Related papers: An inquiry-based laboratory on friction
The square inverse law with distance plays an important role in many fields of physics covering electromagnetism, optics or acoustics. However, as every law in physics has its range of validity. We propose an open-inquiry laboratory where…
By means of Molecular Dynamics simulations, we investigate the elementary process of avalanches and size segregation by surface flow in 2 dimensions: a single ball confined to moving along an inclined line consisting of balls. The global…
Laboratory courses represent a unique and potentially important component of the undergraduate physics curriculum, which can be designed to allow students to authentically engage with the process of experimental physics. Among other…
Educators must make decisions about learner expectations and skills on which to focus when it comes to laboratory activities. There are various approaches but the general pattern is to encourage students to measure ordered pairs, plot a…
Spatially separated bodies in relative motion through vacuum experience a tiny friction force known as quantum friction. This force has so far eluded experimental detection due to its small magnitude and short range. Quantitative details…
Users often make security- and privacy-relevant decisions without a clear understanding of the rules that govern safe behavior. We introduce pedagogical friction, a design approach that inserts brief, instructional interactions at the…
We redesigned an advanced physics laboratory course to include a project component. The intention was to address learning outcomes such as modeling, design of experiments, teamwork, and developing technical skills in using apparatus and…
A set of virtual experiments were designed to use with introductory physics I (analytical and general) class, which covers kinematics, Newton laws, energy, momentum, and rotational dynamics. Virtual experiments were based on video analysis…
The objectives of physics laboratory courses include fostering conceptual understanding and development of several important cognitive, psycho-motor, attitudinal and affective abilities. In most of the Indian colleges and universities (and…
We designed three color-coding schemes to identify related information across representations and to differentiate distinct information within a representation in slide-based instruction for calculus-based introductory mechanics. We found…
The microscopic origin of friction has been the goal of several theoretical studies in the last decades. Depending on the investigated systems or models, on the simulation techniques or conditions, different and somewhat contradictory…
Formally investigating the sources of students' difficulties around specific subjects is crucial for developing appropriate strategies to help students. We have been studying difficulties in understanding magnetism encountered by students…
This article describes four innovative pedagogical exercises: (i) The expression for relation between cross sections in the laboratory and the centre of mass systems provided in text books assumes zero or low Q values which needs to be…
Since 2006, forty students from high school are selected to attend a full immersion summer school of physics in the Pigelleto Natural Reserve, on the south east side of Mount Amiata in the province of Siena. Topics are chosen so that…
Friction is usually a very complicated process. It appears in its most elementary form when two flat surfaces separated by vacuum gap are sliding relative to each other at zero Kelvin and the friction is generated by the relative movement…
We use a perturbative approach to evaluate transition amplitudes corresponding to quantum friction, for a scalar model describing an atom which moves at a constant velocity, close to a material plane. In particular, we present results on…
Studies have shown that standard lectures and instructional laboratory experiments are not effective at teaching interference and diffraction. In response, the author created an interactive computer program that simulates interference and…
With the expansion of e-learning course curricula and the affordability of haptic devices, at-home virtual laboratories are emerging as an increasingly viable option for e-learners. We outline three novel haptic simulations for the…
Homework in introductory physics represents an important part of a student's learning experience; therefore choosing the manner in which homework is presented merits investigation. We performed three rounds of clinical trials comparing the…
Very little is known about how the nature of expertise in introductory and advanced courses compares in knowledge-rich domains such as physics. We develop a framework to compare the similarities and differences between learning and patterns…