On Teaching Special Relativity as Part of a School Course of Physics

Abstract

The study of Special Relativity (SR) in contemporary school is not satisfactory. It may be noted that special relativity is perceived by school students as difficult, unusual and separate from everything studied previously. Such a perception leads to not understanding Special Relativity, doubting its correctness, and at times even attempts to denounce it (as is witnessed nowadays). In fact, this is not true. Special Relativity is so elegant and such an intrinsic part of the theory of physics that upon its emergence it lead the theory of physics out of crisis at the turn of the 20 century. This should find its reflection in methodology of teaching physics, as it contributes to a deeper understanding of the theory, increased fundamentality in the study of physics, and development of content-related lines of fundamental physical formation, i.e. methodology and shaping the worldview. Keywords-special relativity, physics education fundamentality, content-related lines of fundamental physical formation, transformations of coordinates and time, invariability