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Sep 2009

Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 326-400

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Comments on Static vs Kinetic Friction

Gabriel Kessler

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 326

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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I'm writing to comment on the article published in the March edition of The Physics Teacher titled “Choose Wisely: Static or Kinetic Friction—The Power of Dimensionless Plots.” As I was reading the article, something caught my eye that I couldn't reconcile with. It was the phrase on page 160 in the first column near the bottom. The statement was that the experimental value for the coefficient of kinetic friction was “unexpectedly greater than the coefficient of static friction!”
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01.40.ek Secondary school
01.40.J- Teacher training
01.55.+b General physics

Authors' Response

Dan Ludwigsen and Kathryn Svinarich

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 326

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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We are grateful for the feedback we've received from Gabriel Kessler regarding our example of using dimensionless plots. Kessler captures the spirit of this technique with his suggestions for a modified analysis with the parameter F/(m2g). We also agree that the analysis should yield a coefficient of kinetic friction that is less than the coefficient of static friction for the maximum force of static friction. However, what we attributed to experimental error associated with numerical differentiation was more likely an oversight in the analysis. Private communication with Donald Fahnline helped us identify this mistake.
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01.40.ek Secondary school
01.40.J- Teacher training
01.55.+b General physics

Equinox Disparity

A. John Mallinckrodt

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 327

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Paul Hewitt's April Figuring Physics column (pp. 198, 214) asks the reader to determine what accounts for the seven- day difference between the 179 days from the autumnal to vernal equinox and the 186 days from the vernal to autumnal equinox. His answer—Earth moves faster during the shorter period—is the only one of the offered choices that conceivably could account for the difference. Alas, it doesn't because it implicitly and incorrectly assumes that the distances traveled during the two periods are the same.
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01.40.-d Education
95.10.Ce Celestial mechanics (including n-body problems)

Alternative Presentation

Gene Mosca

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 327

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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I wish to share a few remarks concerning Fig. 1 in the paper “Analog of Optical Elements for Sound Waves in Air,” as well as the wording leading up to Eq. (1). First, the curve in Fig. 1 is supposed to be that of a hyperbola. Second, the distances labeled x and y in Fig. 1 do not appear as the coordinates of a general point on the curve. Instead they are the thickness and half-height of the lens. Defining x and y in this manner makes for a quick “derivation” of Eq. (1), but not a very satisfying one. That the drawing shows the ray from the focal point to point A penetrating the surface of the lens is particularly unsettling. A more satisfying derivation of Eq. (1) follows:
math
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01.30.Rr Surveys and tutorial papers; resource letters
01.50.-i Educational aids
01.55.+b General physics

Author's Correction: “Student Difficulties in Analyzing Thin-Film Interference,” Phys. Teach. 47, 227–230 (April 2009)

Ronald Newburgh

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 328

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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I am slightly embarrassed to have found two small errors in my April paper, owing to imperfect proof reading on my part. They do not affect the content in any way. They are in two equations in the last paragraph before the “Conclusion” section: In line 7, 2m + 1/2 should be (2m + 1)/2 or m + i/2.
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
42.25.Hz Interference
99.10.Cd Errata

Correction: “Innovative Uses of Video Analysis,” Phys. Teach. 47, 145–150 (March 2009)

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 328

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.F- Audio and visual aids
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
99.10.Cd Errata
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From the AAPT Executive Officer

Warren Hein, AAPT Executive Officer

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 329

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Figure 8b in the print version of the journal is an unintended repeat of Fig. 8a. The correct version of the figure appears below and is also correct in the online version of the paper. We apologize for the error, which was introduced during the production process.
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01.78.+p Science and government (funding, politics, etc.)
01.10.Hx Physics organizational activities
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THALIA ON A SWING

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 332

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.Kw Techniques of testing
01.55.+b General physics
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Kaleidoscopes Made With Big Mirrors

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr.

