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American Journal of Physics

The Physics Teacher»
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
EDITORIAL
AAPT AWARDS
FIGURING PHYSICS
UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION FOR YOUNG PHYSICISTS TOURNAMENTS (USAYPT)
PAPERS
APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS
TRICK OF THE TRADE
FERMI QUESTIONS
FOR THE NEW TEACHER
PHYSICS CHALLENGE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
YOUTUBE PHYSICS
WEBSIGHTS
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May 2009

Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 261-320

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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Fermi Questions

Albert A. Bartlett

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 261

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Kw	Techniques of testing
01.55.+b	General physics
01.40.gf	Theory of testing and techniques

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Taking Probability to Heart

Donald W. Olson and Joseph C. Herbert

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 261

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gf	Theory of testing and techniques
01.40.J-	Teacher training

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Toepker's Response: To Err Is Human

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 261

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gf	Theory of testing and techniques
01.40.J-	Teacher training

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Perspective Is Everything

John M. Clement

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 262

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.10.Cr	Announcements, news, and awards
01.30.-y	Physics literature and publications

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Hewitt's Response

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 262

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.55.+b	General physics
01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus

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Digital Communication — Is It Really That New?

William DeBuvitz

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 262

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.55.+b	General physics
01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus

EDITORIAL

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Thank You to Our 2008–2009 Referees

Karl Mamola

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 263

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.10.Cr	Announcements, news, and awards
01.30.-y	Physics literature and publications

AAPT AWARDS

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2009 Distinguished Service Citations Awarded to Paul Hickman, Charles H. Holbrow, Bob Shurtz, Gary White, and Courtney Willis

Harvey S. Leff, AAPT Past President

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 264

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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

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Oersted Medal Presented to George F. Smoot III

Harvey S. Leff

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 266

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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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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BURNED HAND

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 268

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Kw	Techniques of testing
01.55.+b	General physics

UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION FOR YOUNG PHYSICISTS TOURNAMENTS (USAYPT)

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USAYPT Holds 2009 Annual February Tournament

Greg Jacobs, Tournament Director, USAYPT, Bruce Oldaker, Secretary∕Treasurer, USAYPT, and Tengiz Bibilashvili, President, USAYPT

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 270

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.10.Cr	Announcements, news, and awards
01.50.Rt	Physics tournaments and contests

PAPERS

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The YouTube Makeup Class

David G. Haase

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 272

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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When a college instructor goes out of town and must miss a lecture, the standard options are to cancel the class meeting or to enlist a colleague to fill in. In the former case a teaching opportunity is lost; in the latter the substitute may not lead the class in the same way as the instructor. Some students routinely skip lectures by a guest instructor, in the belief that the material in the substitute lecture will not be covered on the exam. There are other makeup options such as a directed study assignment. For instance, a missed class is sometimes a good opportunity to require students to investigate web-based simulations such as Physlets® that illustrate the class topics. These are most effective if the students are given a clear structure and if there are questions that the students must answer from their investigations with the Physlets. But many students are more comfortable with the audio and visual communication that occurs in the classroom. Web 2.0 technology, e.g., YouTube (http:∕∕www.youtube.com), makes it convenient for faculty to upload videos of lectures and demonstrations that can be used for makeup classes. College students already use YouTube for entertainment, and the YouTube format is simple to view on any web-connected computer. Although some universities have highly developed media delivery systems, YouTube is extremely convenient and accessible by anyone. This paper discusses how a YouTube makeup class can be efficiently produced and structured to be an effective learning experience.¹

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.50.ht	Instructional computer use

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The Wondrous New World of Modern Particle Astrophysics

Aksel Hallin and Doug Hallman

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 274

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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To investigate the frontiers of particle physics, physicists and engineers are building detectors and making measurements in unusual settings from outer space to far-flung regions of the Earth. In the past several decades, laboratories have been set up deep underground in working mines or mountain tunnels to look at subatomic particles from our Sun and to search for the strange dark matter particles needed to explain the evolution of galaxies. This paper describes important current developments in astroparticle physics, the SNOLAB underground laboratory in Sudbury, Canada, and several of the experiments that are being developed in that facility.

