A simple throwing task is described to illustrate various aspects of projectile motion. The task was to throw a tennis ball in a waste paper bin about 2 m away. Success depends on skill, but it also depends on the physics of the problem. If the ball is thrown underarm, then success depends primarily on the throw speed, which must be controlled to…

The goal of this paper is to illustrate different ways that cardsorting activities (or "card stacks") can be implemented in the introductory physics classroom, along with various tips and resources for getting started. My first attempt at developing a card stack came about from simply wanting to try out a fun way to change student…

In this article, the authors focus on students constructing observations of patterns to understand how surfaces affect the motion of an object. Students will use the patterns they observe to predict future motion of marbles (NGSS Lead States 2013). Students then apply their learning by engaging in an engineering task. By giving students a task to…

Successfully carrying out a secondary school physics inquiry requires a considerable amount of procedural and content knowledge. It further requires knowledge of how and why maintaining scientific standards produces the best available answer to the given research question. To this purpose, a series of five inquiry activities was developed and…

One of the key ideas of evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) is that task features can be deliberately manipulated to change the psychometric properties of items. ECD identifies a number of roles that task-feature variables can play, including determining the focus of evidence, guiding form creation, determining item difficulty and…

The Ruben Flame Tube is named after H. Ruben, who published the demonstration experiment in "Annalen der Physik" in 1905. This article presents one of the many demonstrations the author uses to engage, motivate, and challenge his students.

The national conversation around undergraduate science instruction is calling for increased interdisciplinarity. As these calls increase, there is a need to consider the learning objectives of interdisciplinary science courses and how to design curricula to support those objectives. We present a framework that can help support interdisciplinary…

An approximate formula for the period of pendulum motion beyond the small amplitude regime is obtained based on physical arguments. Two different schemes of different accuracy are developed: in the first less accurate scheme, emphasis is given on the non-quadratic form of the potential in connection to isochronism, and a specific form of a generic…

The incorporation of scientific inquiry into college classrooms has steadily risen as faculty work to move away from exclusively didactic methods. One type of inquiry structure, the design task, produces a product rather than simply a conclusion. This offers students a context to apply their understanding of content in a tangible way that has…

This paper describes and discusses the role of practical work in science education in Ireland. The 2002 report of a government Task Force on the Physical Sciences, set up to consider the problems facing the teaching of the physical sciences in second-level schools in Ireland, has resulted in rapid reform of the science curriculum at both junior…

In 1923, R.A. Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. Recently, historical research had a focus on Millikan's publication practice, as well as on the role of his assistant, Harvey Fletcher. Several studies have raised doubts on whether Millikan can…

A holographic process is presented where the object is made of the real image produced by a two-mirror system. Single-step reflection hologram recording is achieved. Details of the process are given, optics concepts are outlined and demonstrative results are presented. (Contains 6 figures and 2 footnotes.)

The theoretical framework "student ownership of learning" is developed both theoretically and with qualitative research. The metaphor "ownership" is related to the process towards meaning making and understanding and is seen as relevant especially to improve physics instruction. The dimension "group ownership of learning" refers to the groups'…

This research introduces a new naive physics belief, the Galileo bias, whereby people ignore air resistance and falsely believe that all objects fall at the same rate. Survey results revealed that this bias is held by many and is surprisingly strongest for those with formal physics instruction. In 2 experiments, 98 participants dropped ball pairs…

This article describes how to construct a laser level. This laser level can be made using a typical 4' (or shorter) bubble level and a small laser point. The laser unit is detachable, so the bubble level can also be used in the conventional way. However, the laser level works better than a simple bubble level. Making this inexpensive device is an…