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Apr 2013

Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 198-255

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Conventional vs Talgo trains

Albert A. Bartlett

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 198

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Ww Editorials
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.-i Educational aids

Investigating SWG values

Serge Florens

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 198

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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
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Correction to “Modeling the Dynamics of Gel Electrophoresis in the High School Classroom,” Phys. Teach. 51, 28 (Jan. 2013) .

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 198

Online Publication Date: Mar 2013

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Abstract Unavailable
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99.10.Cd Errata
87.80.Kc Electrochemical techniques
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
82.45.-h Electrochemistry and electrophoresis
82.70.Gg Gels and sols
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AAPT awards

David Sokoloff, AAPT Awards Chair

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 200

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01.10.Cr Announcements, news, and awards
01.40.-d Education
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EARTH SATELLITES

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 202

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.-i Educational aids
91.10.Qm Harmonics of the gravity potential field; geopotential theory and determination
97.60.-s Late stages of stellar evolution (including black holes)
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Thumbing Through The Physics Teacher

Steve Iona

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 203

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The formation of The Physics Teacher (TPT) journal was proposed in 1961, and the first issue was published in April 1963. I was in fifth grade. Little did I know that TPT would touch my life many times during the next 50 years. Let me share some observations from the first issue of each decade, beginning in 1963 and continuing until 2013.
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01.30.Vv Book reviews
01.40.-d Education
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Using the Wii Balance Board in Elevator Physics

Donna Mullenax

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 210

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The Wii Balance Board is a popular accessory to the wireless video system the Wii. In the past few years, the Wii Remote™ and Wii Balance Board accessories to the Wii have made their way into physics labs as sensors to measure force and acceleration. In most introductory physics courses, the forces experienced while on an elevator are discussed and calculated. The Wii Balance Board is a very good tool for having students measure the forces experienced on an elevator and calculating the acceleration of the elevator when it starts to move and then while it is coming to a stop.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
06.30.Gv Velocity, acceleration, and rotation
07.07.Df Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.); remote sensing
07.10.Pz Instruments for strain, force, and torque
45.20.da Forces and torques
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Removing Coins from a Dice Tower: No Magic — Just Physics

Michael Vollmer and Klaus-Peter Möllmann

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 212

Online Publication Date: Mar 2013

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multimedia

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There are phenomena that seem impossible—at first glance. But some knowledge of physics can often allow us to plan and also perform the seemingly impossible without any magic. Here is a very simple experiment that can be done with a whole group of students. I learned about it from an activity in a science center, where it was posed as a magical puzzle.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
46.55.+d Tribology and mechanical contacts

Thinking Outside of the Rectangular Box

Mikhail Kagan

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 215

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As we typically teach in an introductory mechanics course, choosing a “good” coordinate frame with convenient axes may present a major simplification to a problem. Additionally, knowing some conserved quantities provides an extremely powerful problem-solving tool. While the former idea is typically discussed in the context of Newton's laws, the latter starts with introducing conservation of energy even later. This work presents an elegant example of implementing both aforementioned ideas in the kinematical context, thus providing a “warm-up” introduction to the standard tools used later on in dynamics. Both the choice of the (non-orthogonal) coordinate frame and the conserved quantities are rather nonstandard, yet at the same time quite intuitive to the problem at hand. Two such problems are discussed in detail with two alternative approaches. The first approach does not even require knowledge of calculus. In an online appendix,1 I also present the brute-force solution involving a coupled system of differential equations. In addition, a few exercises and another similar problem for students' “homework” are provided in the appendix.
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01.40.-d Education
45.20.D- Newtonian mechanics
45.50.Dd General motion

Teaching Assistant Professional Development by and for TAs

Natasha G. Holmes, Matthew “Sandy” Martinuk, Joss Ives, and Mya Warren

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 218

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In most large universities, much of the undergraduate teaching responsibility falls on graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), who are by then experienced students, but relatively inexperienced instructors. Institutions have a responsibility to offer quality instruction to undergraduate students and thus are responsible for preparing the TAs to teach. Unfortunately, many TA training programs fall short of effectively improving TAs' teaching skills because they lack sufficient practical skills training, opportunities for practice and feedback, and follow-up.1 This paper describes a year-round TA professional development program that addresses these shortcomings by offering three complementary professional development programs: a core workshop, a mentor program, and a course-specific training program.
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01.40.J- Teacher training

Revisiting the Least Force Required to Keep a Block from Sliding

Subhranil De

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 220

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This article pertains to a problem on static friction that concerns a block of mass M resting on a rough inclined plane. The coefficient of static friction is μs and the inclination angle θ is greater than tan−1 μs. This means that some force F must be applied (see Fig. 1)1 to keep the block from sliding down the incline. Familiar textbook versions of this problem ask for the minimum value of F when it is applied in a certain specified direction, for example, parallel to the incline (φ= 0 in Fig. 1) or perpendicular to the incline (φ= 90°). Here, we generalize the problem by allowing the direction of the force to be adjustable and asking what the absolute minimum value of F is in order to keep the block from sliding.
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01.50.-i Educational aids
45.20.da Forces and torques

