Here, a relatively simple laboratory experiment of a physical pendulum, suitable for students of science and engineering in the first courses of university physics, is presented to illustrate its dynamic behavior and to determine its inertia moment. To this end, a long wooden rod of length L = 99.8 cm and cross-section radius R = 1.73 cm was used…

For single-slit diffraction and double-slit interference experiments, commercially made slits can be the most expensive parts, especially since the prices of laser pointers have become very low. One option is to use a razor blade to cut slits in either paint or electrical tape on microscope slides. However, this takes practice, and there is some…

The Van de Graaff (VDG) generator is ubiquitous in the physics laboratory, but the high-voltage discharges that emanate from it can cause user discomfort or damage to nearby electronics during experimentation. In this work, an augmented reality (AR) tool is developed to help students conduct the experiment safely. More specifically, it allows them…

The determination of the speed of sound in air is a classical experiment, usually performed with a resonance tube apparatus. The measured value can be checked against Eq. (1), which describes the temperature dependence of the speed of sound in dry air. A modern implementation of this speed of sound investigation uses an Arduino Uno microcontroller…

A popular introductory physics laboratory experiment is one focusing on Snell's law. This is straightforward to complete with lasers and prisms, but here we present an alternative version that guides the students through some of the major historical developments, recreating and analyzing significant experiments. The discovery of Snell's law has a…

The magnetic field of Earth, B[subscript e], is an intriguing topic in the introductory physics curriculum that engages students' curiosity and inspires numerous speculations about the nature of this phenomenon. There are several methods for measuring Earth's magnetic field. Probably, the most widespread and visual method of measuring the field in…

In the 1930s, the teaching staff of the University of Chicago devised a clever way to deliver experimental data to their introductory students without meeting them in the laboratory. The university's curriculum included a required Introductory Course in the Physical Sciences. There were probably too many students to allow for a standard…

The Wilson cloud chamber, invented in 1911 by Scottish physicist Charles Wilson, is a remarkably simple and effective charged particle detector. Cloud chambers were used regularly in particle physics experiments for decades, until being supplanted by bubble chambers. In this article, we describe a lab activity that is suitable for…

This paper presents a series of experiments that focus on light polarization and polarimetry. Such experiments were conducted with the use of commercial Polaroids, light sensors, and laser pointers, and were designed for an undergraduate food science students physics lab.

Science labs should promote reasoning that resembles the work that scientists do. However, this is often not the case. We present a lab in which students strive to find out which of two models best describes a physics experiment. The quantification of measurement uncertainties--another topic that is often neglected in high school…

Introductory physics laboratory experiments have typically been employed to reinforce classroom instruction instead of teaching students experimental design. Recent research has shown that lab experiments that focus on experimental practices are more effective at teaching students physics concepts. The experiment described in this paper has been…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the spring of 2020 many physics programs were forced to quickly transition all of their classes and laboratories to a completely online learning environment. The need for simple and engaging remote physics laboratories became apparent. One relatively low-cost remote lab system is Macmillan's iOLab device. This…

The popularization of microcontrollers like Arduino bring new possibilities of experiments for physics laboratories. For instance, load cell sensors have been used in experiments on impulse and buoyancy. Here we propose an experimental apparatus using Arduino connected to a load cell to measure surface tension by the du Noüy method (or ring…

Introductory lab courses have been a staple of the physics curriculum for over 100 years. Yet these courses are now poised for change as recent research shows that they do not meet a frequent goal of enhancing student understanding of lecture content. In thinking about how to move forward, a look back at experiment courses in history seems wise.…

Physics experiments powered by a universal serial bus (USB) connection are becoming increasingly common. With teachers going through so many batteries each year, USB-powered physics provides an economical and environmentally friendly alternative. In this article, the authors discuss several ways that USB power can provide a convenient way to do…