Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2009 APS March Meeting
Volume 54, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 16–20, 2009; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Session V13: Physics Education and History |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd FHP Chair: Michael Pettersen, Washington and Jefferson College Room: 309 |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:00AM - 8:12AM |
V13.00001: Physics Education in Sub-Sahara African Schools and Universities Tilahun Deressu This talk will give an overview of physics teaching and research in Sub-Saharan African Schools and Universities. Secondary School Physics Curricula and physics teacher training curricula from 10 African countries are compared from content, methods of delivery and evaluation perspectives. The characteristics of physics study and research in universities, both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels, are described. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:12AM - 8:24AM |
V13.00002: Physics That Works: Shift in Physics Education Paradigm Based on Work-Integrated Physics Education. Bahram Roughani A nontraditional work integrated undergraduate physics degree program that balances the option of pursuing a career path after graduation versus graduate studies will be presented. The main components of this undergraduate physics education model, which will be presented are; work-integrated physics education, emphasis on industrial and applied physics, nontraditional undergraduate research and thesis, an altered academic calendar, required technical sequence courses, and flexibility for each student to engage in courses that best complement physics. The impact on the growth of the physics program, the challenges and rewards involved, as well as pros and cons of such program in contrast with the traditional physics degree programs will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:24AM - 8:36AM |
V13.00003: Strengthen Instructional Components in Peer-Lead Problem-Solving Workshop with eTEACH Jia-Ling Lin, B. Choe, P. Fowler, R. Gilsdorf, T. Kirchdoerfer, A. Kokemoor, G. Lucas, T.J. Madsen, A. Romens, M. Springer Physics and mechanics are core topics that sometimes frighten beginning engineering students. Statistics have shown that an increasing number of students have given up engineering because of struggle in these courses. One common realization is a consensus among educators that the quality of teaching needs to be improved, and that traditional lectures, even with stellar instructors, fail to motivate students to meet learning challenges. One of the responses from the College of Engineering at UW-Madison has been comprehensive academic support services, specifically the Supplementary Instruction (SI) Program. SI, a student-lead problem-solving workshop has made a significant impact on teaching and learning in engineering for the past eight years. In this report, we describe how we develop eTEACH (an on-line teaching tool) to integrate features of subject- and problem-based learning. We discuss how we incorporate eTEACH to promote broader interactions between instructors and students, as well as among students. Our initial results showed that this change has assisted students with different learning preferences to improve problem-solving and learning strategies. We acknowledge support from Dr. G. Moses, Dr. D. Woolston, and the 2010 project in engineering college. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:36AM - 8:48AM |
V13.00004: Student thinking regarding derivative and slope concepts in multivariable calculus Warren Christensen, John Thompson Previous work on students' understanding of graphical interpretation of slope, derivative, and area under curves in various physics contexts has shown substantial difficulties, most notably in kinematics. Concurrently, several reports point toward a lack of algebraic acumen as a likely cause for low achievement in a physics classroom. As part of ongoing research on mathematical challenges that may underlie documented physics difficulties, we developed and administered a brief survey on single- and multivariable calculus concepts to students near the end of a Calculus III course. Some of the questions are based on our earlier work in thermal physics that are essentially stripped of their physics content. Initial findings show that as many as one in five students encounter some type of difficulty when asked to rank the slopes at five different points along a single path. Students asked to rank the derivatives of three different functions at a single value of the variable face additional difficulties. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:48AM - 9:00AM |