Reproducing Eratosthenes' Determination of Earth's Circumference on a Smaller Scale

Seiji Takemae, Peter Kirwin, and Gordon McIntosh

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 222

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In this paper, we describe a lab activity for measuring a spherical balloon's circumference. The procedure we discuss is based on the method used by Eratosthenes to measure the Earth's circumference.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
06.30.Bp Spatial dimensions (e.g., position, lengths, volume, angles, and displacements)
91.00.00 Solid Earth physics
95.00.00 Fundamental astronomy and astrophysics; instrumentation, techniques, and astronomical observations
01.40.eg Elementary school
01.40.ek Secondary school

Observing the Forces Involved in Static Friction Under Static Situations

Daniel Kaplan

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 224

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Static friction is an important concept in introductory physics. Later in the year students apply their understanding of static friction under more complex conditions of static equilibrium. Traditional lab demonstrations in this case involve exceeding of the maximum level of static friction, resulting in the onset of motion.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
07.10.Pz Instruments for strain, force, and torque
45.20.da Forces and torques

Augmented Reality Comes to Physics

Mark Buesing and Michael Cook

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 226

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Augmented reality (AR) is a technology used on computing devices where processor-generated graphics are rendered over real objects to enhance the sensory experience in real time. In other words, what you are really seeing is augmented by the computer.1 Many AR games already exist for systems such as Kinect and Nintendo 3DS and mobile apps, such as Tagwhat and Star Chart (a must for astronomy class). The yellow line marking first downs in a televised football game2 and the enhanced puck that makes televised hockey easier to follow3 both use augmented reality to do the job.
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01.50.ht Instructional computer use
01.40.ek Secondary school

High school physics teachers' assessment of student preparation

Susan White

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 228

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Student preparation can be quite nuanced. Not only have students been exposed to a variety of preparatory classes and outside influences, but students also vary in their commitment and approach to their current classes. We asked teachers to offer their opinions on their students' preparation for physics in a number of areas. The overall picture of teacher perception of student preparation in various domains is shown at right. In each of the areas, more than half of the teachers felt that their students were at least adequately prepared. Almost two-fifths of the responding teachers reported that their students were inadequately prepared to think and pose questions scientifically, and less than 10% of the teachers felts that their students were adequately prepared in this area.
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01.40.-d Education

Mechanical Energy Changes in Perfectly Inelastic Collisions

Carl E. Mungan

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 229

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Suppose a block of mass m1 traveling at speed v1 makes a one-dimensional perfectly inelastic collision with another block of mass m2. What else does one need to know to calculate the fraction of the mechanical energy that is dissipated in the collision?
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01.50.-i Educational aids
45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
45.20.df Momentum conservation
45.20.dg Mechanical energy, work, and power
45.20.dh Energy conservation
45.50.Tn Collisions

The Rocker (An Easy Anharmonic Oscillator for Classroom Demonstration)

Martin Lieberherr

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 231

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Every instructor should know some easy examples of anharmonic oscillations. The rocking of an empty wine bottle or a slender beer glass is one of those: The angle is not a sinusoidal function of time and the period is not independent of the amplitude, not even for small amplitudes. But care has to be taken that the glass does not slip or rotate around a vertical axis. LEGO rockers (see Fig. 1) are much more reliable and versatile.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus

Teaching Electron—Positron—Photon Interactions with Hands-on Feynman Diagrams

George Kontokostas and George Kalkanis

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 232

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Feynman diagrams are introduced in many physics textbooks, such as those by Alonso and Finn 1 and Serway,2 and their use in physics education has been discussed by various authors.3–5 They have an appealing simplicity and can give insight into events in the microworld. Yet students often do not understand their significance and often cannot combine the basic units of interaction—points where the world lines of two fermions and one boson meet—to construct diagrams for observed processes.
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01.50.-i Educational aids
11.10.-z Field theory

Using Charge Distributions to “Immerse” Your Classroom in an Electric Field

Jon D. H. Gaffney, Evan Richards, Kathleen Foote, and Robert J. Beichner

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 234

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Because electric fields are both invisible and three dimensional, they can be quite difficult to introduce to students. Simple diagrams are unable to convey the complexity or depth of the field, and computer simulations in isolation do not provide a familiar spatial context for students to understand what they see. Through “immersing” the classroom in an imaginary electric field, we propose an activity to engage the students in both visualizing and computing the electric field generated by a distribution of charges. This activity provides the opportunity for active learning within classrooms of all sizes, whether they utilize a traditional lecture format or a reformed learning environment.
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01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
41.20.Cv Electrostatics; Poisson and Laplace equations, boundary-value problems