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 334 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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The familiar kaleidoscope toy was developed by the Scottish physicist David Brewster (1781–1868) in 1816, patented by him in 1817, and described in his 1819 book, A Treatise on the Kaleidoscope. Generations of elementary students have made their own kaleidoscopes by assembling three microscope slides inside a tube and looking through it at a series of randomly colored objects drawn on a piece of transparent plastic placed across the far end of the tube.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.55.+b General physics
01.50.Wg Physics of toys

Einstein Never Approved of Relativistic Mass

Eugene Hecht

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 336 | Cited 6 times

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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During much of the 20th century it was widely believed that one of the significant insights of special relativity was “relativistic mass.” Today there are two schools on that issue: the traditional view that embraces speed-dependent “relativistic mass,” and the more modern position that rejects it, maintaining that there is only one mass and it's speed-independent. This paper explores the history of “relativistic mass,” emphasizing Einstein's public role and private thoughts. We show how the concept of speed-dependent mass mistakenly evolved out of a tangle of ideas despite Einstein's prescient reluctance. Along the way there will be previously unrevealed surprises (e.g., Einstein never derived the expression for “relativistic mass,” and privately disapproved of it).
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01.65.+g History of science
03.30.+p Special relativity
01.40.J- Teacher training
FREE

Time Trials — An AP Physics Challenge Lab

David Jones

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 342

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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I have come to the conclusion that for high school physics classroom and laboratory experiences, simpler is better! In this paper I describe a very simple and effective lab experience that my AP students have thoroughly enjoyed year after year. I call this lab exercise “Time Trials.” The experiment is simple in design and it is a lot of fun for students. Time Trials is the type of lab experience that I call a “design challenge lab” or just “challenge lab.” A “challenge lab” is basically an experiment where physics students attempt to obtain a specific outcome under some sort of constraint conditions set by the instructor. The students must work within the constraints set by the instructor and they must work only with the equipment given by the instructor.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.50.Qb Laboratory course design, organization, and evaluation
01.40.ek Secondary school
01.55.+b General physics
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies

Physics for the Non-Scientist: A Middle Way

Michael Sobel

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 346 | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Recently a comedian in a comedy club in New York asked me if I was a professor. I said, “Yes, a professor of physics.” “Physics!” he said. “I was in a bookstore and saw a book, Physics for Dummies. I opened it and it said, ‘You'd better cheat.’” Physics has that reputation, as all of us in the field know, and yet I'm not sure if we have grappled with the reason why.
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.75.+m Science and society
01.40.Di Course design and evaluation

Theater in Physics Teacher Education

Ed van den Berg

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 350

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Ten years ago I sat down with the first batch of students in our science/math teacher education program in the Philippines, then third-year students, and asked them what they could do for the opening of the new science building. One of them pulled a stack of papers out of his bag and put it in front of me: a complete script for a science play! This was beyond expectation. The play was practiced several times for groups of high school students visiting the science exhibition that was also organized by the students. During the opening of our building, the play was performed for visiting dignitaries including the Assistant Secretary for Education, Culture, and Sports. It was a great success! The cast got invited to present their production at a number of places and occasions.
Show PACS
01.40.-d Education
01.75.+m Science and society
01.10.Hx Physics organizational activities
01.30.Rr Surveys and tutorial papers; resource letters
FREE

Motors and Bulbs in Series

Robert J. Whitaker

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 353 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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One of Paul Hewitt's “Figuring Physics” that appeared in this journal dealt with the heating of a motor. This phenomenon can be demonstrated with a miniature motor and a bulb as part of a series of activities with “batteries and bulbs.” Students examine the effect on the brightness of a single bulb when a second, identical bulb is placed in series with it (Fig. 1). The second bulb is then replaced with the motor (Fig. 2). When the motor is running, the first bulb is dimmer than it was in series with the other bulb. However, if the shaft of the motor is held so it cannot move (like Hewitt's saw motor), the bulb is noticeably brighter. If one uses the brightness of the bulb as a qualitative measure of current, then there is clearly more current when the motor is not moving. This provides an opportunity to introduce some very interesting physics.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.55.+b General physics

The Physics of a Gymnastics Flight Element

Jonas Contakos, Les G. Carlton, Bruce Thompson, and Rick Suddaby

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 355

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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From its inception, performance in the sport of gymnastics has relied on the laws of physics to create movement patterns and static postures that appear almost impossible. In general, gymnastics is physics in motion and can provide an ideal framework for studying basic human modeling techniques and physical principles. Using low-end technology and basic principles of physics, we analyzed a high-end gymnastics skill competed in by both men and women. The comprehensive goal of the examination is to scientifically understand how a skill of this magnitude is actually physically possible and what must a gymnast do to successfully complete the skill. The examination is divided into three sections, each of which is comprehensive enough to be a separate assignment or small group project.
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01.55.+b General physics
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.-i Educational aids

