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Oct 2003

Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 380-440

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FIGURING PHYSIC$

Daniel Conrad

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 380

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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

Additional Reference

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr.

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 380

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.55.+b General physics

Alternative Conceptions Versus Intuitive Rules

David R. Rowland

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 380

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus

Sundials and Compasses

David P. Stern

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 380

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.55.+b General physics
07.55.-w Magnetic instruments and components
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More or Less

Karl C. Mamola

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 382

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.Di Course design and evaluation
01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
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Submerged Teabag

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 384

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
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Fractals in the Classroom

Paul Knutson and E. Dan Dahlberg

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 387

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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In examples of fractals such as moon craters,1 rivers,2 cauliflower,3 and bread,4 the actual growth process of the fractal object is missed. In the simple experiment described here, one can observe and record the growth of calcium carbonate crystals — a ubiquitous material found in marble and seashells — in real time. The video frames can be digitized and analyzed to determine the fractal dimension.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
05.45.Df Fractals
61.43.Hv Fractals; macroscopic aggregates (including diffusion-limited aggregates)
81.10.Dn Growth from solutions

Rectangles in Physics

Kevork Spartalian

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 390

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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In a recent article,1 Greenslade presents a nomograph from an old textbook describing a geometrical construction for the equivalent resistance of two resistors in parallel. Greenslade's final remark is that the motivation for this construction “is obscure.” When I saw the article, I realized I could make an educated guess for the motivation. In this paper I will use the nomograph discovered by Greenslade as a springboard and present some of my thoughts on the geometrical presentation of physics in hopes to amuse the experts.
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
02.40.Dr Euclidean and projective geometries

Teaching Measurement in the Introductory Physics Laboratory

Saalih Allie, Andy Buffler, Bob Campbell, Fred Lubben, Dimitris Evangelinos, Dimitris Psillos, and Odysseas Valassiades

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 394 | Cited 10 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Traditionally physics laboratory courses at the freshman level have aimed to demonstrate various principles of physics introduced in lectures. Experiments tend to be quantitative in nature with experimental and data analysis techniques interwoven as distinct strands of the laboratory course.1 It is often assumed that, in this way, students will end up with an understanding of the nature of measurement and experimentation. Recent research studies have, however, questioned this assumption.2,3 They have pointed to the fact that freshmen who have completed physics laboratory courses are often able to demonstrate mastery of the mechanistic techniques (e.g., calculating means and standard deviations, fitting straight lines, etc.) but lack an appreciation of the nature of scientific evidence, in particular the central role of uncertainty in experimental measurement. We believe that the probabilistic approach to data analysis, as advocated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), will result in a more coherent framework for teaching measurement and measurement uncertainty in the introductory physics laboratory course.
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
01.50.Qb Laboratory course design, organization, and evaluation
06.20.Dk Measurement and error theory

System Schemas

Lou Turner

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 404 | Cited 7 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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In studying Newton's laws, most teachers expect their students to be able to construct a free-body diagram that shows each of the forces that act on an object whose motion they want students to analyze. However, many students frequently cannot identify the correct number of forces that act on the object, or, having decided that a particular force should be added to the diagram, they cannot accurately identify what object exerts that force. In addition, many students have difficulty implementing Newton's third law and correctly identifying action-reaction pairs of forces as well as internal and external forces. In general students do not have an organized process for creating an abstract free-body diagram given a concrete physical situation. They make educated guesses without any way of knowing if what they have done is correct. The purpose of this article is to describe a tool that has been found to be valuable in helping students address each of these problems.
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
01.40.E- Science in school
45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
01.55.+b General physics

Shedding Light on the Candela

Nathaniel R. Greene

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 409 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Though the candela is one of the seven SI base units, it receives little attention from physics teachers. This paper will discuss the history of the candela, its measurement techniques (photometry), and its relation to the lumen. The luminous properties of incandescent and fluorescent lamps are compared. Of the SI base units, only the candela is linked to the peculiarities of human perception.
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06.20.F- Units and standards
42.66.Si Psychophysics of vision, visual perception; binocular vision

Gravitational Force Due to a Sphere: A Noncalculus Calculation

Lawrence Ruby

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 416 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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In teaching noncalculus physics, an instructor is tempted to introduce an occasional formula with the explanation, “This formula is easily proved through the use of calculus.” This rabbit-from-the-hat approach is regrettable from the standpoint that physics should be presented as a logical development of experiment and theory. Yet, from the experience of this author, it is very rare that a student will object to the explanation quoted above. Nevertheless, an instructor should be prepared with a noncalculus justification if so challenged, and in most instances such is available. For example, the areas, volumes, and moments of inertia of simple geometric figures can be calculated by means of The Method of Exhaustion developed by Archimedes.1 The purpose of this paper is to treat two theorems that are important in introductory physics, and that cannot be established by such a method. Instead, we shall provide an alternative justification. However, we anticipate that students will be satisfied to hear only a description of the methods used in the calculations and of the final results.
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
01.55.+b General physics
04.90.+e Other topics in general relativity and gravitation (restricted to new topics in section 04)

