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American Journal of Physics

The Physics Teacher»
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SECTION LISTING

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
FIGURING PHYSICS
PAPERS
APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS
FERMI QUESTIONS
PHYSICS CHALLENGE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
TRICK OF THE TRADE
LITTLE GEMS
FOR THE NEW TEACHER
WEBSIGHTS
BOOK REVIEWS

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Volume 45

Issue 9 | Dec 2007 | pp. 532-579

Issue 8 | Nov 2007 | pp. 468-528

Issue 7 | Oct 2007 | pp. 404-463

Issue 6 | Sep 2007 | pp. 326-399

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Oct 2007

Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 404-463

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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Work and Energy

Mojca Čepič

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 404

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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45.20.dg	Mechanical energy, work, and power
05.70.-a	Thermodynamics

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Energy and Work

Kai Neergård

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 404

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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45.20.dg	Mechanical energy, work, and power
05.70.-a	Thermodynamics

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Author's Response

Carl E. Mungan

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 405

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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45.20.dg	Mechanical energy, work, and power
05.70.-a	Thermodynamics

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Interferometric Measurement of Displacements

Gregory Ruffa

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 405

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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06.30.Bp	Spatial dimensions (e.g., position, lengths, volume, angles, and displacements)
42.87.-d	Optical testing techniques

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Worth Rereading

Gerhard Stroink

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 406

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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45.40.-f

Dynamics and kinematics of rigid bodies

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Thanks for Laura McCullough's Essay1

Michael Fenster

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 406

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus

FIGURING PHYSICS

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ACCELERATING BLOCKS

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 408

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.-i	Educational aids
45.40.-f	Dynamics and kinematics of rigid bodies

PAPERS

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Spherical Rare-Earth Magnets in Introductory Physics

Al Adams

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 409

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Permanent magnets have long been used in both traditional laboratory exercises^1,2 and in inquiry-based learning activities.³ These pedagogical applications are typically timed to correspond to the early coverage of magnetism in the second-semester sequence of introductory physics. At the initial level the concepts relate to the magnetic field of the Earth, the magnetic forces on a magnetic dipole, the various classes of magnetic materials, the nature of the magnetic field in the vicinity of a permanent magnet, and perhaps the use of magnetic fields to produce electric currents. Although there are examples of quantitative experiments in magnetism and electromagnetism using permanent magnets,^4,5 very rarely are these laboratories made part of the introductory laboratory experience.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
75.50.Ww	Permanent magnets

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Student Selection of the Textbook for an Introductory Physics Course

L. S. Dake

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 416

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Several years ago I had to select a new textbook for my calculus-based introductory physics class. I subscribe to Just-in-Time Teaching methods,¹ which require students to read the book before the material is covered in class. Thus, the readability of the text by the students is critical. However, I did not feel that I was the best judge of this factor, so I turned the textbook selection into a class project. The students unanimously chose one textbook, which I have now successfully used for three years. The project was decidedly worthwhile, and I gained considerable insight into what students prefer in a textbook.

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01.30.mp	Textbooks for undergraduates
01.40.Di	Course design and evaluation

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Index of Refraction Using Total Internal Reflection

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr.

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 420

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Here is a quick way to measure the index of refraction of water using the phenomenon of total internal reflection.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
78.20.Ci	Optical constants (including refractive index, complex dielectric constant, absorption, reflection and transmission coefficients, emissivity)

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Physics Northwest: An Academic Alliance

James L. Hicks

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 421

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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It's a weekday in mid-October, late at night and with another teaching assignment not far below the horizon. Yet 40 teachers are laughing, joking, and sharing in the fun that is associated with physics teaching. The event: a Physics Northwest (PNW) meeting, an organization that is in its 20th year and thriving. “Physics Northwest meetings are not only interesting, educational, and a source of great ideas for physics demonstrations, they are also Phun,” says David Thiessen. David's response appears to be universal among PNW members and he continues to attend PNW meetings even though he is into his ninth year of retirement. Patti Sievert of Northern Illinois University tells us, “I'm here tonight to learn how to form a Physics Northwest in the Rock River Valley,” and immediately three people from PNW volunteer to be there to help with her first meeting. Yes, this happened and continues to happen monthly in many northwest Illinois suburban high schools. The history of this prosperous organization and its sister organization, the Illinois State Physics Project (ISPP),¹ can be gleaned from the website in Ref. 2.

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01.40.E-	Science in school
01.10.Fv	Conferences, lectures, and institutes

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Simple Experiments to Help Students Understand Magnetic Phenomena

Kerry Browne and David P. Jackson

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 425 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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The principles of magnetism are a common topic in most introductory physics courses, yet curricular materials exploring the behavior of permanent magnets and magnetic materials are surprisingly rare in the literature. We reviewed the literature to see how magnetism is typically covered in introductory textbooks and curricula. We found that while most texts contain a relatively complete description of magnetism and its relation to current-carrying wires, few devote much space to the development of a model that explains the magnetic phenomena students are most familiar with, e.g., the interaction between permanent magnets and ferromagnetic materials.¹ We also found that while there are a wide variety of published articles exploring the various principles of magnetic induction, only a few of these explore the basic interactions between common magnets, ferromagnetic materials, and current-carrying wires.^2,3 The activities described in this paper were designed to provide a structured series of simple experiments to help students develop a model of magnetism capable of explaining these phenomena.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.Di	Course design and evaluation

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Noncalculus Treatment of Steady-State Rolling of a Thin Disk on a Horizontal Surface

W. L. Andersen

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 430 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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A coin tossed onto a table often ends up rolling in such a way that the center of mass remains approximately stationary. Although this phenomenon has been studied for many years and is well-documented in the literature, it is perhaps not widely appreciated in the physics education community that the motion can be understood without the use of calculus. In the hopes of providing a pedagogically useful example of physics in everyday life, a solution of the motion of a thin disk rolling in this fashion is reviewed using techniques readily accessible to an algebra-based introductory physics class. In addition, the principal moments of inertia of a thin disk are derived without calculus.

