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American Journal of Physics

The Physics Teacher»
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SECTION LISTING

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
GUEST EDITORIAL
AAPT 75TH ANNIVERSARY
FIGURING PHYSICS
PAPERS
APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS
TRICK OF THE TRADE
LITTLE GEMS
FROM OUR FILES
PHYSICS CHALLENGE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
FOR THE NEW TEACHER
WEBSIGHTS
BOOK REVIEWS

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Volume 44

Issue 9 | Dec 2006 | pp. 566-624

Issue 8 | Nov 2006 | pp. 486-560

Issue 7 | Oct 2006 | pp. 406-480

Issue 6 | Sep 2006 | pp. 326-400

Issue L2 | Aug 2006 | pp. L1-L1

Issue L1 | Jun 2006 | pp. L1-L2

Issue 5 | May 2006 | pp. 262-320

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Mar 2006

Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 134-192

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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Earlier Paper on Helmholtz Resonator

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr.

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 134

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics

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Line 'em Up

A. John Mallinckrodt

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 134

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.55.+b	General physics

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Defining Mass-I

Michael I. Sobel

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 134 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.55.+b	General physics

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More on Defining Mass-II

Bill Jameson

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 135 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.55.+b	General physics

GUEST EDITORIAL

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AAPT Sections

Randy Peterson, AAPT Chair of Section Reps

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 136

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.10.Hx	Physics organizational activities
01.75.+m	Science and society

AAPT 75TH ANNIVERSARY

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AAPT 75th Anniversary

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 138

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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In recognition of the 75th anniversary of AAPT, during this year we will be publishing brief notes on interesting and significant science-related events in 1931, the founding year of the association.

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01.10.Cr	Announcements, news, and awards
01.60.+q	Biographies, tributes, personal notes, and obituaries

FIGURING PHYSICS

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Figuring Physics

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 139

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.55.+b	General physics

PAPERS

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The Electric Fields Experiment: A New Way Using Conductive Tape

Alan I. Benimoff

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 140 | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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This paper describes a new, relatively inexpensive, safe method for doing electric field mapping experiments using a Cu-foil tape with a conductive adhesive backing fastened onto conductive paper.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.Fk	Research in physics education
01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.55.+b	General physics

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Drugstore Reading Glasses

Herman Erlichson

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 142 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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The occasion for this paper was my reading of a paper in the February 2005 issue of TPT.¹ As one gets older the near point of the eye begins to recede.² This is called presbyopia.³ An alternative to purchasing glasses from an optometrist is to purchase an inexpensive pair of reading glasses in a pharmacy. The pharmacy has these glasses ordered by diopters corresponding to the strength of the lens needed for a particular presbyopic eye. The glasses are, of course, not available for myopic eyes.

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42.79.Bh	Lenses, prisms and mirrors
81.00.00	Materials science

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Mechanics in the Real World

Donald Smith

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 144

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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In the fall semester of 2004, I taught six discussion sections of a large calculus-based introductory mechanics class at the University of Michigan. I therefore interacted with approximately 200 students twice a week. One of my priorities as a discussion instructor was to help students make the connection between the formulae they were required to memorize and the real world with which they interact every day. Near the end of the term, I gave the students an assignment intended to assess how strongly the ideas of introductory mechanics had affected their thought processes. I asked them to write a paragraph describing a real-world event or process for which they now realized they had a better understanding.

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01.40.Di	Course design and evaluation
01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies

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Action: Forcing Energy to Predict Motion

Dwight E. Neuenschwander, Edwin F. Taylor, and Slavomir Tuleja

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 146

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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In this paper we use scalar energy, rather than vector force and momentum, to predict how a particle will move. The result is a quantity called action. Action and its relatives undergird Newton's laws and transcend them, also predicting motion in the quantum world and in the curved spacetime of general relativity. An example exhibits action in action.

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.ht	Instructional computer use
01.55.+b	General physics
02.70.-c	Computational techniques; simulations
45.20.dg	Mechanical energy, work, and power
45.20.dh	Energy conservation
45.40.Cc	Rigid body and gyroscope motion

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Astronomy Teaching with Astronomical Catalogues

Benjamin Oostra

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 153 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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For quite a few years I have been teaching introductory astronomy at the Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá to undergraduate students of all majors. One of my goals has always been: Try to have the students learn from their own experience. I built some apparatus and wrote many guidelines to help them do real observations, but many discoveries are beyond our experimental possibilities. A helpful remedy is the use of online astronomical catalogues.

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01.40.ek	Secondary school
01.40.Fk	Research in physics education
01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies

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A Rolling Sphere Experiment

Adam Niculescu

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 157

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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The motion on an incline provides an effective means for the discussion of the conservation of mechanical energy and transformation of potential into kinetic energy. Below are several comments resulting from practical situations involving demonstrations of the accelerated motion on an incline with the use of a rolling sphere.

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45.40.Aa	Translation kinematics
45.40.Bb	Rotational kinematics

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Jeff and the Raccoon

Susan Ramlo

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 160 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Leamnson¹ suggests that storytelling is a way to get students interested in learning. About a week before my first-semester introductory college physics class started a unit on linear momentum, one of my students, Jeff, struck a raccoon on the highway. His colorful telling of this story before class got the interest of most of the room. A body shop then gave Jeff a repair cost of $1472 for the damage sustained from hitting the raccoon. Jeff wanted to know how his car could sustain so much damage just by hitting a raccoon. A teaching moment had arrived.

