Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2007 APS Four Corners Section/SPS Zone 16 Joint Fall Meeting
Volume 52, Number 14
Friday–Saturday, October 19–20, 2007; Flagstaff, Arizona
Session J4: General Physics: Essentials and Pedagogy |
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Chair: Jean-Francois Van Huele, Brigham Young University Room: Physical Sciences (Bldg. 19) Room 321 |
Saturday, October 20, 2007 11:00AM - 11:36AM |
J4.00001: Einstein's \emph{last} derivation of $E = mc^2$ Invited Speaker: Einstein's last derivation of $E = mc^2$ is wonderfully simple and compelling. Before sketching a variation on that derivation, I will present some history about the word ``mass" and settle on what the word means in our context. After the derivation, I will address the question, what did Einstein mean in 1907 when he introduced the phrase, ``the equivalence of mass and energy"? [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 20, 2007 11:36AM - 11:48AM |
J4.00002: Energy Challenges C. Bruce Johnson Without energy (E) there is nothing, m=E/c$^{2}$. Without energy the various global economies will collapse. In fact, these economies generally require more energy every year. Where will this energy come from? What are the expected impacts of the various energy sources {\&} uses on the environment? Brief summary answers to these questions are presented, and a plea is made for more energy R{\&}D at our national laboratories and within the industrial community. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 20, 2007 11:48AM - 12:00PM |
J4.00003: Quantum-mechanical time evolution of Gaussian wavepackets in an arbitrarily time-dependent, spatially quadratic potential: How Bohm makes things simple Gary Bowman, Michelle McMillan Spatially quadratic potentials --- including the harmonic oscillator --- are of fundamental importance in physics. Bohmian mechanics renders straightforward the exact quantum-mechanical time evolution of Gaussian wavepackets in such potentials, even when they are arbitrarily time-dependent. I will explain how. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 20, 2007 12:00PM - 12:12PM |
J4.00004: What is proportional reasoning, anyway? Keron Subero, Stephen Kanim There appears to be a correlation between some measures of scientific reasoning skills and gain on conceptual measures of student understanding of introductory physics such as the Force Concept Inventory. At NMSU, we have established a correlation between pretest scores on proportional reasoning tasks and student performance on conceptual post-tests in the introductory lab. Proponents of a Piagetian model of cognitive development would call these scientific reasoning skills `operational capacities'' that signal the last transition in human intellectual growth from ``Concrete Operational'' to ``Formal'' reasoning. Seen in this light, the correlations described above suggest a cognitive ``deficit'' associated with development. We are exploring the possibility that proportional reasoning may in fact be a blanket term to describe many smaller elements of skills which students often seem to lack. In this talk, I will present some initial results from our investigation. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 20, 2007 12:12PM - 12:24PM |
J4.00005: A Study of Peer Instruction in Large Enrollment Astronomy Courses Mark C. James The use of Peer Instruction to enhance lectures in large enrollment introductory college science courses has become widespread. In this technique, learner responses to multiple choice questions posed by the instructor during lecture are recorded and displayed in real time by an electronic classroom response system (CRS). Peer Instruction takes place when learners are given time to discuss ideas with their neighbors before registering their individual responses. The results of this study suggest that the grading incentive instructors adopt for incorrect question responses impacts the nature and quality of the peer discussions that take place. Recommendations for more effective assessment strategies relating to Peer Instruction are discussed. Additional qualitative discourse data is also presented. [Preview Abstract] |
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