Taking it to the Streets…and Bridges, Squares, and Castles

Chris Chiaverina

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 238

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Each May a Slovenian science extravaganza called Znanstival (Sciencetival, www.sciencetival.si) fills the streets and other public venues with the excitement of science. Organized by the staff of Hisa eksperimentov (House of Experiments or simply HE, www.he.si), a jewel of a science museum located in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, the annual celebration of science serves as a model of effective science education for the public.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.75.+m Science and society

Graphs and Tracks Revisited

Wolfgang Christian and Mario Belloni

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 240

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We have recently developed a Graphs and Tracks model based on an earlier program by David Trowbridge,1 as shown in Fig. 1. Our model can show position, velocity, acceleration, and energy graphs and can be used for motion-to-graphs exercises. Users set the heights of the track segments, and the model displays the motion of the ball on the track together with position, velocity, and acceleration graphs. This ready-to-run model is available in the ComPADRE OSP Collection at www.compadre.org/osp/items/detail.cfm?ID=12023.
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01.50.ht Instructional computer use
02.10.Ox Combinatorics; graph theory
45.10.-b Computational methods in classical mechanics

Simulation of the Physics of Flight

W. Brian Lane

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 242

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Computer simulations continue to prove to be a valuable tool in physics education. Based on the needs of an Aviation Physics course, we developed the PHYSics of FLIght Simulator (PhysFliS), which numerically solves Newton's second law for an airplane in flight based on standard aerodynamics relationships. The simulation can be used to pique students' interest, teach a number of physics concepts, and teach computational investigation techniques. This paper describes the development and operation of this simulation, illustrates an example study that can be performed using it, and suggests further ideas for its use.
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01.50.ht Instructional computer use
02.60.-x Numerical approximation and analysis
07.05.Tp Computer modeling and simulation
45.10.-b Computational methods in classical mechanics
45.20.D- Newtonian mechanics
47.85.Gj Aerodynamics

Polarized patterns

Steve Dail

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 245

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
42.25.Ja Polarization
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Kinematics with the assistance of smartphones: Measuring data via GPS - Visualizing data with Google Earth

Patrik Gabriel and Udo Backhaus

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 246

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Nearly every smartphone is now GPS capable. The widespread use of GPS navigation has developed alongside less expensive hardware and user-friendly software interfaces, which may help to bring scientific research and teaching closer to real life.
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01.50.ht Instructional computer use
45.40.-f Dynamics and kinematics of rigid bodies
84.40.Ua Telecommunications: signal transmission and processing; communication satellites
89.20.Ff Computer science and technology
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The Chain of Command

Boris Korsunsky, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 248

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.-y Physics literature and publications
01.50.-i Educational aids
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Going Big or Going Home!

Diane Riendeau, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 249

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It seems to me that people are going to greater extremes to get thrills these days. Amusement park rides are getting tall and faster. Sky diving is becoming a “normal” thing to do to celebrate your birthday. To acknowledge this lust for bigger and better, I put together a few videos that I thought might fit the bill.
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01.50.ff Films; electronic video devices
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Building a multifocal lens

David Keeports

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 250

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.-i Educational aids
42.79.Bh Lenses, prisms and mirrors
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Fermi Questions

Larry Weinstein, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 251

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Ww Editorials
01.75.+m Science and society
91.90.+p Other topics in solid Earth physics (restricted to new topics in section 91)
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Bridging activities: Concrete to abstract

Jim Hicks

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 252

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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
45.50.Dd General motion
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
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Applying New Research to Improve Science Education by Carl Wieman, www.issues.org/29.1/carl.html

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies

Twilight of the Lecture (featuring wideos from Eric Mazur's physics students) by Craig Lambert, harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-of-the-lecture

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies

Royal Institution RI Channel science videos, richannel.org/richannel.org/christmas-lectures/

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
01.50.ff Films; electronic video devices

Explore Sound by the Acoustical Society of America; exploresound.org

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Xx Publications in electronic media
01.40.-d Education
43.00.00 Acoustics

Over 25 short Instruction Demonstration Wideos from UCLA by James Lincoln and UCLA Physics and Astronomy, demoweb.physics.ucla.edu/instructional-videos

Martin Simon

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.ff Films; electronic video devices
01.75.+m Science and society
03.50.De Classical electromagnetism, Maxwell equations
42.15.-i Geometrical optics
42.25.-p Wave optics
01.40.ek Secondary school

What is “modeling”? Six-minute video with Luke Diamond and Jennifer Dye, vimeo.com/channels/modelingphysics

Jane Jackson

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
07.05.Tp Computer modeling and simulation

Horizon Research Releases 2012 National Survey of Science and Math Education, tinyurl.com/WS-NSSME

Dan MacIsaac, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- April 2013 -- Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 254

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Rr Surveys and tutorial papers; resource letters
01.40.ek Secondary school
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.85.+f Careers in physics and science
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