Resistor--capacitor (RC) circuit labs help students, but most courses don't include them because of complications and cost. This work presents an easy and inexpensive Arduino-based lab on the charge and energy transfer between two capacitors with different values of the initial electric charge when they are connected through a resistor. Capacitors…

Semiconductor devices, usually made from silicon wafers, are present in the electronic gadgets that we use on a daily basis. In an introductory physics class, the textbook usually devotes a few pages to these devices and moves on. As a result, students may readily forget the material or fail to see how it relates to their lives. A solution is to…

While laboratories have long been associated with introductory physics courses, there is doubt as to whether they positively impact student learning. Holmes and Wieman found that students who elected to take optional laboratories fared no better across a range of metrics than their counterparts who did not participate. In addition, these…

The acoustic resonance in four glass Helmholtz resonators with diameters of 70, 52, 40, and 32 mm was detected in the frequency range of 360 to 1700 Hz using the simple experimental setup presented in this paper. The measured amplitudes of acoustic pressure required correction since the sound pressure amplitude of the loudspeaker used was not…

In this paper, we describe a study of cosmic ray muon rates and energies at various elevations on Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The study was originally conceived as an extension to the upper-division modern physics laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and used the TeachSpin Muon Physics apparatus (abbreviated TSMP below) from that…

Progress is made in science by constructing many models (possibly of different complexities), testing them against measurements, and determining which of them explain the data the best. It is my observation, however, that in many introductory physics labs we provide students with the materials and methods to verify the "correct" model of…

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.…

These days, smartphones are popular commodities among students in high school and college. Students carry their devices all the time, so why not use such a popular electronic device to measure physical quantities such as "g" in physics labs? In this work, we report a "multiple tasking" method, a measurement technique that we…

The phyphox app has demonstrated itself to be useful and impressive for physics teaching. The app is free to download and has so many features that it seems it may be particularly helpful in this time of distance learning. Phyphox (pronounced to sound like "physics") works for Android and Apple phones, and there are many experiments…

A classic undergraduate introductory experiment is to measure the diffraction and interference pattern from single and double slits to determine slit width and separation. Studies show that Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) can make science more inclusive when offered at the undergraduate level. Additionally, CUREs help…

The labs presented here build on a simple speed of sound activity and models medical ultrasound imaging by demonstrating how multiple reflections propagate in a closed system. A short sound pulse is emitted into a pipe that is closed at one end and contains one or more partially reflecting surfaces within the pipe. The variety of reflections and…

The abstract nature of electric potential difference (voltage) can make it a difficult concept to grasp, but understanding the relative nature of voltage is central to developing a conceptual understanding of electric circuits. In laboratory situations, I see these conceptual difficulties manifest when students have difficulty placing voltmeter…

With the introduction of the Wireless Smart Cart by PASCO scientific in April 2016, we expect a paradigm shift in undergraduate physics laboratory instruction. We have evaluated the feasibility of using the smart cart by carrying out experiments that are usually performed using traditional PASCO equipment. The simplicity, convenience, and…

Quantum computing is a growing field at the intersection of physics and computer science. The goal of this article is to highlight a successfully trialled quantum computing course for high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 years old. This course was designed to bridge the gap between popular science articles and advanced undergraduate…

In introductory physics laboratories, spring constants are traditionally measured using the static method. The dynamic method, via vertical spring-mass oscillator, that uses a stopwatch in order to measure the period of oscillations is also commonly employed. However, this time-measuring technique is prone to human errors and in this paper we…