{"title":"Motion of a ball attached to a mass via a hole in a horizontal table","authors":"Rod Cross","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad79d2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad79d2","url":null,"abstract":"Measurements are presented of the circular motion of a ball on a table attached to another ball by a length of thread via a hole in the table. It is a standard problem often assigned to students, but the experimental results differ from predictions.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optical transmission and refraction at the atomic level","authors":"Peter J Riggs","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad721a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad721a","url":null,"abstract":"The standard explanations for the phenomena of transmission and refraction of electromagnetic waves of optical wavelengths upon entering a transparent medium is in terms of the speed of the waves being altered. However, these phenomena are explicable without assuming that the speed of electromagnetic waves changes. The actual speed does not alter in various media but is customarily assumed to do so as this facilitates straight-forward calculations and allows easily understood explanations to be advanced. An underlying account of transmission and refraction at the level of individual atoms is presented in which the speed of electromagnetic waves remains constant.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andreas Johansson, Sebastian Kilde-Westberg and Jonas Enger
{"title":"LeviLabs: learning about sound through acoustic levitation","authors":"Andreas Johansson, Sebastian Kilde-Westberg and Jonas Enger","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7219","url":null,"abstract":"Sound waves are often studied as part of mechanical waves in the upper-secondary and undergraduate physics curricula. Acoustic levitation is an application of standing-wave phenomena, growing in popularity through the recent adoption of low-cost ultrasound transducers. Nevertheless, acoustic levitation has not yet been included in the standard phenomena investigated in undergraduate and upper-secondary physics courses. The objective of this Frontline is to introduce acoustic levitation in the classroom. This is done with LeviLab, a low-cost and easy-to-use experiment, accompanied by three hands-on procedures (LeviLabs): modifying the cavity length, visually representing standing waves with multiple levitated particles, and a tactile experience by moving a single particle between nodes. The first procedure yields the most accurate speed of sound measurements, while the second and third offer valuable qualitative insights into standing wave properties. This work demonstrates the educational potential of acoustic levitation to investigate sound waves. It aims to make the phenomenon accessible as a learning resource for upper-secondary and undergraduate physics laboratories by providing engaging hands-on experiences for qualitative and quantitative exploration.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"201 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tejinder Kaur, Magdalena Kersting, David Blair, Kyla Adams, David Treagust, Jesse Santoso, Anastasia Lonshakova, Shon Boublil, Marjan Zadnik, Li Ju, David Wood, Elaine Horne and Darren McGoran
{"title":"Developing and implementing an Einsteinian science curriculum from years 3–10: A. Concepts, rationale and learning outcomes","authors":"Tejinder Kaur, Magdalena Kersting, David Blair, Kyla Adams, David Treagust, Jesse Santoso, Anastasia Lonshakova, Shon Boublil, Marjan Zadnik, Li Ju, David Wood, Elaine Horne and Darren McGoran","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad66a7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad66a7","url":null,"abstract":"There has been a growing realisation that school science curricula do not adequately reflect the revolutionary changes in our scientific understanding of the 20th century. This discrepancy between current school education and our modern scientific understanding has led to calls for the modernisation of the science curriculum. Although there have been attempts to introduce topics of Einsteinian physics (i.e. quantum physics and relativity) to school education, often at the secondary level, we still lack a seamless curriculum in which modern science concepts are gradually introduced in primary and middle schools. Guided by the Model of Educational Reconstruction and following a mixed-methods research design, the Einstein-First project aims to address this gap. Einstein-First has developed and implemented an Einsteinian curriculum from Years 3–10 (students aged 7–16) that resolves the disconnect between science in schools and modern scientific understanding. This paper presents the concepts and rationale for the Einstein-First learning approach, as well as a summary of learning outcomes in six Australian schools with 315 students across Years 3–10. Our generally positive findings lay the foundation for informed curriculum development and school education that provides all students with awareness and appreciation of the fundamental concepts that underpin the technologies of the modern world.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"108 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alessandro Bile, Riccardo Santoboni, Sergio Frasca and Pia Astone
{"title":"Gravitational music: a mathematical-musical model for the popularization of gravitational waves","authors":"Alessandro Bile, Riccardo Santoboni, Sergio Frasca and Pia Astone","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7347","url":null,"abstract":"Nowadays scientific research, supported by technological development, proceeds at an inexorable speed. Thus, technical features could be difficult to understand for many of the population. Therefore, the research for a universal language has now become fundamental. At the same time, in the post-digital era, artistic research approached technology. The link between art and science has very ancient roots but in recent years has reached a complete overlap. For example, this is the case of the sonification process, which consists of the use of un-speech audio to transmit information. In this paper, we present Gravitational Music, an installation able to translate the physical phenomenon of gravitational waves propagation into sound, by exploiting an artistic approach. Gravitational Music is an efficient teaching tool that can be used for both school and adult purposes to simplify the complex language of science.