A solenoid is a coil wound many times on a cylinder of length greater than its diameter. Solenoids are mainly used as electromagnets, because a magnetic field is formed when current flows through a solenoid. The solenoid described in secondary school and university textbooks is a single-layered solenoid. Further, textbooks and papers focusing on…

Electromagnetic (EM) waves are indispensable in modern telecommunications. Despite their essential role in modern technology, EM waves are considered to be an abstract concept by many students. In this activity, an inexpensive two-coil system was constructed in a teaching laboratory and used to demonstrate information transfer by non-sinusoidal EM…

Here, we propose the use of magnetic levitation (MagLev) device, as a simple, cheap, and portable experimental technique to measure the density of diamagnetic materials in laboratory settings. We highlight the basics of a standard MagLev system for measuring the density of unknown diamagnetic materials/objects using permanent magnets, paramagnetic…

The topic of electric and magnetic fields is fundamental to the physics curriculum in both high school and college. The applied aspect of this topic has triggered the rapid development of modern technology in this era. This paper reported a remote data acquisition system developed for experiments with magnetic fields by coils to support…

Harmful plastic debris found on beaches and in the oceans are not limited to drinking straws or bags. There are several synthetic organic polymers that can be used to make different kinds of plastic materials and have resulted in billions of tons of waste that can reach the aquatic biome and are harmful to freshwater and marine communities as well…

In this paper we discuss the role of transduction in the teaching and learning of science. We video-filmed pairs of upper-secondary physics students working with a laboratory task designed to encourage transduction (Bezemer & Kress, 2008). The students were simply instructed to use a hand-held electronic measurement device (IOLab) to find the…

The real power of calculus is revealed when it is applied to actual physical problems. In this paper, we present a calculus inspired physics experiment suitable for high school and undergraduate programs. A model for the theory of the terminal velocity of a falling body subject to a resistive force is developed and its validity tested in an…

We describe a 2 h introductory laboratory procedure that prepares a novel magnetic antimicrobial activated carbon nanocomposite in which nanoscale sized magnetite and silver particles are incorporated (MACAg). The MACAg nanocomposite has achieved the synergistic properties derived from its components and demonstrated its applicability as an…

Magnetic stirrers and hot plates are key components of science laboratories. However, these are not readily available in many developing countries due to their high cost. This article describes the design of a low-cost magnetic stirrer with hot plate from recycled materials. Some of the materials used are neodymium magnets and CPU fans from…

In this paper, I present a low-cost interactive experiment for measuring the strength of Earth's local magnetic field. This activity can be done in most high schools or two-year physics laboratories with limited resources, yet will have a tremendous learning impact. This experiment solidifies the three-dimensional nature of Earth's…

A watt balance is an electromechanical device that allows a mass to be determined in terms of measurable electrical and mechanical quantities, themselves traceable to the fundamental constants of physics. International plans are well advanced to redefine the unit of mass, the kilogram, in terms of a fixed numerical value for the Planck constant. A…

This paper describes a mini-project developed with 10th grade Portuguese students where, by using an experimental activity involving the use of natural dyes to colour wool, students acquired a better understanding of the concepts and relationship between the colour, the electromagnetic spectrum, and chemical bonding. As demonstrated by the results…

A general chemistry laboratory experiment using readily available chemicals is described to introduce college students to an exciting class of nanocomposite materials. In a one-step room temperature synthetic process, magnetite nanoparticles are embedded onto activated carbon matrix. The resultant nanocomposite has been shown to combine the…

The basic theory of radio broadcasting is discussed from an experimental point of view. First, concepts like wave modulation and tuning are explained with the use of instruments in the physics laboratory. Then, a very basic radio receiver is described and assembled, whose most important feature, like in the old "crystal radios", is the absence of…

There has been much interest in magnetite (Fe[subscript 3]O[subscript 4]) due to its utility in adsorbing high concentrations of arsenic in contaminated water. The magnetic properties of the material allow for simple dispersion and removal from an aqueous system. An inquiry-based laboratory has been developed that illustrates these unique…