Physics Education
We present the second part of a series of papers proposing a novel teaching sequence for Particle Physics in high school. The topic of the present work is Nuclear Physics. The goal of the sequence is to approach the subject in a way as to…
Angular momentum is traditionally taught as a (pseudo)vector quantity, tied closely to the cross product. This approach is familiar to experts but challenging for students, and full of subtleties. Here, we present an alternative pedagogical…
Moore and Schroeder proposed an effective approach to introducing entropy and the second law through computational study of models with easily countable states at fixed energy. But such systems are rare: the only familiar examples are the…
With the aim of finding ways that can lead to solving the problem of learning the exact sciences and involving the university student in a participatory and active way during the semester period with the help of new technologies, the…
In this advanced instructional laboratory, students explore complex detection systems and nondestructive assay techniques used in the field of nuclear physics. After setting up and calibrating a neutron detection system, students carry out…
Measurement uncertainty is a critical feature of experimental research in the physical sciences, and the concepts and practices surrounding measurement uncertainty are important components of physics lab courses. However, there has not been…
Dark matter is estimated to make up ~84% of all normal/baryonic matter, but cannot be directly imaged. Despite the fact that dark matter cannot be directly observed yet, its influence on the motion of stars and gas in spiral galaxies have…
Various motivations bring researchers to discipline-based education research (DBER), but there is little research on their conceptualization of and navigation into this new-to-them area of research. We use phenomenography to analyze…
Improving the physics enterprise to broaden participation in physics is one of the main goals of the physics education research community. Many classically trained physics faculty transition during their faculty career into engaging in…
Computational thinking in physics has many different forms, definitions, and implementations depending on the level of physics, or the institution it is presented in. In order to better integrate computational thinking in introductory…
This article presents a novel method for studying RLC series circuits using two smartphones, one used as a signal generator and the other as an oscilloscope. We measure the voltage at the external resistor as a function of frequency when…
Providing students of introductory thermal physics with a plot of the heat capacities of many low density gases as a function of temperature allows them to look for systematic trends. Specifically, large amounts of heat capacity data allow…
For many students, introductory college science courses are often the only opportunity in their formal higher education to be exposed to science, shaping their view of the subject, their scientific literacy, and their attitudes towards…
We describe student difficulties in applying the superposition principle in combination with Gauss's law. We addressed these difficulties by developing a tutorial that uses guided inquiry. Students who used this tutorial following…
Pre-college mathematics modeling instruction often frames mathematics as being separated from reasoning about the real world -- and commonly treats reasoning mathematically and reasoning about the real-world context as separate stages of a…
This mixed-methods study examines how pre-service teachers select instructional videos on YouTube for physics teaching. It focuses on the role of surface features that YouTube provides (e.g., likes, views, thumbnails) and the comments…
Since 2005, the global flagship of outreach activities in high-energy physics have been the International Particle Physics Masterclasses. We report on a survey performed among the participants from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where we…
Determination of the Young modulus of a metal bar in the form of a cantilever is an old experimental concept. However, we have taken the advantage of modern advanced technology of smartphone camera to find the load depression graph of the…
Ultrafast laser pump-probe spectroscopy is an important and growing field of physical chemistry that allows the measurement of chemical dynamics on their natural timescales, but undergraduate laboratory courses lack examples of such…
The recent development of science education leads educators to explore new teaching and learning methodologies and restructure classes and assignments to bring students' knowledge to the highest level of education by allowing learners to…