A magnetic linear accelerator (or Gauss accelerator) is a device that uses the conversion of magnetic energy into kinetic energy to launch an object with high velocity. A simple experimental implementation consists of a line of steel spheres in which the first one is a permanent magnetic sphere. If another steel ball collides with the magnetic…

Projectile motion is a common phenomenon that is used in introductory physics courses to help students understand motion in two dimensions. Authors have shared a range of ideas for teaching this concept and the associated kinematics in "The Physics Teacher" ("TPT"); however, the "Hoop Challenge" is a new setup not…

We propose discussions and hands-on activities for GCSE and A-level students, covering a fundamental aspect of nuclear physics: the concept of bonds and the energy released (absorbed) when a bond is created (broken). This is the first of the series of papers named "A teaching guide of nuclear physics", whose main goal is to provide…

Magnetism and its various applications are essential for our daily life and for many technological developments. The term "magnetism" is almost always used as a synonym for ferromagnetism. However, the magnetic properties of the elements of the periodic table indicate that the vast majority of elements are not ferromagnetic, but rather,…

The importance of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) in today's research and industry leads to the question of how to include such a key technology in physics education. Manfred Euler has developed an acoustic model experiment to illustrate the fundamental measuring principles based on an analogy between quantum mechanics and acoustics. Based on…

An undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory that provides an introduction to various spectroscopic techniques is reported. Whereas organic spectroscopy is most often learned and practiced in the context of reaction analyses, this laboratory experiment allows students to become comfortable with [superscript 1]H NMR, [superscript 13]C NMR, and IR…

A simple, inexpensive, discovery-based experiment for undergraduate organic laboratories has been developed that demonstrates the Lewis acid and shape-selective properties of zeolites. Calcined zeolite Na-Y promotes the electrophilic aromatic bromination of toluene with a significantly higher para/ortho ratio than observed under conventional…

The Doppler effect has seen widespread use in the past hundred years. It is used for medical imaging, for measuring speed, temperature, direction, etc, and it makes the spatial relations of motion easy to map. The Doppler effect also allows GPS receivers to measure the speed of a vehicle significantly more accurately than dashboard speedometers.…

The Exploding Carts is a popular introductory physics activity in which a one-dimensional explosion is simulated utilizing two dynamics carts that are pushed apart by a spring-loaded plunger released from one of the carts. Traditional treatments of the Exploding Carts usually involve multiple trials where the mass of one or both of the carts is…

One challenge for the introductory physics teacher is incorporating calculus techniques into the laboratory setting. It can be difficult to strike a balance between presenting an experimental task for which calculus is essential and making the mathematics accessible to learners who may be apprehensive about applying it. One-dimensional kinematics…

A simple diffraction experiment was designed using banana stem as natural grating. Coherent beams of lasers with wavelengths of 632.8 nm and 532 nm that pass through banana stem produce periodic diffraction patterns on a screen. The diffraction experiments were able to measure the distances between the slit of the banana stem, i.e. d = (28.76 ±…

Laboratory exercises for undergraduate biochemistry students are described in which changes in sugar content during fermentation of the trendy beverage kombucha are analyzed by three methods: thin layer chromatography, a 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid assay, and a standard commercial blood glucose meter. Each of the three analyses can be completed in a…

The cannon boring experiment of Count Rumford, where eight kilograms of water were boiled by metal on metal friction, is investigated. Consideration of this dramatic demonstration can enrich classroom discussions of calorimetry, units of measure, elements, and thermodynamics. A section pertaining to use of the article in the classroom appears…

A hands-on experiment to obtain atomic and ionic radii with lumps of metal and ionic compounds is reported here. The experiment is performed with industrial-grade typical metals (iron, copper, aluminum, and lead) and single-crystal lumps of ionic compounds (sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and potassium bromide). Students measure the dimension…

Pigments, dyes, and transition-metal compounds are made in courses across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum, but student characterization of these compounds' most striking features, their colors, seldom goes beyond verbal descriptions. Affordable, hand-held, fiber-optic reflectance spectrophotometers make it possible to advance students'…