The purpose of this study is to consider Superman's acts against impulse-momentum and conservation of momentum principles. Superheroes as fantasy fiction characters attract the attention of not only children and teenagers but also adults. Superheroes can be useful in explaining a phenomenon, as well as overcoming conceptual difficulties that may…

Recently, the physics education community has taken a keen interest in modernising physics education. However, while topics in modern physics have great potential to engage students, these topics are abstract and hard-to-visualise. Therefore, many students hold mistaken pictures and misconceptions, which can impede learning. In this article, we…

Although learning about Nature of Science (NOS) promotes a variety of important outcomes, teachers often lack suitable activities for younger students to effectively address NOS. In this article I elaborate on an NOS activity developed for a teacher professionalisation workshop. The activity is suited for younger students as well, where clear…

At the end of the 18th-century, Charles Coulomb developed an apparatus to study the force between two electrified beads which allowed him to obtain his famous Coulomb's law. Today, as one of the most fundamental outcomes in classical electromagnetism, his result is revisited in most high school physics courses, where students are asked to…

In this paper, we present a physical modeling activity whose objective is to allow students to determine the differences between a disk and a sphere using pure scientific criteria. Thereunto, we reproduce the Sun-Earth-Moon system with low-cost materials and compare the illumination effects on the Moon considering two possible shapes for it (a…

Many introductory astronomy courses include concepts related to basic stellar properties. In general, these are concepts that originate from the human perception of starlight. This observational aspect is not easy to incorporate in the classroom. We explore if these concepts could be developed using the built-in data in a planetarium software.…

A ball that rolls without sliding down an inclined plane requires a small static friction force to prevent the ball sliding down the incline. The magnitude of that force is investigated by considering the force needed to prevent the contact point from slipping.

A vacuum cleaner is used to isolate over twelve harmonics in a corrugated toy whistling tube. The toy tube is first taped along a horizontal surface. Then a vacuum cleaner with a hose diameter approximately the same as that for the toy tube is turned on. As the vacuum cleaner hose approaches one end of the corrugated tube, individual higher…

This paper examines the Torricelli law for the flow of liquid from a small drain hole in a container. It shows how the system can be modelled using either a traditional calculus-based approach or a non-calculus step-wise computer method appropriate to the background of the student group. An experiment to measure the head of out-flowing liquid as a…

In this paper it is demonstrated how the free, and easily downloadable, software package called SMath Studio can be used to set up a model of alpha-particle scattering. The basic physics of the motion of an alpha-particle in the nuclear coulomb field is used to produce a simple stepwise computer algorithm which, in conjunction with a novel set of…

Your body is not a point particle. The nature and direction of the forces counteracting gravity influence your experience of uniform rectilinear motion--as does your own orientation in relation to the force of gravity. Sensors in smartphones or other devices can capture these forces, and help establish a connection between the personal experience…

Connecting physics with the humanities is a fascinating challenge and a complicated cultural task. Yet, it is exactly what the Italian secondary-school graduation exam requires in its oral part. Although it has been criticized by teachers and students, here I provide a list of real school life examples and discuss why this can be a great,…

Students often use incoherent strategies in their problem solving involving force and motion, as revealed, e.g. when they are asked to draw force diagrams for amusement rides involving circular motion, whether in horizontal or vertical planes. Depending on the questions asked, assignments involving circular motion can reveal different types of…

Take a selection of balls and marbles along to a nearby playground slide and let students investigate factors that may influence how balls accelerate down an inclined plane. Students can make hypotheses in small groups, plan investigations to test multiple possible explanations and draw conclusions about the importance of different variables. The…

Experimental teaching is essential for a good understanding of science, especially on Physics. Practical activities play an important role for engaging students with science, mainly when they interact directly with equipment, collect experimental data with computers and/or use interactive software for data analysis. In this work, we present the…