Objects in Telescope Are Farther Than They Appear

Christopher M. Graney

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 362 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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The wave nature of light is not part of students' common experiences, so often physics teachers and textbooks will add a historical anecdote about how scientists, too, were tricked by light. A common one is how, in the early 19th century, Poisson declared that since Fresnel's ideas on the wave nature of light implied that the shadow cast by a disk would contain a bright spot at its center, Fresnel's ideas were obviously flawed. The spot was later detected, proving Fresnel right! But recent studies of Galileo's work have brought to light a story about diffraction that may displace Poisson's spot as the favored historical anecdote, for it seems that diffraction tricked Galileo, too. Diffraction of light caused Galileo to mismeasure the distances to the stars.
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01.65.+g History of science
95.10.Jk Astrometry and reference systems
01.40.-d Education

Estimating the Wavelength of Sodium Emission in Flame — The Easy Way

M. Farooq Wahab

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 367 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Simple “box spectroscopes” are not new. Different methods of building them at home using cheap diffraction gratings have been described. However, their use has often been confined to looking at street lights, discharge tubes, and enjoying the beautiful spectra of various lamps. Construction of the box spectroscope usually involves a narrow slit made with metal plates or razor blades at one end and a transmission grating at the other end. The slit is directed toward a light source and the light spectrum is viewed through the grating. In the experiment described in this paper, a simple box spectroscope is used, along with a digital camera, for making quantitative wavelength measurements.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J- Teacher training

Another Way of Tracking Moving Objects Using Short Video Clips

Francisco Vera and Cristian Romanque

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 370 | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Physics teachers have long employed video clips to study moving objects in their classrooms and instructional labs. A number of approaches exist, both free and commercial, for tracking the coordinates of a point using video. The main characteristics of the method described in this paper are: it is simple to use; coordinates can be tracked using any standard Internet navigator; it can be used with examples available on our webserver or with a modified example in the user's own computer; the web pages with new sequences of images are easy to upload to a web server; it is possible to track and analyze any complex one- or two-dimensional motion of objects; and the code is open source. The setup is very simple, intuitive, and can easily be scaled up.
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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.F- Audio and visual aids
FREE

The ‘Nut-Drop‘ Experiment—Bringing Millikan's Challenge to Introductory Students

Lowell I. McCann and Earl D. Blodgett

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 374 | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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One of the difficulties in teaching 20th-century physics ideas in introductory physics is that many seminal experiments that are discussed in textbooks are difficult or expensive for students to access experimentally. In this paper, we discuss an analogous exercise to Millikan's oil-drop experiment that lets students experience some of the physics involved in the experiment and some of the difficulties Millikan faced.
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.ek Secondary school

Three-Phase and Six-Phase AC at the Lab Bench

George M. Caplan

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 380

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Utility companies generate three-phase electric power, which consists of three sinusoidal voltages with phase angles of 0°, 120°, and 240°. The ac generators described in most introductory textbooks are single-phase generators, so physics students are not likely to learn about three-phase power. I have developed a simple way to display the waveforms of the three-phase power supplied to my lab and to demonstrate an interesting feature of three-phase power. The waveform displays require three small transformers, a Vernier Lab Pro® data-collection device, and a computer; but the demonstration requires only the transformers and some miniature light bulbs. I have also developed a way to demonstrate how six-phase ac can be derived from three-phase ac.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
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A Static Hanging-Weight Demonstration Apparatus

Miriam A. Forman and Erlend H. Graf

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 387

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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In an effort to get away from standard fixed string-and-weight statics problems, one of us (MAF) posed the following problem to our freshman physics class: As shown in Fig. 1, a string of negligible mass and length L has its ends fixed at points A and B, with point B displaced horizontally from A by a distance w < L, and vertically by a distance h < math. A mass m, hung from a small frictionless pulley, is allowed to move freely along the string until it comes to equilibrium, the pulley located a horizontal distance x to the right of A and vertical distance y below point A.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.40.Fk Research in physics education
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FREE

