This book is intended to offer college faculty members the insights of the development of reasoning movement that enlighten physics educators in the late 1970s and led to a variety of college programs directed at improving the reasoning patterns used by college students. While the original materials were directed at physics concepts, they quickly…

Discusses an activity in which computers with color monitors can be used to demonstrate light blending with relative ease. (MKR)

Using a computer and thermistor probes, students analyze graphs of temperature versus time. The experiment demonstrates phase changes in water, which can lead to a broader interpretation of matter, its properties, and the laws of thermodynamics. (Author/AIM)

Describes a microcomputer-based laboratory experiment designed for high school students that very accurately analyzes Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, addressing each variable separately while the others are kept constant. (Author/CCM)

Finds that few electricity and magnetism experiments make use of computers for data acquisition. Reports on the use of a Vernier system for the measurement of the RC time constant for the charging and discharging of a capacitor. (CCM)

Reports on an effort to replace power supplies in an electron charge lab with power supplies from personal computers. Details the process involved in updating the lab. (DDR)

Investigates the interconnections within students' store of conceptual knowledge using a set of term-association tasks (ConMap tasks). Gathers students' spontaneous responses to a term or problem or topic area with a sequence of associated terms, the response terms and time-of-entry data. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes the use of magnetic field probes interfaced to a microcomputer in measuring the magnetic field in and around a solenoidal "Slinky" spring toy carrying a current of a few amps. (JRH)

Discusses reasons for and ways of using computer software to teach mechanics. Describes using software to explore mechanics, challenge misconceptions, make links between mathematical representations and motion, and solve non-standard problems. Stresses the need for structured approaches to the use of software. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/ASK)

Presents ideas for using spreadsheets to explore random numbers, electric-potential distributions, function fitting, and the frequency analysis of waveforms. Contains 18 references. (JRH)

Discusses the use of a spreadsheet program to vary the parameters in multiloop circuit problems. Enables students to better understand how the elements in a multiloop circuit determine the current by allowing them to see the results of the changes immediately. (JRH)

Presents experiments that use Microcomputer Based Laboratory (MBL) techniques to enable freshmen physics students to investigate complex systems, such as nonlinear oscillators or coupled harmonic oscillators, at a level appropriate for an independent project. (JRH)

Describes simple inexpensive modifications to existing equipment that facilitate the computerization of interference and diffraction experiments done in introductory laboratory courses. (JRH)

Describes hardware that enables the use of an IBM PC microcomputer as a frequency meter or a counter by using the parallel printer port. Eliminates the 16-bit time-day counter through the use of an external time base that can be conveniently set depending on the desired frequency range. (JRH)

Uses a computer interface to measure terminal voltage versus current characteristic of a variety of batteries, their series and parallel combinations, and the variation with discharge. The concept of an internal resistance demonstrates that current flows through the battery determine the efficiency and serve to introduce Thevenin's theorem.…