The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is the project to search and study ultra high-energy cosmic ray particles from deep space producing simultaneous extensive air showers over the entire exposed surface of the Earth. The concept of the CREDO infrastructure assumes absorbing all kinds of cosmic ray data from any apparatus all…

An elementary-level physics approach is used to calculate a number of interesting and useful quantities related to nuclear explosions. The set of eight exercises deals with nuclear fission fragments, the variation of fissile nucleus density in a fissioning nuclear device core with time, and the fireball.

Refraction is a foundational concept within introductory physics. Physics students need a deep understanding of refraction, including Snell's Law, in order to progress towards more complex optics topics such as lenses and images. Unfortunately, many physics students obtain only a superficial understanding of refraction. Although many students can…

Problems involving rotating systems analysed from an inertial frame, without invoking fictitious forces, is something that freshman students find difficult to understand in an introductory mechanics course. In this article we try to see what could be the factors that lead to this difficulty and propose a set of arguments that could be used to…

Optics is one of the subject areas in which students have difficulty learning. Establishing the right connections between the concepts of optics and daily life supports the learning of the concepts of optics. In addition, this connection increases the students' motivation to learn optical issues. In this study, three activities related to prisms…

A journey through the wonderful world of spinning tops, emphasising their practical use in both amusement, skill and as part of the physics curriculum.

Hierarchical structure and mechanics are crucial in biological systems as they allow for smaller molecules, such as proteins and sugars, to be used in the construction of large scale biological structures exhibiting properties such as structural support functionality. By exploring the fundamental principles of structure and mechanics at the…

The air drag constant for different nose shapes of projectiles is determined with the help of a simple method combining a projectile launcher, video tracking technique and spreadsheet computer code for simulating the motion. A projectile launcher with low-cost components is developed to study air drag in projectile motion. The launcher is based on…

This paper presents preparations, execution and reflection on results for the physics part of a CSI task for the European Union Science Olympiad 2010, taking place at the University of Gothenburg. The participants were required to make a graph of the cooling of a swede ("Brassica napus"), as a proxy for the cooling of a murder victim,…

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…

Teaching modern physics in high school is of increasingly importance as it can offer students a more realistic and updated vision of the world, and can provide an opportunity to understand the most recent scientific discoveries. In this context, general relativity (GR) occupies a prominent place, since it is related to astonishing scientific…

We suggest an activity for measuring the speed of a bicycle going in circular motion by measuring the bicycle's lean angle. In this activity students will be able to feel the strength that is being activated on their bodies while they are moving in circular motion. They will also understand that it is impossible to ride in a circle without the…

In 1919, Eddington and Dyson led two famous expeditions to measure the bending of light during a total solar eclipse. The results of this effort led to the first experimental confirmation of Einstein's General Relativity and contributed to create its unique and enduring fame. Since then, similar experiments have been carried out all around the…

In this paper we present activities that can help students deepen their understanding of DC circuits and develop practical competences. The students investigate electric properties of commercially available conductive thread and solve a practical design task using the thread. The activities follow the framework of investigative science learning…

This work documents the collaboration between the Physics department of the University of Calabria and some schools of the region in a project devoted to recovering disused instrumentation in school laboratories. The project has been conceived as a workplace experience for the students, i.e. a learning experience in a real work place. In Italy,…