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45.40.Cc

Rigid body and gyroscope motion

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Diminishing the Gap Between University and High School Research Programs: Computational Physics

Mark Vondracek

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 434

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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There are many schools (grades K-12) around the country that offer some sort of science research option for students to pursue. Often this option is a local science fair, where students do smaller projects that are then presented at poster sessions. Many times the top local projects can advance to some type of regional and, possibly, state science fair. However, the projects students tend to do for a fair are “lower-level” research; that is, a project where the answer is at least known by the teacher and is often a lab activity from a standard experiment booklet. If there is a smaller subset of students who are more interested and motivated in science and who would like to take on more of a challenge with their research project, to the point where there is some element of originality and a truly unknown result being investigated (particularly in high school), most teachers do not have the means, or at least do not believe they have the means, of allowing them to do so unless there is a possibility of working in a university or professional laboratory outside of school. This more advanced level of research could be defined as the type that yields papers for major national science competitions.¹ While the widespread belief among many high school teachers is that high-end research requires professional facilities, it is not always necessary to work outside of school in order to have a strong physics research program,² especially when the research is computer based. This article offers suggestions for and examples of computational research projects for high school students, as well as students in introductory college physics classes.

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01.50.H-

Computers in education

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Another Look at the Wine Butler

Alan J. DeWeerd

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 438

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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In a recent article, Iain MacInnes analyzed the static equilibrium of a system consisting of a wine bottle and a wine butler.¹ After discussing that composite system, students can be asked to consider only the bottle (and its contents) as the system. An interesting challenge for them is to describe the forces on the bottle in static equilibrium.

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45.90.+t

Other topics in classical mechanics of discrete systems (restricted to new topics in section 45)

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The Magnetic Torque Oscillator and the Magnetic Piston

Martin Connors and Farook Al-Shamali

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 440 | Cited 4 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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A magnet suspended in a uniform magnetic field like that of the Earth can be made to oscillate about the field. The frequency of oscillation depends on the strength (magnetic moment) of the magnet, that of the external field, and the moment of inertia of the magnet. It is easily shown and verified by experiment that a simple but nontrivial expression represents this motion well, but that only the product of the magnetic moment and magnetic field can be determined. The repulsion of two magnets can be used to determine the magnetic moment, and in turn the external field can be determined. The results are reasonably good considering the very simple equipment required, and the experiment allows quantitative investigation of magnetism.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
85.70.-w	Magnetic devices

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Energy Ambiguity and the Inductive Rail Oscillator

Patrick C. Hecking

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 445

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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In electric or mixed electric-mechanic systems, the distinction between potential and kinetic energy is not as clear as in purely mechanical systems. A solution for the motion of an inductively loaded rail generator is presented. In this case, the magnetic field energy ()Li² can be written formally in terms of a potential energy, while physically it is something different. The analogy between mechanical and electric oscillators has limits, and harmonic oscillators can operate without potential energy, both of which must be pointed out by physics teachers.

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45.20.dg	Mechanical energy, work, and power
85.70.-w	Magnetic devices
01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus

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USA Team Ties for Third Position at 20th International Young Physicists' Tournament

Bruce G. Oldaker

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 451

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Rt

Physics tournaments and contests

APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS

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A Simplified Adiabatic Compression Apparatus

Michael J. Moloney and Albert P. McGarvey

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 452 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Mottmann¹ described an excellent way to measure the ratio of specific heats for air (γ = C_p∕C_v) by suddenly compressing a plastic 2-liter bottle. His arrangement can be simplified so that no valves are involved and only a single connection needs to be made. This is done by adapting the plastic cap of a 2-liter plastic bottle so it connects directly to a Vernier Software Gas Pressure Sensor² and the LabPro³ interface.

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01.50.My

Demonstration experiments and apparatus

FERMI QUESTIONS

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Fermi Questions

Larry Weinstein

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 454

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.-i

Educational aids

PHYSICS CHALLENGE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

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A DJ's Nightmare1

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 455

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.-i	Educational aids
45.40.Cc	Rigid body and gyroscope motion

TRICK OF THE TRADE

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It's Your Call: Make the Invisible Visible

Mike Shaw

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 456

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.My

Demonstration experiments and apparatus

LITTLE GEMS

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The Ionic Hair Dryer

Jason English

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 458

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.My

Demonstration experiments and apparatus

FOR THE NEW TEACHER

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Teachers as Actors: The Implications of Acting on Physics Teaching

Marina Milner-Bolotin

The Physics Teacher -- October 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 7, pp. 459

Online Publication Date: Sep 2007

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In the spring of 2006, a rather unusual advertisement by the Centre of Teaching and Academic Growth at UBC (http:∕∕www.tag.ubc.ca) came to my attention. Faculty members were invited to take part in a workshop entitled “All the World's a Stage: Teachers as Actors,” offered by a zoology instructor and an amateur actor, Greg Bole:

Teaching can be seen as creating an interpersonal relationship and hence uses many of the same skills as acting. The investigation and use of acting skills in teacher preparation can allow a greater facility with diverse methods, increase skill at adapting to change in the classroom or lecture hall, and an increased ability to quickly form positive relationships with students. (Greg Bole: http:∕∕www.tag.ubc.ca∕programs∕series-detail.php?series_id=249 )

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01.40.gb

Teaching methods and strategies