Fermi Questions

Larry Weinstein

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 389

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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The Moon has been hit many times by asteroids and comets. How large would the asteroid need to be in order to be able to split the Moon in half (and permanently separate the two halves)? Assume that the asteroid originates in the solar system.
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01.50.Rt Physics tournaments and contests
01.55.+b General physics
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Know it, Lead it, Revise it: The Keys to Success in Physics Education

Jeff C. Marshall

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 390

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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We start in the middle of the story…. Two teachers plan and implement a lesson addressing a major concept in physics. Yet, formative and summative assessments show that one teacher more positively affected student achievement than the other. By positive, we mean that those students demonstrate solid conceptual understanding of the topic and can apply it to novel situations. What could account for the differences? Did one teacher have all the higher achievers, better lab equipment or access to technology, or a higher academic degree? We would argue that the answer resides in the clear intentional decisions made by the teacher before, during, and after the lesson. Random attempts at improving instruction should be replaced with intentional strategies addressing three areas: knowing the big ideas, leading challenging and engaging lessons, and revising instruction based on student performance.
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01.40.J- Teacher training
01.40.Fk Research in physics education
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FREE

Half and Rough

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 392

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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A small block slides down a slanted board when released. The upper half of the board is smooth and the lower is rough, so that the acceleration of the block on the smooth half is three times greater than it is on the rough half. The block reaches the bottom of the board in time t1. The board is then flipped so that the upper half is rough and the lower part is smooth, and the block is released from the top again. This time, the block reaches the bottom of the board in time t2. In both cases, the board makes the same angle with the horizontal. Find the ratio t1/t2.
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01.50.Rt Physics tournaments and contests
01.40.J- Teacher training

Physics Enrollment in U.S. High Schools, 1948–2005

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 394

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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The proportion of high school seniors who have completed at least one course in physics has grown steadily over the last 20 years. This data is provided by the Statistical Research Center (SRC) at the American Institute of Physics (AIP). Since 1986, the SRC has conducted a Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers, co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). We examine enrollments, course variety, teacher background, textbooks used, student and teacher demographics, and teacher opinions on a variety of topics. Each month we will highlight a key finding. Data collection from the 2008–09 survey has just been completed, and we will present results as they become available. We are very grateful to more than 2000 high school physics teachers from a representative random sample of public and private schools across the United States who participated this year.
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01.10.Hx Physics organizational activities
01.75.+m Science and society
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Bigger Is Bigger

Diane Riendeau

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 394

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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When you really want to get a point across to your students, you set up explorations or experiments, and do demonstrations. Sometimes I find myself thinking, “If I only had….” This month's videos add “wow” factor to the experiences you provide for your students in the classroom!
Thanks to Jaime Stasiorowski (Deerfield High School), Tony Zito (Dutchess Community College), and Bob Beichner (NC State) and Chris Chiaverina for their contributions to this month's column.
Show PACS
01.50.H- Computers in education
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
01.55.+b General physics

Bigger Is Bigger

Diane Riendeau

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 394

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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When you really want to get a point across to your students, you set up explorations or experiments, and do demonstrations. Sometimes I find myself thinking, “If I only had….” This month's videos add “wow” factor to the experiences you provide for your students in the classroom!
Thanks to Jaime Stasiorowski (Deerfield High School), Tony Zito (Dutchess Community College), and Bob Beichner (NC State) and Chris Chiaverina for their contributions to this month's column.
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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
47.10.-g General theory in fluid dynamics
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A Para- and Dia-Magnetism Balance

John A. Daffron

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 395

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Paramagnetic and diamagnetic effects are very weak, compared to ferromagnetic effects, and conditions must be optimized to give a satisfactory demonstration of them. The samples must be pure, the magnetic field strong, and frictional forces must be held to a minimum. The simple design in Fig. 1 fulfills all of these conditions.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.J- Teacher training
75.00.00 Magnetic properties and materials
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Seven Feynman Video Lectures: The Character of Physical Law from Microsoft Research

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 396

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Microsoft Research, in collaboration with Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, has purchased rights and is freely streaming Feynman's seven Cornell 1964 lectures on The Character of Physical Law. I watched and greatly enjoyed the first introductory lecture on gravitation. The lectures are being used to demonstrate a new Microsoft video annotation format product called Microsoft Silverlight. While the videos and Silverlight are freely available from Microsoft for a limited selection of platforms, operating systems (OSs) and browsers, I was unable to make Silverlight run on my elderly Mac, or to install Silverlight on several PCs in our physics department. I did manage to watch the first video (only) on a colleague's more recent Mac laptop.
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01.40.-d Education
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
01.30.Bb Publications of lectures (advanced institutes, summer schools, etc.)

