ERIC Number: EJ1209440
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-9120
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Up and Down, Light and Heavy, Fast and Slow--But Where?
Physics Education, v54 n2 Article 025017 Mar 2019
Vertical amusement rides let your body experience the tickling sensation of feeling light, but also feeling much heavier than as usual, due to velocity changes as you move up and down. Family rides offer different possibilities to visualize the forces that are experienced by your accelerating body. This paper presents a number of different ways to view and experience the motion in a small vertical amusement ride. A smartphone includes an accelerometer that can provide a graph of the forces acting during the ride. A movie from the smartphone camera lets students recall the motion which can then be analysed in more detail. The complementary representations may help students develop a deeper understanding of the relation between force and motion. The affordances of these different semiotic resources are analysed in some detail. In addition, we discuss responses from a number of students to questions about where you feel light and where you feel heavy. We find that the experience of the body is an underused resource in physics teaching.
Descriptors: Physics, Science Instruction, Scientific Concepts, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Motion, Recreational Activities, Science Experiments, Experiential Learning, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Secondary School Science, Visual Stimuli
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A