V13.00005: An Engineer's Physics Lab -- using a Large Force Frame Christy Heid, Donald Rampolla We have constructed very economical, easy to assemble force frames that are used by students in our general physics laboratory at Chatham University. The force frame is used at the beginning of the semester to study vector properties of forces. The force frame can be used as a horizontal or vertical force table. Angles of forces are measured using a large movable (rotation and translation) Cartesian coordinate board attached to the frame with large binder clips. The force frame is a versatile device which is used for a number of other experiments, including beam bending and torsion, mechanical resonance, projectile trajectories, torque, mechanical equilibrium, an isolated non-magnetic support for magnetic field experiments, easily adjustable support for inclined plane experiments, support for traveling wave experiments with heavy rope, and support for large scale fluid flow experiments. One advantage to a wood frame is that things can be easily stapled, nailed, screwed or glued just about anywhere on the frame, and damaged frame members can be replaced easily. As one of the few remaining women's undergraduate institutions, we have found the use of these frames to provide an additional advantage in helping women overcome their fear of simple power tools and assembly of mechanical parts as they become comfortable with these through working with the force frames throughout the semester. We intend to describe and model these applications during the session. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:00AM - 9:12AM |
V13.00006: Explain the latent heat and specific heat of water, ammonia, and methanol with degrees of freedom Lianxi Ma There are 15 known crystalline solid phases of water and all of them are called ice. But here the ice in our context is the one when water is cooled down to 0 \r{ }C at 1 atmosphere. It is well known that at 0 \r{ }C and 1 atmosphere, the density of water is 0.9998 g/cm3 and the density of ice is 0.9162 g/cm3. Question: For 0 \r{ }C water and ice, which has a higher internal energy? Because they have same temperature, their molecules should have same kinetic energies. Therefore their potential energies among molecules need to be compared. Because ice's density is lower so it should have larger potential energy, which indicates an incredible conclusion that ice has higher internal energy. How do we explain this paradox? The internal energies of 0 \r{ }C water and ice are considered from the perspective of degree of freedom and latent heat of fusion of water is calculated, which is in good agreement with the published value. With the same consideration, the latent heats of fusion of ammonia and methanol are calculated and the results are in reasonable agreement with the published values. This simple strategy can give specific heats of water, liquid ammonia, and methanol, which are in good agreement with known data. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:12AM - 9:24AM |
V13.00007: Introducing Raman Spectroscopy of Crystalline Solids in the Undergraduate Curriculum Bahram Roughani, David Warner, Uma Ramabadran We describe an experiment designed as an upper level physics laboratory that introduces students to Raman Scattering of electronic materials and research methodology. This experiment is an effective approach in demonstrating the relationship between the Raman intensity of the scattered light from crystals and symmetry dependent Raman selection rules. In our measurements we alter the angle between the crystal axis and the polarization of the incident laser beam by sample rotation. The three dimensional plot of the intensity profile versus the theoretical model is used to distinguish between various crystal plans of the same electronic material. This experiment combines knowledge regarding properties of materials with optical characterization. It is suitable as an upper level physics laboratory or for introducing new graduate student to use Raman spectroscopy as a research tool. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:24AM - 9:36AM |
V13.00008: Civic Engagement through Differential Equations? Shafiqur Rahman In a technological society such as ours, optimal allocations of limited resources frequently require a clear understanding of the sciences. However, policy makers often lack background in this area, and physics majors almost never get exposed to ideas that lie at the intersection of science and society, certainly not in a quantitative way. As a result, the latter show little interest in such issues. To address this problem, we have developed a short course titled \textit{Civic Engagement for Physicists}. A substantial part of the course is quantitative. For example, when covering issues connected to energy, a topic of major current interest, we use a differential equation from population dynamics to study predictions about when the peak in world oil production might occur, and what the true amount of world oil reserve might be. On the other hand, topics such as \textit{Characteristics of Science} and \textit{National Science Policy} are covered in a qualitative way. In this talk, I'll present details of both the quantitative and the qualitative areas covered by the course, as well as reaction of students. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:36AM - 9:48AM |
V13.00009: Challenges and opportunities of undergraduate research Daniela M. Topasna, Gregory A. Topasna Undergraduate research at small schools is becoming the norm rather than the exception that it was years ago. Faculties are now faced with the challenges of incorporating students with varying degrees of academic preparedness and motivation in their research. This coupled with the students' own constraints within the academic schedule can make undergraduate research a challenge for both students and faculty. Like many small undergraduate schools, VMI's faculty and students are faced with these obstacles when engaging in undergraduate research. However, such difficulties can lead to creative solutions that lead to multiple benefits for students and faculty mentors. We present our unique perspective and experiences for this challenging yet rewarding experience as related to thin film research performed at VMI. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:48AM - 10:00AM |
