What do you get when you cross a rubber band with a photocopier? You get a whole series of physics lessons and some great images! It's easy to get this activity up and running, be amazed, and apply it to any number of scientific concepts. It lends itself to a whole host of investigations. This easy-to-do activity can also be aligned to NGSS…

Design is often accepted as a fundamental aspect of engineering (Dym, et al., 2005). The design process is frequently portrayed as a set of steps. However, the design process is more complex than just a set of steps in a relatively fixed process. The complex nature of design, design thinking, questioning, and decision making is exactly what…

Semiconductor materials are at the core of electronics. Most electronic devices are made of semiconductors. The operation of these components is well described by quantum physics which is often a difficult concept for students to understand. One of the intrinsic parameters of semiconductors is their bandgap energy E[subscript g]. In the case of…

As children develop an understanding of their place in the universe, their mental model of the solar system should really go beyond a list of planet names and attributes to become a dynamic concept of bodies in motion and interaction. Montessori educators can help build a Sensorial impression of the cosmos by physically modeling the nature of…

Spices, of course, do not make a meal, but they make a meal more enjoyable and memorable. Games do the same, allowing teachers to interact with their students in a different way than they normally do. They also have the potential to challenge and assess students' understanding of content. Games allow teachers to "play" with their…

This article describes a lesson rooted in "tinkering," an approach to learning that encourages the use of authentic, hands-on experience to develop an understanding of content and physical materials. There were several desired outcomes for this lesson. First, the authors felt that tinkering was an appropriate approach to investigating…

Contribution: Prior studies indicate that students experimenting with characterization of optical planar waveguides use expensive ready-made prism couplers without clear understanding about construction of the entire optical measurement system. This paper presents a cost-effective modified bright-mode prism coupler that helps students learn…

When teaching how "tension" and "compression" relate to geometrical structures such as bridges, arches, and domes, The author shows a picture of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, completed in the 14th century, and presents a lesson on using the curve called a catenary to explain how he teaches about tension and compression…

For many students, the first--and sometimes only--chance to look through a microscope is in high school biology class, where they observe plant and animal cells up close. Even in college, few students use a microscope for a subject other than biology. Thus, it can be a surprise to learn that microscopes are a primary tool used to understand the…

Visual aids are important to student learning, and they help make the teacher's job easier. Keeping with the "TPT" theme of "The Art, Craft, and Science of Physics Teaching," the purpose of this article is to show how teachers, lacking equipment and funds, can construct a durable 3-D model reference frame and a model gravity…

Along-standing energy lab involves dropping bouncy balls and measuring their rebound heights on successive bounces. The lab demonstrates a situation in which the mechanical energy of a system is not conserved. Although students enjoyed the lab, the author wanted to deepen their thinking about energy, including the connections to motion, with a new…

Examples of equilibrium are evident everywhere and the equilibrium rule provides a reasoned way to view all things, whether in static (balancing rocks, steel beams in building construction) or dynamic (airplanes, bowling balls) equilibrium. Interestingly, the equilibrium rule applies not just to objects at rest but whenever any object or system of…

On entry to university, high-achieving physics students from all across Australia struggle to identify Newton's third law force pairs. In particular, less than one in ten can correctly identify the Newton's third law reaction pair to the weight of (gravitational force acting on) an object. Most students incorrectly identify the normal force on the…

On February 1, 2015, the New England Patriots clinched a 28-24 point win against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. Going into the game, the Patriots were shrouded in controversy regarding possible deflated footballs in their American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, most notably known as…

This paper shows how it is possible to construct a very simple device for the measurement of magnetic flux densities in an educational context. It is also shown how such a device can be interfaced to a microcontroller with plotting-software to facilitate the study of magnetic fields produced by a current-carrying coil.