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142225245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Work done on a tennis ball yo–yo","authors":"Rod Cross","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7183","url":null,"abstract":"A tennis ball with string around an equator was allowed to fall like a yo–yo. Measurements and calculations are presented on the total work done on the ball to increase its translational and rotational kinetic energy.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"69 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inquiring into a spectral concept in the physics classroom","authors":"Russell Ng and Joonhyeong Park","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad744f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad744f","url":null,"abstract":"We designed an inquiry activity to investigate the question ‘How transparent are transparent films and papers?’ Using an easily-replicable set up, we observed the effect of increasing the number of transparent films, thin papers and general papers between a light source and a light sensor. For each material, one sheet was added each time. The amount of light received was collected and graphed by a data logger. Our findings show that, as the number of sheets increases, the amount of light received at the receiver decreases. The general paper and thin paper stacks took 4 sheets and 10 sheets respectively to achieve negligible light transmittance. The transparent film stack did not achieve negligible light transmittance, but successive addition of sheets did lower transmittance. Evidently, transparent films are not perfectly transparent. Transparency (and opacity) is not a binary condition, but rather a continuum based on boundary conditions. The inquiry activity developed through this study, which investigates a spectrum of transparency in films and papers, may be useful for students to appreciate the spectral nature of the transparency concept across different materials.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Simple experiment design for impulsive force measure at hammer and nail collisions","authors":"Nur Untoro, Muhammad Ramdhan","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7007","url":null,"abstract":"For approximately 2400 years BC, carpenters have been using hammers to nail wood. The reason for this method is unclear and evaluations of its effectiveness should not be made without proper research. Therefore, this study aims to develop a force-measuring instrument to analyze the impulsive forces produced during hammer strokes on nails. The measurement process is based on the laws of conservation of momentum and mechanical energy and the work-energy principle. The apparatus was constructed using a PVC pipe fitted with a rope pulley and load. The measurements were taken by dropping the mass onto nails embedded in the wooden specimens of keruing, teak, mahogany, and pine. The findings demonstrate that the impulsive force involved in driving nails into wood remains constant. This force is not influenced by the speed of the hammer swing, but rather by the wood’s level of hardness and penetration depth. Using harder wood results in a greater impulsive force, therefore, driving nails becomes more efficient in securing them into the wood.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigating student perspectives on alternate final assessment approaches in upper-level physics courses","authors":"Callum Stonehouse, Joanne M O’Meara","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad6f66","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad6f66","url":null,"abstract":"During the pandemic, traditional final assessments in the form of in-person, timed, invigilated final examinations were not an option. As a result, in the academic years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, students in the second year Electricity and Magnetism courses at the University of Guelph were asked to complete personalized study guides/portfolios as a means of communicating to the instructor what they had learned in the course. Although research has shown that portfolio-style assessment procedures support student achievement at least at the same level as traditional assessment procedures and appear to have additional benefits, they have not been widely adopted in the physical sciences. The goal of this work was to assess some of the affective consequences of using portfolio assessment procedures in an upper-level core physics course. Feedback from students, both in the form of an online anonymous survey as well as a more in-depth, in-person, focus group discussion, was positive. The general consensus was that students found the portfolios to be similar in workload to preparing for a final examination but offered additional benefits such as finding them to be significantly less stressful as well as feeling a greater sense of accomplishment after submission. Learning outcomes of the course were achieved through this approach at similar levels as seen previously, as demonstrated through student performance on the pre- and post-conceptual assessment, and further evidenced by the high-level example problems included here from student submissions. Grades earned on the portfolios were similar to those seen previously with invigilated traditional final examinations. Based on these findings, portfolio assessments will remain a core component of the pedagogical toolbox employed by faculty in physics at the University of Guelph. This project was reviewed by the Research Ethics Board at the University of Guelph for compliance with federal guidelines for research involving human participants. Approval was granted on 11 January 2023, REB # 22–11-004.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"100 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Weightlessness in a bottle","authors":"Stephen Hughes","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7008","url":null,"abstract":"A simple method of demonstrating apparent weightlessness in free fall is described. The Apollo 15 hammer and feather drop experiment can be recreated in the classroom using a book to shield the feather from air resistance. Plastic toys and a feather thrown together in a plastic bottle can be used to recreate an apparent weightless environment close to the surface of the Earth. Since the bottle follows a parabolic trajectory, the objects within also follow a parabolic path and are seen to float as if in a space ship in orbit around the Earth. This demonstration is useful for demonstrating to students that apparent weightlessness is not confined to outer space. The use of toy fish in the experiments makes a connection with the neutral buoyancy training of astronauts. The experiments also exemplify Newton’s second law that force is mass times acceleration.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142198082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}