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
45.20.df	Momentum conservation
45.50.Tn	Collisions

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Use of the Thermal Concept Evaluation to Focus Instruction

Gail R. Luera, Charlotte A. Otto, and Paul W. Zitzewitz

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 162 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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We used the Thermal Concept Evaluation (TCE) published in this journal by Yeo and Zadnik¹ in a capstone course for pre-service elementary teachers. The evaluation was given as a pre-test to identify misconceptions that were then addressed by student- and faculty-designed activities. The same instrument was given as a post-test and the normalized gain found to be 33.4%, showing that the pre-test∕activity∕post-test strategy was successful in improving students' knowledge of thermal concepts. In this paper we argue that the TCE could be improved to help differentiate lack of knowledge from misconceptions and to better identify the misconceptions that students hold.

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01.40.Di	Course design and evaluation
01.40.jc	Preservice training

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Stars of the Big Dipper: A 3-D Vector Activity

Vince H. Kuo and Robert J. Beichner

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 168

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Most teachers of introductory physics will agree that many students have difficulty with vectors, so much so that we frequently spend a week at the beginning of the semester presenting material that students should know from previous mathematics courses. This review is often quite abstract, with little or no connection to familiar contexts, and seldom includes any motivation for students to “see it again.” In this paper we present a vector activity that attempts to address both these issues using the stars of the Big Dipper, in the constellation Ursa Major, as a memorable context.

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01.40.Ha

Learning theory and science teaching

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Hands-on Synchronization: An Adaptive Clockwork Universe

Manfred Euler

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 173 | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Clockworks are considered as the paradigm of regularity and predictability. The term “clockwork universe” is normally used in a negative way to show the limitations of this mechanistic metaphor to account for change, evolution, and complex adaptive behavior. However, there is more to such mechanisms than one naively anticipates. We present a series of experiments that demonstrate the surprising properties of mechanical clocks. In a suitable environment, they can develop coherent behavior via self-organization. The experiments offer an intriguing potential to develop conceptual insights into adaptive processes that extend from the material realm to the workings of our brains.

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

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Why Are There So Few Female Physicists?

Laura Ann Robertson

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 177 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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It is 1962 and an adolescent female is trying to decide what classes to take; the principal asserts, “a girl has no need for physics.”² School counselors or administrators may no longer make statements like this; however, the perception that shaped the principal's comment may be part of hidden and subtle discriminatory attitudes still active in today's schools. The point of this paper is to reveal and assess current attitudes toward female participation in physics education and suggest practices to ensure a fair environment for both males and females.

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01.40.ek	Secondary school
01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.Fk	Research in physics education

APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS

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Demonstrating Lenz's Law with Recycled Materials

Carlos Saraiva

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 182 | Cited 4 times

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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A number of interesting demonstrations of induced electric currents and of Lenz's law have been described in this journal.^1–5 In this paper, a simple version of an experiment that was described⁶ by Léon Foucault in 1855 is presented. Foucault placed a rotating copper disk between the poles of an electromagnet. When the electromagnet was off, the disk rotated almost without friction, but when the electromagnet was turned on, the disk stopped almost immediately. Nice discussions of this sort of magnetic braking may be found in a number of textbooks.⁷ Here I describe how to do the demonstration quite simply using recycled materials.

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01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.65.+g	History of science
41.20.-q	Applied classical electromagnetism

TRICK OF THE TRADE

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“A Golden Oldie”: Canned Again

Mike Shaw

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 184

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics

LITTLE GEMS

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Line Chaserz

Diane Riendeau

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 185

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Wg	Physics of toys

FROM OUR FILES

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REAL IMAGE PRODUCED BY A CONCAVE MIRROR

Robert M. Graham

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 186

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b	General physics

PHYSICS CHALLENGE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

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A Field Trip

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 187

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.50.Rt	Physics tournaments and contests
01.55.+b	General physics

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“The Slide Rule”

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 187

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.50.Rt	Physics tournaments and contests
01.55.+b	General physics

FOR THE NEW TEACHER

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Incorporating Simulations and Visualizations into Physics Instruction

Patricia Blanton

The Physics Teacher -- March 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 188 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Feb 2006

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Last November I attended the education program of the Supercomputing 2005 convention in Seattle. I was in a team consisting of five high school teachers and three university professors. One part of the program dealt with the way science is being done in today's world. Gary Bertoline, associate vice president for visualization computing at Purdue University and chair of the education program for SC∕05, presented the idea that science has now entered its third era and that teaching science should reflect this shift. The first era (Observation Era) brought us out of the Dark Ages as the first careful observations of the world were made, along with predictions based on those observations. The second era (Experimentation Era) came with the Industrial Revolution and the development of tools for making careful measurements, thus facilitating experimentation. More recently methods for gathering accurate data have improved, and tools for sophisticated analysis have become available. Now, making predictions based on models, simulations, and visualizations based on data has become the norm for scientists in this current era—the Era of Simulation. Incorporating instructional strategies that help develop models and applying those models to simulate or visualize concepts can and should be a part of the experience of physics students.

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