+d	Tribology and mechanical contacts

APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS

Select this Article

Improved Vacuum Bazooka

John Cockman

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 246 | Cited 6 times

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

This apparatus is a modification to the well-known “vacuum bazooka” (PIRA 2B30.70).¹ My vacuum bazooka is easy to construct and demonstrate, requires no precise fittings, foil, or vacuum grease, and propels ping-pong balls at a tremendous velocity!

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
07.30.-t	Vacuum apparatus

TRICK OF THE TRADE

Select this Article

Construction of Optical Elements with Gelatin

Mario Branca and Isabella Soletta

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 249 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
42.79.Bh	Lenses, prisms and mirrors

FROM OUR FILES

Select this Article

LASER INTERFERENCE BY A CONVEX MIRROR [Phys. Teach. 10, 406 (Oct. 1972)]

James Mahoney, C.F.X.

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 250

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My

Demonstration experiments and apparatus

PHYSICS CHALLENGES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Select this Article

The Dot Com Bubble

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 251

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My

Demonstration experiments and apparatus

Select this Article

Image Is Everything

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 251

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

42.15.-i	Geometrical optics
42.79.Bh	Lenses, prisms and mirrors
01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus

Select this Article

The Eagle Has Landed

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 251

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
42.25.Gy	Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction
78.20.Ci	Optical constants (including refractive index, complex dielectric constant, absorption, reflection and transmission coefficients, emissivity)

FOR THE NEW TEACHER

Select this Article

Action Research to Evaluate Student Achievement

Patricia Blanton

The Physics Teacher -- April 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 4, pp. 252

Online Publication Date: Mar 2003

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

How do you know if your students are really learning the concepts you are presenting? Data from assessments help answer the question but what data do you examine? Is the information best found in the overall class average on tests, the number of students who did not score at a “passing” grade, how well the grades fit a bell curve, or how many students scored C or better? Teachers and administrators look at these statistics to determine the effectiveness of instructional strategies and student achievement. High-stakes testing uses overall scores as the determining factor for assigning credit to students, determining promotion or retention, allowing acceptance into programs or institutions, and evaluating the overall effectiveness of instructional practice. Yet composite scores alone do not address the question about which concepts the students are mastering. Specific data are needed to identify the problem areas and determine the approaches to best help students achieve mastery.

Show PACS

01.40.G-

Curricula and evaluation