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J-	Teacher training
01.30.Rr	Surveys and tutorial papers; resource letters

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A “Mathematics Background Check”

John Hubisz

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 282 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Early in my career someone else reported that the best indicator of success in calculus-based physics (CBP) at our school was whether students had taken mathematics in a certain region of New Brunswick. I sat down with a very longtime mathematics teacher and asked him what he thought students should know in mathematics after high school to succeed in college. He quickly gave me five areas that every student should know and pointedly indicated that it was best to give them the questions and watch how they attacked the problems. A solution was not even important; all one had to note was the immediate steps that the student took.

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.Kw	Techniques of testing
01.40.J-	Teacher training

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A Graduation Stole Uniquely Designed for Physics

Lawrence H. Day

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 284 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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In response to student requests, and to help celebrate the graduation of our physics majors, we have designed a graduation stole uniquely befitting physics. The design incorporates the four visible spectral lines of hydrogen—the Balmer series. Since the 2002 debut of the design, all our graduates have proudly worn their physics graduation stoles at commencement. We hope the idea of a unique physics graduation stole, and the specific design of this particular one, will help spread the celebration of physics to other institutions as well.

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01.65.+g	History of science
32.30.Jc	Visible and ultraviolet spectra
01.90.+g	Other topics of general interest (restricted to new topics in section 01)

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A More General “U = mgh”

David Keeports

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 286

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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In problems dealing with the Earth's gravity, students are frequently bewildered by the fact that the two common expressions for potential energy, mgh and −Gm_em∕r, differ in sign and differ considerably in form. Some textbooks demonstrate that the more familiar first expression is a special case of the more general second equation providing that an object is near to the Earth's surface.^1–2 In this paper I derive an equation that resembles the familiar U = mgh but that applies to an object of mass m at any height h above the Earth's surface.

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.30.Rr	Surveys and tutorial papers; resource letters

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Approximation for the Rayleigh Resolution of a Circular Aperture

Carl E. Mungan

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 288

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Rayleigh's criterion states that a pair of point sources are barely resolved by an optical instrument when the central maximum of the diffraction pattern due to one source coincides with the first minimum of the pattern of the other source. As derived in standard introductory physics textbooks,¹ the first minimum for a rectangular slit of width a is located at angular position θ = sin⁻¹ (λ∕a) for light of wavelength λ. If the angular separation of the two sources is small, we can use the small-angle approximation sin θ ≈ θ to conclude that the resolution is θ_min = λ∕a for a rectangular aperture. On the other hand, for a circular aperture of diameter D, the limiting angle is shown in optics texts² to be θ_min = 1.22 λ∕D. The derivation of the numerical prefactor of 1.22 involves finding the zero of a Bessel function and is beyond the reach of introductory physics students. Consequently, elementary texts simply pull that prefactor out of thin air. The purpose of the present paper is to briefly explain why we expect a prefactor larger than unity and to make simple estimates of its value, using only algebra.

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42.25.Fx	Diffraction and scattering
42.79.-e	Optical elements, devices, and systems

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Learning as They Write: An Assignment to Explain Physics Concepts

Julie McKinney and George Hademenos

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 290

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Cross-curricular secondary instructional strategies exist in many different forms and can be applied to any two or more curricular disciplines. Most importantly, these strategies have been proven to be effective in improving learning and comprehension of important concepts across all curricular fields involved in the activity.^1–7 There is no instructional strategy as applicable and as important to secondary students in all classes, particularly English Language Learners (ELLs),^8,9 as the implementation of writing into a curricular discipline.

