Related papers: Four pedagogic exercises
Science education at all levels is currently undergoing dramatic changes to its curricula and developing assessments for these new curricula is paramount. We have used the basis of many of these new changes (scientific practices,…
This paper presents two novel approaches to solve the classic simple harmonic motion. In one approach, the distance between the equilibrium position and the maximal displacement is divided into N equal segments. In each segment, the mass…
A priority of physics instruction is to help students make the connection between the formulae they think they are required to memorize and the real world in which they interact every day. If you ask students to describe a situation in real…
Sliding friction is usually introduced in high school, but rarely through activities in laboratory. A qualitative introduction to friction is presented by proposing exploration of different kind of materials in order to suggest which…
The intransitive cycle of superiority is characterized by such binary relations between A, B, and C that A is superior to B, B is superior to C, and C is superior to A (i.e., A>B>C>A - in contrast with transitive relations A>B>C). The first…
We present two methods for describing, from a pedagogical point of view, the solutions of Einstein's equations applied to a homogeneous and isotropic universe. In the first method, we define an effective gravitational potential of the…
Nonlinear dynamics of a bouncing ball moving in gravitational field and colliding with a moving limiter is considered. Several simple models of table motion are studied and compared. Dependence of displacement of the table on time,…
This paper is an electronic application to my set of lectures, subject:`Formal methods in solving differential equations and constructing models of physical phenomena'. Addressed, mainly: postgraduates and related readers. Content: a…
We present a generalized equations-of-motion method that efficiently calculates energy spectra and matrix elements for algebraic models. The method is applied to a 5-dimensional quartic oscillator that exhibits a quantum phase transition…
A goal of physics is to understand the greatest possible breadth of natural phenomena in terms of the most economical set of basic concepts. However, as the understanding of physics has developed historically, its pedagogy and language have…
The laws of friction are reasonably well understood for the case of blocks in contact with rough plane surfaces. However, as far as bodies with circular sections are concerned, the physics of friction becomes more involving and it is not…
We study one-dimensional elastic collisions of three point masses on a line under vacuum, with no triple collisions. We express momentum conservation in matrix form and analyze the composite map $D=D_{BC}D_{AB}$ and its powers $D^k$, which…
In this work we propose an extension to the analytical one-dimensional model proposed by E. Gnecco (Phys. Rev. Lett. 84:1172) to describe friction. Our model includes normal forces and the dependence with the angular direction of movement…
As an expansion of complex numbers, the quaternions show close relations to numerous physically fundamental concepts. In spite of that, the didactic potential provided by quaternion interrelationships in formulating physical laws are hardly…
This paper reports the use of Tracker as a pedagogical tool in supporting effective learning and teaching of toss up and free fall motion for beginning grade 9 students. This is a case study with (N=123) students of express-pure physics…
A dynamical effective medium theory is presented for quantum spins and higher multipoles such as quadrupole moments. The theory is a generalization of the spherical model approximation for the Ising model, and is accurate up to O(1/z_n)…
Theory of granular dissipative gas is discussed based on Boltzmann's equation and in view of recent experimental results in micro-gravity during few CNES and ESA campaigns [9,11]. It is recalled that the Boltzmann's distribution is a steady…
This article illustrates the role of friction on the motion of a rolling sphere on pedagogical example. We use a parabolic support rotating around it axis to study the static equilibrium positions of a single sphere. Due to the particular…
Consider a periodically forced nonlinear system which can be presented as a collection of smaller subsystems with pairwise interactions between them. Each subsystem is assumed to be a massive point moving with friction on a compact surface,…
We discuss a role of a momentum vector in the description of dynamics of systems with variable mass, and show some ambiguity in expressing the 2nd Newtonian law of dynamics in terms of momentum change in time for variable-mass systems. A…