Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Inaugural Fall 2009 Meeting of the Prairie Section of the APS
Volume 54, Number 17
Thursday–Saturday, November 12–14, 2009; Iowa City, Iowa
Session Q2: Physics Education |
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Chair: Wade Sick, IAAPT Room: IMU 243 (Ballroom) |
Saturday, November 14, 2009 11:30AM - 12:06PM |
Q2.00001: 21st Century Skills and the Physics Classroom Invited Speaker: What content knowledge and skills will today's physics students need to acquire to be successful employees in the 21st century? How can today's physics classrooms prepare students for collaboration in a global work environment? What kind of instruction can engage physics students in learning that supports these demands? Attend this session to find out what motivates today's Net Generation. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:06PM - 12:18PM |
Q2.00002: Small Angle Light Scattering from Stretched HDPE: An Experiment for the Advanced Lab John Zwart, Matthew Vande Burgt Soft matter physics is an emerging research area. We have developed a desk top experiment, suitable for upper level undergraduates, in which the scattering pattern of HeNe laser light sent through a film of high density polyethylene (HDPE) is investigated. As a film of HDPE is deformed, the changing pattern of the scattered light can be correlated with structural changes of the HDPE. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:18PM - 12:30PM |
Q2.00003: Interactive Physics Illustrations Using Geometer's Sketchpad Dale Yoder-Short We will show the use of Geometer's Sketchpad to create and use interactive, dynamic physics illustrations that can be run on PC or Mac computers. These sketches allow the user to change input parameters and instantly see output results of a physical situation. For example the user can create a ray diagram for a lens or mirror and then move the object or change the lens focal length. The illustration will immediately show the resulting image. The user can construct a clock which allows the creation of moving objects in an illustration. So, one can construct an illustration of the motion of an accelerated object or of wave motion or of collisions between two objects. Finally one can construct iterative type illustrations such as the motion of a planet in an elliptical orbit. The sketches show what happens as well as calculate relevant output parameters as the input parameters change. The sketches can be used by the teacher to illustrate a concept or by the student in a computer lab or exploration. These sketches can be as simple or complex as the author wants. They can even be constructed by the student to explore a concept. Geometer's Sketchpad is not difficult to use and a simple illustration sketch can be constructed in a few minutes. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:30PM - 12:42PM |
Q2.00004: A Freshman Science Cohort Class for Underprepared Students Nathan Moore, John Deming A troubling fraction of students in STEM majors flounder at the introductory level. The most compelling reason for this is a lack of adequate intellectual preparation. On a fundamental level, science is done by thinking critically about the natural world. Students with weak quantitative reasoning skills will struggle in quantitative science fields. The talk will discuss the depth of the problem, a teaching strategy implemented at Winona State University which is designed to enhance these skills, and initial results, indicating a substantial increase in student ability and retention in STEM fields. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:42PM - 12:54PM |
Q2.00005: The Bernoulli or Coanda Conundrum and Other Classical Demonstration Myths Dale Stille Lecture Demonstration professionals have recently taken a closer look at demonstrations that were traditionally labeled ``Bernoulli Demonstrations'' in most textbooks. This examination has shown that in most cases the Coanda Effect, Magnus Effect, and Entrainment may be better explanations for most of these classic demonstrations. A discussion of other similarly classic demonstrations and some of their problems or misconceptions will also be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:54PM - 1:06PM |
Q2.00006: An Energy First Approach to Introductory Physics Christopher White, Daniel Meyer, Kimberly Fluet While introductory physics texts and curricula vary in scope and sequence, there is one aspect that is particularly stable: the progression that begins with equations of motion, continues through Newto's Laws, and finally leads to work and energy. While this approach seems reasonable, it can lead to student misconceptions, and is not necessitated by the physics. In particular, it implies that energy is dependent on forces, rather than both being independently definable. In this paper, we discuss taking an Energy First approach, that begins with energy, and utilizes it as the core concept. We address both the pedagogical and conceptual reasons for this approach. Finally, we discuss its use in two introductory courses, one designed for elementary teachers and one designed for architecture majors. In each, we have focused on defining a scope and sequence that is appropriate and meaningful for that audience, rather than continue with a standard, generic approach to introductory physics. [Preview Abstract] |
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