S. Toffaletti, M. Di Mauro, M. Malgieri, T. Rosi, E. Tufino, P. Onorato, S. Oss
{"title":"A teaching-learning sequence about climate change: From theory to practice","authors":"S. Toffaletti, M. Di Mauro, M. Malgieri, T. Rosi, E. Tufino, P. Onorato, S. Oss","doi":"10.1119/5.0137089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0137089","url":null,"abstract":"We describe a collection of relatively simple experiments and laboratory demonstrations devoted to the physics of Earth's energy balance. Many of the experiments also address fundamental aspects of physics at the undergraduate level. Results of classroom testing of this sequence of activities are presented and discussed.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63423019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Forinash, R. Tobin, Barbara Whitten, Richard Wolfson, B. Parks
{"title":"Climate teaching tidbits","authors":"K. Forinash, R. Tobin, Barbara Whitten, Richard Wolfson, B. Parks","doi":"10.1119/5.0170182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0170182","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47112399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters","authors":"","doi":"10.1119/5.0154687","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0154687","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":"75 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136265491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Forinash, R. Tobin, Barbara Whitten, Richard Wolfson, B. Parks
{"title":"In this issue: Special collection on the environment, sustainability, and climate change","authors":"K. Forinash, R. Tobin, Barbara Whitten, Richard Wolfson, B. Parks","doi":"10.1119/5.0170053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0170053","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47510910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. Blanchard, Bryce A. Bowlsbey, James R. Dyess, Ryan D. Rumsey, Justin B. Woodring
{"title":"Improved spectral photometer for undergraduate observations of atmospheric infrared heat flux and greenhouse gas absorption bands","authors":"G. Blanchard, Bryce A. Bowlsbey, James R. Dyess, Ryan D. Rumsey, Justin B. Woodring","doi":"10.1119/5.0135029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0135029","url":null,"abstract":"We present an experiment investigating the physics of the atmospheric greenhouse effect that can be performed by undergraduate physics students. The students construct a three-channel spectral photometer to observe the infrared heat flux in the atmosphere. With this spectral photometer, the students observe the difference in heat flux between the portion of the IR spectrum that is absorbed by water vapor and carbon dioxide and the portion that is not absorbed by atmospheric constituents. The students discover that Earth's surface is warmed by radiation from the greenhouse gas absorption bands, and the radiation of heat to space is retarded by the absorption bands. One component of the experiment is performed on the ground and the other component is performed in the atmosphere using a high-altitude balloon. The students then compare their results to a simulation of infrared radiation transport in the atmosphere.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41978213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implementing a course-based authentic learning experience with upper- and lower-division physics classes","authors":"M. H. Jensen, E. Morris, M. W. Ray","doi":"10.1119/5.0137141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0137141","url":null,"abstract":"We describe a dual-class authentic learning experience (ALE) in which undergraduate upper-division physics students develop low-cost instruments, which are then used by students in a lower-division course to monitor water quality in rivers. The ALE bridges the experiences of lower- and upper-division physics majors by involving students across different stages of their college careers in a collaborative project. Lower-division physics students characterize, calibrate, and troubleshoot the instrument prototypes developed by their upper-division peers, and their work informs instrument modifications in future upper-division physics classes. This paper describes the first iteration of this project along with student perceptions. We find that lower-division students report an increase in their awareness of possible upper-division projects, an increased sense that their coursework has real-world applications, and a heightened understanding of how physicists can play a role in research on environmental issues.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42661396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of greenhouse gases on Earth, Venus, and Mars: Beyond the one-blanket model","authors":"Philip C. Nelson","doi":"10.1119/5.0125523","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0125523","url":null,"abstract":"I present a discussion of the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on planetary climate, at a level suitable for insertion as a module into an upper-level Physics course. The treatment includes two key ingredients that are often missing from more elementary discussions, yet are amenable to analytic methods: First, that convection implies a dependence of surface temperature on the height of the outermost infrared-thick layer; and second, that increasing the level of CO2 closes spectral windows of absorption. These themes are applicable not only to an industrializing Earth but also to our neighboring planets.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47505181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Essential climate change conversations for introductory physics courses","authors":"A. Daane, J. Noffsinger","doi":"10.1119/5.0137210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0137210","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change issues have become far more complex and better studied over the last few years. Making sense of how the causes and effects of climate change create a coherent framework can empower learners to engage in productive discourse and to ask deeper questions. Historical contexts, current approaches to mitigate climate change, and future demands are all a part of the ongoing research and efforts. This global, social justice issue will only become more pressing, and we need to support students in making informed decisions about their actions going forward. It is for this reason that we (a physics instructor and an energy consultant) have joined together to create a list of topics that all students should consider as they move through our educational programs.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49306486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Climate sensitivity from radiative-convective equilibrium: A chalkboard approach","authors":"N. Jeevanjee","doi":"10.1119/5.0135727","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0135727","url":null,"abstract":"Simple models for Earth's climate sensitivity (i.e. its temperature response to radiative forcing) are developed by combining the time-tested idealization of one-dimensional radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE) with simple yet quantitatively reasonable models for CO2 forcing and the water vapor feedback. Along the way, we introduce key paradigms including the emission level approximation, the forcing-feedback decomposition of climate sensitivity, and “Simpson's law” for water vapor thermal emission. We also discuss climate feedbacks unaccounted for in this RCE framework, as well as differing variants of climate sensitivity, all of which may be ripe for their own chalkboard treatments.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47206724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Semiquantitative reasoning can help students track energy and understand conservation: Examples and results from a course on sustainable energy","authors":"R. Tobin","doi":"10.1119/5.0129686","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0129686","url":null,"abstract":"The ability to track flows of energy in complex and dissipative contexts is essential to understand many aspects of sustainable energy and climate change. Traditional physics instruction largely fails to develop that ability. This work argues that one plausible contributor to this deficiency could be an overemphasis on cases that lend themselves to quantitative calculation. Drawing on examples and data from a small sample of college physics students in a class on sustainable energy, it proposes that practice in semiquantitative energy tracking, using suitable visual and/or manipulable representations, can help develop students' skills in using energy reasoning in real-world, dissipative contexts.","PeriodicalId":7589,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44381770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}