In this study, it is aimed to develop practical teaching activities that can be used in optics teaching. For this purpose, a virtual laboratory environment was created in RayLab which is an application for design and simulation of optics on the iPad/iPhone. In this context, the dispersion of white light in the prism, the relationship between the…

Clear and rigorous quantum reasoning is needed to explain quantum physical phenomena. As pillars of true quantum physical explanations, we suggest specific quantum reasoning derived from quantum physical key ideas. An experiment is suggested to support such a quantum reasoning, in which a quantized radiation field interacts with an optical beam…

It's not surprising that rainbows have received a great deal of attention: in textbooks, in magazines, and on the web. They are, after all, beautiful, fascinating, occasionally awe-inspiring, even a little mysterious. They are an almost perfect blend of natural beauty and simple physics. Has everything that can be said about rainbows already been…

A mechanical model of light propagation helps to show that optical refraction is related to the speed of light and how it changes from one medium to another. A tricycle toy robot is used to realize the model. Left and right wheels independently change their speed (high or low) in response to the local color (white or black, respectively) of the…

The success of films such as "Avengers: Endgame," "Black Panther," and "Captain Marvel" has established the superhero genre in modern popular culture. Many students will have seen these films, or at the very least they are familiar with a number of the superhero characters. In the physics classroom, content based on…

Dark matter is one of the most intriguing scientific mysteries of our time and offers exciting instructional opportunities for physics education in high schools. The topic is likely to engage and motivate students in the classroom and allows addressing open questions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Although the empirical evidence of…

Quantum computing was once regarded as a mere theoretical possibility, but recent advances in engineering and materials science have brought practical quantum computers closer to reality. Currently, representatives from industry, academia, and governments across the world are working to build the educational structures needed to produce the…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of teaching through a virtual laboratory prepared using simulations teaching materials and that are based on constructivist thought about geometrical optics upon the students' academic success and their attitudes towards physics. Quasi-experimental pretest and posttest control groups was used…

Photonics is an emerging field of science and technology that is effective in providing sustainable and innovative solutions to twenty-first century problems. Science education includes topics related to light. However, photonics is not yet included in most school curricula as a subject within the domain of science and technology to be presented…

Science teaching in general and physics teaching in particular often fail to meet the challenges of motivating and engaging learners. Consequently, students do not adequately understand concepts, leading to the poor acquisition of expected practical skills. In response to this need, we conducted a study to document physics teachers' instructional…

The Arduino board and its communication with several sensors are becoming more and more popular in the physical science community. They offer inspiring possibilities for learning different physical concepts. In this article, we focused on creating a very practical educational system for experimenting with diffraction of laser light and graphically…

At the Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN), an Engineering Research Center funded from 2008-2018 by the National Science Foundation, the education department worked to develop new and innovative digital resources to engage students in learning science content. One resource created, the CIAN Comic Book, focuses on educating students about…

In the laboratory experiment described here, students synthesize silver nanostructures (AgNS) with different shapes and sizes to elucidate the shape- and size-dependent optical properties of nanostructured materials. Students also develop understanding of some thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the synthesis process through this experiment. In…

This article proposes a practical method of teaching the addition of unit fractions using a series of mirror equation experiments.

We describe the design and implementation of a teaching-learning sequence that was started before the lockdown and was then transformed for distance teaching. A backward design approach was adopted in order to identify clear learning outcomes. The activities were outlined according to an inquiry-based learning paradigm, referring to research-based…