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Showing 1 to 15 of 405 results Save | Export
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Mary Jane Brundage; David E. Meltzer; Chandralekha Singh – Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2025
We use a validated conceptual multiple-choice survey instrument focusing on thermodynamic processes and the first and second laws of thermodynamics at the level of introductory physics to investigate the problem-property dependence of introductory and advanced student responses to introductory thermodynamics problems after traditional…
Descriptors: Problem Solving, Science Process Skills, Introductory Courses, Scientific Concepts
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Rojas, Roberto – Physics Teacher, 2022
In one of the Faraday's experiments an electric current is induced in a conducting loop when a magnet in front of it moves towards or away from the loop. While the direction of circulation of the electric current in the loop has only two options, it depends on three experimental conditions that generate eight cases. Even though the Faraday law or…
Descriptors: Energy, Magnets, Science Experiments, Scientific Principles
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McCaughin, Patrick; Ford, Lyle – Physics Teacher, 2021
Since its debut in Elihu Thomson's 1886 article "Novel Phenomena of Alternating Currents," the Thomson jumping ring apparatus has been a popular and captivating demonstration of magnetic induction. The components are quite simple. There is a solenoid, an iron core, and a ring. The demonstration usually begins with the professor saying…
Descriptors: Physics, Magnets, Scientific Concepts, Demonstrations (Educational)
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Hull, Michael M.; Nakayama, Shizuka; Tosa, Sachiko – Physics Teacher, 2023
Newton's laws are a ubiquitous topic in introductory physics instruction. One common problem involves asking what will happen if you stick your finger into a cup of water sitting on a scale. A way to solve the problem would be to first recognize that the water exerts a buoyant force upward on the finger, which students can recognize as being the…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Physics, Scientific Principles, Concept Formation
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Wei-Zhao Shi; Chunying Zuo; Jingying Wang – Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2025
Previous research has shown that in prehigher education stages, inquiry-based teaching is not sufficient for forming a mature understanding of the nature of science (NOS). However, there is relatively little research conducted on colleges. Inquiry-based teaching should not overlook cognitive frameworks, as students' limited scientific reasoning…
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Inquiry, Active Learning, College Science
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Wang, Fei – Physics Teacher, 2022
The ideal gas law, "PV = nRT," is one of the simplest physical laws in nature that is introduced to students as early as in high school and first year in college. In this equation, "P" stands for pressure, "V" is the volume, "n" is the amount expressed in mole, "T" is the temperature in Kelvin…
Descriptors: Physics, Scientific Principles, Fuels, Graphs
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Robertson, Amy D.; Goodhew, Lisa M.; Scherr, Rachel E.; Heron, Paula R. L. – Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2021
Existing research identifying common student ideas about forces focuses on students' misunderstandings, misconceptions, and difficulties. In this paper, we characterize student thinking in terms of resources, framing student thinking as continuous with formal physics. Based on our analysis of 2048 written responses to conceptual questions, we…
Descriptors: College Students, Knowledge Level, Physics, Scientific Concepts
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Navalkar, Vinita; Sawant, Sumedh; Mourya, Shubham – Physics Education, 2021
The concept of black body is of primary importance in studying the energy transfer of thermal electromagnetic radiation at all wavelengths. Several physical bodies like incandescent lamps, electric heaters, stoves, the sun and the other stars, microwave background radiation, etc., are considered to be black bodies as their radiation spectra fits…
Descriptors: Energy, Radiation, Light, Physics
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Dhabih V. Chulhai – Journal of Chemical Education, 2024
We present a tool, one that is both a stand-alone web-based video game and a Python package, designed for students to explore a particle's wave function on one-dimensional potential surfaces. The tool relies on a basis set formalism and can, therefore, explore any one-dimensional potential surface imaginable. This tool also lets students interact…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Technology Uses in Education, Educational Games
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Schäfle, Claudia; Kautz, Christian – Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2021
We report on an investigation of student thinking about steady-state pipe flow of an incompressible fluid. About 250 undergraduate engineering students were given a test consisting of two hydrodynamics questions, combining multiple-choice format with subsequent open-ended explanations. There is substantial evidence that students have difficulty…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, College Science, Undergraduate Students, Scientific Principles
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Ben-Abu, Yuval – Physics Education, 2019
The conservation law of energy and momentum can be examined and demonstrated by a well-known collision experiment. In this experiment, several identical elastic balls are suspended from a horizontal frame. When the ball at one end is pulled aside and released, thus allowing it to swing like a pendulum, it hits the next ball. The outcome is…
Descriptors: Physics, Science Instruction, Energy, Motion
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Woitkowski, David; Rochell, Leonie; Bauer, Anna B. – Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2021
Learning about the nature of science is an important aspect of becoming part of the culture of practicing physicists. While these topics have a long-standing tradition in U.S. curricula they are currently not part of German educational standards or curricula. And while there is some research concerning primary and secondary school students'…
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Student Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, College Faculty
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Ivanov, Dragia; Nikolov, Stefan – Physics Education, 2019
In this article we consider the well-known demonstration of friction by two interleaved books. We consider a factor that has not been part of the popular explanation--atmospheric pressure. We provide three control experiments to demonstrate the role of atmospheric pressure in the two-book experiment and an additional simple demonstration of the…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Scientific Concepts, Teaching Methods, Books
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Vandervoort, Kurt – Physics Teacher, 2020
Newton's law of cooling describes an object whose temperature decreases exponentially with time. Because of its many applications, it is a frequent topic of introductory physics labs. In this article, I describe an experiment designed for the freshman year algebra-based physics course that applies this law to answering the question, "Why…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Scientific Principles, Heat, Science Experiments
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Harlow, Danielle B.; Otero, Valerie K.; Leak, Anne E.; Robinson, Steve; Price, Edward; Goldberg, Fred – Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2020
[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] Fifteen years ago, following recommendations from research on science education for prospective teachers and for students more broadly, "Physics and Everyday Thinking" introduced activities within an inquiry-based undergraduate physics course…
Descriptors: Science Curriculum, Curriculum Development, Physics, College Science
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