V13.00010: Reacting to Galileo: Introducing a New Approach for Gen Ed Science Michael Pettersen Either Galileo was right, or he was wrong; either way, why was there ever any debate about it? And why should we care today about the opposing ideas, which proven wrong so long ago? In the ``Reacting to the Past'' series of curricular materials, students engage with key turning points in human intellectual history by taking sides and recreating the original debate. In this way, students personally identify with points of view that they would otherwise find wrong, boring, and incomprehensible \--- and they learn how we test ideas by challenging them, and defend them by marshalling evidence, which is the core of critical thinking. Students almost universally report that the ``Reacting'' experience is tremendously engaging. I shall describe an application of the ``Reacting'' format to the case of Galileo. The scientific issues involved are comprehensible to non-science majors, the cultural context of Renaissance Italy is rich and wonderful, and Galileo's personal history is tremendously moving. The materials include labs designed to be taught by non-scientists teaching cross-disciplinary liberal arts courses. Other ``Reacting'' science materials have been published or are under development. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 10:00AM - 10:12AM |
V13.00011: Flint and the British Tradition of Relativity Theory James Beichler Most scientists and scholars are familiar with Sir Arthur Eddington's role in verifying General Relativity in 1919. A few less are aware of his work introducing the theory to the English scientific community. Still less know of Eddington's extensions of relativity theory, especially his attempts to develop a unified field theory. But very few scholars, historians or even physicists are aware of the important role played by other English scientists in the acceptance and development of relativity. In fact, H.T. Flint and his colleagues published more than thirty-five articles in peer reviewed journals in Britain over a period of four decades in an attempt to extend relativity to include electromagnetism and the quantum. Yet his work and that of his close associates is almost completely unknown today, in spite of the fact that he published a book describing his complete unified field theory in the 1960s, well before most quantum theorists even began thinking along the lines of unification. In a world filled with speculations about gravitons, superstrings, quantum loops and other unification models, Flint did it first, but his work has all but disappeared from the scientific consciousness. From Eddington to Flint, the English school of relativists has produced ardent supporters of relativity and numerous advances beyond the standard interpretations of general relativity. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 10:12AM - 10:24AM |
V13.00012: Ukrainian Physical-Technical Institute (UFTI) in the 1930's D.H. McNeill, Yu. N. Ranyuk, O.S. Shevchenko UFTI (Ukrainian Physical-Technical Institute; now Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, KhFTI), founded in 1928, was among the first national laboratories. In the 1930's, L. Shubnikov, B. Podolsky, G. Placzek, L. Tisza, F. Houtermans, A. Weissberg, V. Weisskopf, and others worked there on important and interesting research in many areas (low-temperature, electronics, nuclear physics, theory). 2008 was the centenary of Lev Landau, who established his school of theoretical physics and began his \textit{Course of Theoretical Physics} in Kharkiv. It is now $\sim $70 years since the Great purge at UFTI (and, simultaneously, throughout the USSR). UFTI's history, a stark reminder of politics in science, is less known than that of institutions in Moscow and St. Petersburg. \textit{``Delo'' UFTI 1935-1938} [\textit{The UFTI Affair}, Yu. V. Pavlenko, Yu. N. Ranyuk, and Yu. A. Khramov, Kyiv, 1998] is a study, using documents available after 1990, of the lab's early years and its near destruction in the Stalinist purges. Many scientists at UFTI were killed or imprisoned. Documents from this time will be shown. A timeline of the 1930's at UFTI will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 19, 2009 10:24AM - 10:36AM |
V13.00013: Experience in teaching intensive course of thermal physics for undergraduate physics students Farkhad Aliev This talk of non-technical nature describes experience of the author in teaching the intensive course of thermal physics for the undergraduate physics students at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain. After brief introduction to the program, description of the WEB support of the course, I shall describe practical classes ( home-works, visits to the Laboratories, experimental demonstrations, typical problems and typical topics for presentations on the advanced thermodynamics, etc. ). I shall further discuss different possible actions to wake up an interest of the students to the thermal physics and ways to simulate their active participation in the class discussions. I also describe different schemes employed in the last few years to evaluate effectively and clearly the students work and knowledge. Finally, I will analyze the efficiency of our methodic in improving teaching of thermal physics at University level. [Preview Abstract] |
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