Offers suggestions concerning the use of the concepts weight, mass, and force with the adoption of the International System of Units (SI) in the United States. (CP)

In addition to two misapprehensions, that the earth is uninvolved in many physical phenomena and that it is infinite and unmoving, physics students often believe that the earth, without expending energy, can push things along its surface, giving rise to accelerations. (MLH)

Discusses problems encountered in explaining shear stress of a solid in terms of forces on a "pack of cards". Suggest the use of "pure" shear stress rather than "simple" shear stress in presentation to secure a better understanding. Included is an example illustration E occurrence of pure stress. (CC)

Describes how Newton's three laws of dynamics are taught in high school in the Soviet Union. Rejects introducing Newton's second law as an equation defining mass as a proportionality constant. Shows how the concept of mass can be introduced independently of Newton's Law. (GA)

Discusses physical phenomena which can be demonstrated by using a coffee cup, involving the short-range field, alpha-particle scattering, standing waves, and Bohr's closed electron orbits. Indicates that observation of the physics of the classroom in everyday objects can attract student interest in physics learning. (CC)

Discusses experience of teaching a "Search in Science" course to college nonscience majors entitled "From Myth to Mechanism: A Study of Man's Changing Concepts of the Universe from Early Mythological Beliefs to the Development of Modern Scientific Laws." Historical explanation of the development of physical concepts is stressed. (CC)

Discusses a simplified Millikan oil-drop experiment which emphasizes the enplanation of basic concepts in mechanics and electrostatics, the use of home-made apparatus, the request for an individual's observation of his own drop, and the application of statistical analysis in data interpretation. (CC)

MANY IDEAS TAUGHT IN ELEMENTARY PHYSICS TODAY ARE EITHER FALSE IN FACT OR ABSURD IN LOGIC, AND HAVING BEEN CARRIED ALONG BY TRADITIONAL PRACTICE, THESE ERRORS AND MISCONCEPTIONS CONTINUE TO BE PROMULGATED. MANY MISCONCEPTIONS AND ERRORS COMMONLY FOUND IN CURRENT TEXTBOOKS ARE EXAMINED. AREAS DEALT WITH ARE (1) FORCES, (2) GRAVITATION, (3) ENERGY,…

Outlines the intellectual developmental stages described by Piaget. Advocates that instructional strategies avoid introducing abstract concepts before students have experience with concrete phenomena. (GS)

Describes how the Joule-Thomson porous plug experiment may be used to illustrate the usefulness of the enthalpy function, irreversibility, steady-state ideas, and a relativity principle inherent in Newtonian mechanics. Bibliography. (LC)

A description of a one-semester college course with an enrollment of over 1,000 which has been taught for eight years. Success is based on the presentation in nonmathematical language, emphasis on the relationship of physics to students' everyday environment, and lack of laboratories. (DF)