This experiment designed for beginning physics students, is related to postal regulations restricting the size of envelopes. A graph is constructed that allows for testing the mailability of envelopes. (MP)

Explores strategies in the situation of a runner trying to evade a tackler on a football field. Enables the student to test intuitive strategies in a familiar situation using simple graphical and numerical methods or direct experimentation. (JRH)

Described is how the crumpling of paper balls exhibits the concept of a topological dimension similar to fractals. The mass of the crumpled paper ball is found to be proportional to its diameter raised to a nonintegral power. (KR)

An exercise which relates particle scattering and the calculation of cross-sections to answer the following question--"Do you get wetter by walking or running through the rain?"--is described. The calculations used to answer the question are provided. (KR)

Presents a simple experiment that allows students to determine a slope from a series of measurements rather than from a given equation in which students measure heights and widths for a set of paper rectangles, all with the same width. Students calculate areas and plot area versus height from the data. (Author/ASK)

Since 1995, astronomers have discovered over 100 known exoplanets--planets outside of the solar system--and determined their properties such as mass, orbital distance, size, and density. By using simple algebraic equations of physics, students can determine these properties as well. In this article, the author discusses an activity titled…

This study examines the practical work of a pair of students and an instructor using probeware in a mechanics lab. The aim of the study is to describe and discuss a type of interactional sequence that we refer to as "dark matter", the ordinary backdrop to the extraordinary sequences that are easily recognizable as clear-cut instances of learning.…

The author details graph exercises and solutions, coordinated with a "new textbook," to explain gas laws for isoprocesses, the first law of thermodynamics, and heat transfer. (JH)

Presents an activity in which students draw the decay curve for a medical radioisotope and determine its half-life. (MKR)

This book is designed to be a quick and easy resource for anyone teaching physics for the first time. Written after extensive research, this book is filled with reliable labs, demos and activities that work well in the classroom. Also included are lesson plans, diagrams, and teacher notes for every activity. The book is not the end--it is just a…

Describes an easily-implemented experiment in which a moderately complex relation between dependent and independent variables is involved. (Author/GS)

Develops a graphical method for studying the parallel susceptibility of an antiferromagnetic material. (SL)

Describes a computer program that computes field lines and equipotential surfaces for a wide range of field configurations. Presents the mathematical technique and details of the program, the input data, and different modes of graphical representation. (MLH)

This project description is designed to show how graphing calculators and calculator-based laboratories (CBL) can be used to explore topics in the physics of sound. The activities address topics such as sound waves, musical notes, and chords. Teaching notes, calculator instructions, and blackline masters are included. (MM)