Bulletin of the American Physical Society
74th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section
Volume 52, Number 13
Thursday–Saturday, November 8–10, 2007; Nashville, Tennessee
Session MB: Teaching and Theory |
Hide Abstracts |
Chair: David Peterson, Francis Marion University Room: Scarritt-Bennett Center Laskey C |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:30AM - 8:42AM |
MB.00001: Top-Down and Free Michael Schillaci The ``Top-Down Physics'' (TDP) project is aimed at unifying material traditionally covered in Classical Mechanics, and Electricity \& Magnetism, as well as elements of Quantum Mechanics and Statistical Dynamics at the undergraduate level. The main computational platforms for the student projects have been LaTeX, MAPLE and JAVA. Relevant theoretic, algorithmic and technical (software) elements are introduced as needed to simulate laboratory-style experiments carried out in class. Ideally, solutions developed by ``senior'' students can be ``beta- tested'' during classroom and laboratory demonstrations to lower- level students. In this way, the curriculum naturally ``folds'' onto itself. Current efforts include the use of the Open Source Physics and Maxima to develop a platform-independent (and free) framework for the TDP framework. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:42AM - 8:54AM |
MB.00002: Learning LabVIEW in Introductory Physics Labs Eric Ethridge LabVIEW is a graphical programming language, commonly used in physics and engineering research. ELVIS stands for Electronics Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite. It is designed to replace all of the instruments commonly found on an electronics lab bench. Vernier Instruments sells adaptors which allow the Vernier sensors to be hooked into a breadboard, and controlled via a LabVIEW Virtual Instrument (VI.) While basic VI's exist for running the sensors through LabVIEW, more sophisticated VI's are necessary for plotting one quantity versus another. Introducing LabVIEW and ELVIS in the introductory physics laboratory course is useful for physics and engineering majors who will be ready to use the equipment more extensively in upper-level courses. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:54AM - 9:06AM |
MB.00003: A Model for Training In-Service Middle School Science Teachers R. Seth Smith, Derek W. Jokisch, Jane E. Brandis, Lisa A. Pike, Cheryl O. Lane, Jeannette M. Myers, Randall M. LaCross For the past four years, Francis Marion University (FMU) has hosted a four-week summer institute, entitled the FMU Middle School Science Institute (MSSI). MSSI has partnered content faculty (physical science, earth science, life science) and pedagogical experts/master teachers (education faculty) with middle school science teachers. Regional public school districts provided the teachers that attended the summer institute. These same teachers participated in curriculum enactment with their own classes during the following fall and spring. During the four-week institute, middle school teachers attended a content course and pedagogical activities from 8:30am to 3:30pm Monday through Thursday. During the middle two weeks of the institute, approximately 70 area middle school students were brought in to serve as four practice classrooms for the teachers. In year 4, teachers from grades 5 through 8 were accepted as participants. In all cases the breadth of the content course exceeded the scope of the particular curriculum unit. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to all teachers. The details of the summer institute and follow-up activities will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:06AM - 9:18AM |
MB.00004: A Physical Science Course for Rural Middle School Teachers David G. Haase, Sharon K. Schulze, N. Scott Ragan, Shawn Reintjes In two separate state Mathematics and Science Partnerships, The Science House and the Physics Department at NC State University have offered physical science courses for cohorts of middle school teachers in several rural counties in central and eastern North Carolina. The courses have featured a mixture of online lessons and face-to-face sessions. The courses covered key physical science topics in the NC Science Standard Course of Study for Grades 5-8 (waves, energy, forces and motion, and physical properties of matter). The courses emphasized physics understanding at the level of the standard university conceptual physics course. We will discuss the operation of the courses and examine outcomes from pre- and post-testing as well as teacher comments and work products. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:18AM - 9:30AM |
MB.00005: Using Matlab to Model Heat Loss Through A House William Mallory, Julie Talbot While the heat conduction process is fairly simply and well-understood, it is tedious and cumbersome to calculate the heat loss through a number of different areas and materials. We have developed a Matlab program that can quickly calculate the heat loss through a large number of different objects and materials. This allows for easy comparison of different sizes, shapes, and materials for a building. We will compare the actual heat loss through a house to the theoretical values given by the Matlab program. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:30AM - 9:42AM |
MB.00006: Chaos Without Nonlinear Dynamics Jonathan Blakely, Ned Corron, Scott Hayes, Shawn Pethel Chaos is usually attributed only to nonlinear systems. Yet it was recently shown that chaotic waveforms resembling those of the famous Lorenz system can be synthesized by linear convolution of a basis function with a random information signal. The basis function contains a growing oscillation that ends in a large pulse. We show that this function is easily realized when viewed backward in time as a pulse followed by ringing decay. Consequently, a linear filter driven by random pulses outputs a waveform that, when viewed backward in time, exhibits essential qualities of chaos, i.e. determinism and sensitive dependence on initial conditions. This phenomenon suggests that chaos may be connected to physical theories whose framework is not that of a deterministic nonlinear dynamical system. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:42AM - 9:54AM |
MB.00007: Is there quantum chaos in the prime numbers? Todd Timberlake, Jeffery Tucker A statistical analysis of the prime numbers indicates possible traces of quantum chaos. We have computed the nearest neighbor spacing distribution, number variance, skewness, and excess for sequences of the first N primes for various values of N. All four statistical measures clearly show a transition from random matrix statistics at small N toward Poisson statistics at large N. In addition, the number variance saturates at large length scales as is common for eigenvalue sequences. This data can be given a physical interpretation if the primes are thought of as eigenvalues of a quantum system whose classical dynamics is chaotic at low energy but regular at high energy. We will discuss some difficulties with this interpretation in an attempt to clarify what kind of physical system might have the primes as its quantum eigenvalues. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700