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01.40.Ha	Learning theory and science teaching
01.40.Fk	Research in physics education
01.40.J-	Teacher training

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Double-Glazing Interferometry

Vincent Toal and Emilia M. Mihaylova

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 295

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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This note describes how white light interference fringes can be seen by observing the Moon through a double-glazed window. White light interferometric fringes are normally observed only in a well-aligned interferometer whose optical path difference is less than the coherence length of the light source, which is approximately one micrometer for white light. Obtaining such fringes in a Michelson interferometer is not a trivial task.¹ The interferometer is typically illuminated with a monochromatic source and the path length difference adjusted with a wedge angle between the interferometer mirrors so that five or six vertical fringes are visible, indicating nearly equal paths. Then the mirrors are adjusted until the fringes are almost perfectly straight. Finally we use a white light source and carefully scan through the approximately equal path range until five or six white light fringes are seen to sweep rapidly by.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.Fk	Research in physics education

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Physics Labs with Flavor

Mikhail M. Agrest

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 297 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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This paper describes my attempts to look deeper into the so-called “shoot for your grade” labs, started in the '90s, when I began applying my teaching experience in Russia to introductory physics labs at the College of Charleston and other higher education institutions in South Carolina. The term “shoot for your grade” became popular among teachers of a projectile motion lab where students are graded based on their ability to predict the range of the projectile. I describe here several additional laboratory exercises in which students are required to predict results of the experiment. I also discuss an essential element of these exercises which I call “recurrent study.”

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01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Qb	Laboratory course design, organization, and evaluation

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Reaching Nonscience Students Through Science Fiction

Donald A. Smith

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 302 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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In 2006 I had the chance to design a physics course for students not majoring in scientific fields. I chose to shape the course around science fiction, not as a source for quantitative problems but as a means for conveying important physics concepts. I hoped that, by encountering these concepts in narratives, students with little or no science or math training might become more comfortable with them. I also thought the stories might provide the ideas with a context that would enable students to remember them more clearly than if they were reading a physics textbook.

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01.40.Fk	Research in physics education
01.40.Di	Course design and evaluation

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Using a Michelson Interferometer to Measure Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Copper

Ryan Scholl and Bruce W. Liby

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 306

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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When most materials are heated they expand.¹ This concept is usually demonstrated using some type of mechanical measurement of the linear expansion of a metal rod.² We have developed an alternative laboratory method for measuring thermal expansion by using a Michelson interferometer. Using the method presented, interference, interferometry, and the principle of thermal expansion can be taught concurrently. The material is accessible to undergraduates and advanced high school physics students.

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
07.60.-j	Optical instruments and equipment
42.25.Hz	Interference
65.40.De	Thermal expansion; thermomechanical effects
07.00.00	Instruments, apparatus, and components common to several branches of physics and astronomy

APPARATUS FOR TEACHING PHYSICS

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Rubber Band Bohr Wave Functions

Erlend H. Graf

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 310

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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A simple apparatus for demonstrating circular standing-wave modes can be made inexpensively using rubber bands and other easily obtained materials.

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01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus

TRICK OF THE TRADE

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Simply and Accurately Measuring Dielectric Constants Using a Parallel Plate Capacitor: Sometimes You Just Can't Win

T. T. Grove and M. F. Masters

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 312

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Pa	Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb	Teaching methods and strategies

FERMI QUESTIONS

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Fermi questions

Larry Weinstein

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 313

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Abstract Unavailable

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01.50.Kw	Techniques of testing
01.50.Rt	Physics tournaments and contests

FOR THE NEW TEACHER

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The Grading Abyss

Hugh Ross

The Physics Teacher -- May 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 5, pp. 314

Online Publication Date: Apr 2009

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Editor's note: Hugh Ross is a physics teacher at Guerin Catholic High School in Noblesville, IN. He received his BS in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and his MS in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University. After being drawn to the field of education, he later earned his MS in math and science education from Purdue University. Hugh also freelances as a science writer, developing test preparation manuals, science texts, and science test items.

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