Physics Was Once First and Was Once for All

Keith Sheppard and Dennis M. Robbins

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 420 | Cited 8 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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The analysis of historical trends in science education can provide valuable insights for future reforms. Yet, despite their potential, such studies are rare.2 An increasingly significant reform effort in physics education is the push to reverse the sequence in which the sciences are taught in high school — the Physics First movement. This reform effort gained considerable momentum recently when the AAPT issued a statement promoting Physics for All.3 Is there anything we can learn from the past that might inform the Physics First∕Physics for All debate? A recent article in this journal4 outlined the historical development of the Biology-Chemistry-Physics (B-C-P) science sequence and its impact on enrollment, time allocation, methodology, and status of physics in the high school curriculum. Further analysis of the history of the B-C-P sequence shows that surprisingly physics was once first and was once for all in U.S. high schools. So what happened? How and why did the sequence change? This article describes how science course offerings and enrollment at different grade levels have evolved from 1890 to the present day. The factors behind these changes are analyzed, and the implications for physics education are discussed with the intent of using the past to inform the future.
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01.40.E- Science in school
01.60.+q Biographies, tributes, personal notes, and obituaries
01.75.+m Science and society
01.70.+w Philosophy of science

A Demonstration Seasonal “Thermocline”

Richard M. Heavers and Tara E. Bayly

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 425

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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The variation of water temperature in the top-most 100 meters of the deep ocean depends on the annual cycle of heating and cooling of the surface water and on mixing by the wind. Here we describe a laboratory model that uses salt instead of heat to produce density differences and that helps us to understand how the ocean's temperature structure changes with the seasons.
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47.27.T- Turbulent transport processes
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus

Projectile Motion Model

Sean Cordry

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 430 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Textbooks almost always have a stroboscopic photograph of a ball falling alongside of one with an initial horizontal speed. These photos are great for showing how the two objects experience the same vertical acceleration; however, the photos don't usually illustrate what happens if a projectile is launched at some angle. There are a number of ways to illustrate the effects of the launch angle: shooting a ball or stream of water through hoops, for example.1 Those demonstrations, though, do not allow for side-by-side comparison of the effects of various launch angles. Thus, a few years ago I constructed this three-dimensional projectile model to do just that. The model is composed of two three-dimensional “stroboscopic sculptures” representing the trajectory of two projectiles.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
45.50.Dd General motion
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Hidden Amplifier for a Galvanometer

Frank Weichman

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 433

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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We often do demonstrations at local schools that require the use of a sensitive galvanometer. For example, we show that a thermocouple responds to warm fingers and will respond with opposite polarity to cool water. In years past we brought along a Pye galvanometer, which had adequate sensitivity for the purpose but which suffered from drift due to ambient temperature changes (cold car to warm classroom) and slow response time. There are of course many digital instruments available with adequate sensitivity, but for a classroom setting with 20 to 30 itchy children, an analogue device is preferable to a fluctuating digital output.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
07.68.+m Photography, photographic instruments; xerography
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Reversing Compass Needles

Frank Norton

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 434

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
07.55.Db Generation of magnetic fields; magnets
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The straight-line kinematics of a student, a fun demonstration [Phys. Teach. 15, 237 (April 1977)]

G. Stroink, E. Guptill, and R. March

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 435

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
45.50.Dd General motion
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The Start Wars

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 436

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education

Vanishing Friction

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 436

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education

Tour de Force

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 436

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
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When Is a Good Day Teaching a Bad Thing?

Timothy F. Slater

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 437 | Cited 4 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Tim Slater is an associate professor of astronomy and the director of the Science and Mathematics Education Center at the University of Arizona, where his scholarship is focused on the teaching and learning of astronomy and preservice science teacher education.
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
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Virtual Radiation Museum, http:∕∕www.medphysics.wisc.edu∕∼vrm∕

John R. Cameron

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 439

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media

International Research Group on Physics Teaching (GIREP) official website, http:∕∕www.pef.uni-lj.si∕∼girep∕

Ingrid Novodvorsky

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 439

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.J- Teacher training
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media

Physics Central, http:∕∕www.physicscentral.com

Andre Graham, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 439

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
01.55.+b General physics
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Reflections on the Looking Glass — Mirror, Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection, by Mark Pendergrast

Chris Chiaverina

The Physics Teacher -- October 2003 -- Volume 41, Issue 7, pp. 440

Online Publication Date: Sep 2003

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Vv Book reviews
42.25.Gy Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction
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