Three Physics and Astronomy blogs

Richard Hubbard, physics teacher

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 396

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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— Cocktail Party Physics is an irreverent, humorous blog dealing with physics from the point of view of someone who isn't a professional physicist, but who is interested in the subject. Multiple bloggers add interesting, differing viewpoints on current events from a physics standpoint. http://twisted-physics.typepad.com/cocktail_party_physics/— Astronomycast http://www.astronomycast.com/ is a website and podcast created by Dr. Pamela Gay from the University of Southern Illinois and Frasier Cain, publisher of Universe Today. The podcasts include weekly discussion topics, and mostly weekly “question shows” where listeners are invited to send Dr. Gay her questions, which she will answer in the podcast. Dr. Gay also has her own blog, Star Stryder at http://www.starstryder.com/, blogging the life of an astronomer.
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01.40.-d Education
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media

The LivePhoto Physics videos and video analysis site

David Abbott

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 396

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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The LivePhoto site is similar to an archive of short films for video analysis. Some videos have Flash tools for analyzing the video embedded in the movie. Most of the videos address mechanics topics with titles like Rolling Pencil (check this one out for pedagogy and content knowledge—nicely done!), Juggler, Yo-yo, Puck and Bar (this one is an inelastic collision with rotation), but there are a few titles in other areas (E&M, waves, thermo, etc.).
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01.50.F- Audio and visual aids
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media

The Brainiacs and the Electric Fence from YouTube

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 396

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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A humorous collection of classic Ben Franklin-era electrostatics experiments demonstrating conduction and insulation effects reenacted with a group of barefooted college-age volunteers in t-shirts known as “braniacs” and a commercial farm-grade electric fence. Quite humorous and compelling, with a noteworthy musical track. Brainiac: Science Abuse is a UK science entertainment show with several episodes on YouTube and a website with some freely available shows at http://sky1.sky.com/show/brainiac. Note that the Skynet site (like Hulu or Showtime or online TV network sites) has other, adult-themed television content not suitable for the classroom. See also the excellent Benjamin Franklin and Electrostatics website at the Wright Center at Tufts University by Dr. Robert Morse: http://tinyurl.com/2szs2c, especially the QuickTime video clip entitled “Drawing the Fire” that you can reenact with your students in the classroom.
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01.50.F- Audio and visual aids
01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
01.65.+g History of science
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Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul: Kenneth R. Miller

John L. Roeder

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 397

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul, by Kenneth R. Miller and published by Viking, New York, NY (2008), xi + 244 pp., $25.95 ISBN 978-0-670-01883-3.
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01.30.Vv Book reviews
87.00.00 Biological and medical physics
01.75.+m Science and society
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Increasing Physics Enrollment in Your School

Earl Barrett

The Physics Teacher -- September 2009 -- Volume 47, Issue 6, pp. 399 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Aug 2009

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Forty-one years of teaching nearly every science course offered in high school has given me a pretty good perspective on science teaching. All physics teachers who are practicing a teaching style that actively engages students know that they teach a course of great value to young people. Active engagement techniques used in teaching physics allow the student the intellectual freedom to be an integral part of the learning experience—from planning a laboratory experiment to finding answers to questions, to collecting and analyzing the data, to formulating precise written language and mathematical expressions that describe the results. Working in small lab groups allows students to develop team-building and work-related skills. Confronting students with novel situations provides the opportunity to apply the newly learned principle, so depth of understanding can be measured in a meaningful way. Counselors, administrators, and fellow staff should be invited to be project judges whenever possible.
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01.75.+m Science and society
01.10.Hx Physics organizational activities
01.40.-d Education
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