An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical work and an electric generator converts mechanical work into electrical energy. The symmetry between the motor and generator naturally leads to questions about creating a perpetual motion machine. The allure of this question has inspired textbook problems, physics education articles, and…

Becoming educated physically need not be confined to gyms, playing fields, dance studios and aquatic complexes. A case in point is that of swimming which serves notice on training the body exclusively by offering an ecologically attuned, movement pedagogy. As an exemplar for the cultivation of the "body-subject" and its implication in…

Background knowledge and oral language have long been linked to reading and writing outcomes. Discussions are one way to build both oral language and background knowledge. Nevertheless, designing discussions to support children's content knowledge and oral language development, as well as build discipline specific speaking practices, can prove…

Most physics teachers have observed the majestic swings of a monumental pendulum at a science museum and have watched long enough to see the plane of oscillation slowly changing direction as Earth turns. The purpose of Don Olson's article is to describe visits to Paris sites related to Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (1819-1868), with a special focus…

Studies on "embodiment" show that moving your body can enhance cognition. We investigated such effects in a verbal memory task across age. In Study 1, children, adolescents, and young adults (N = 148) were tested in group sessions and reproduced number series of increasing length. In the "embodied" condition, subjects walked to…

In order to describe the velocity of two bodies after they collide, Newton developed a phenomenological equation known as 'Newton's experimental law' (NEL). In this way, he was able to practically bypass the complication involving the details of the force that occurs during the collision of the two bodies. Today, we use NEL together with momentum…

A hula hoop rotating around a person's waist is an example of circular motion where the centripetal force on the hoop is directed towards the centre of the circle rather than the centre of the hoop. The friction force on the hoop is relatively small by comparison since the hoop rolls around the waist. A slight complication is that the hoop rotates…

If a ball rolls at constant speed on a horizontal surface about a horizontal axis then the angular velocity is easily measured. If the ball is projected with additional spin about the vertical axis, then the rotation axis is tilted and it is more difficult to measure the rotation speed. A few examples are presented to show how the separate topspin…

The Cartesian diver is an old and useful demonstration of fluid-related phenomena, including Archimedes' and Pascal's principles. While the diver gets its name from the scientist and philosopher René Descartes, the first written description of the device was given by Raffaello Magiotti. The modified diver presented here is related to Feynman's…

The problem of a disc or cylinder initially rolling with slipping on a surface and subsequently transitioning to rolling without slipping is often cited in textbooks. Students struggle to qualitatively understand the difference between kinetic and static frictional forces--i.e., whereas the magnitude of the former is known, that of the latter can…

Stellar aberration is the phenomenon whereby the observed angular position of a star depends on the relative motion between the star and Earth. Specifically, a telescope must be tilted slightly into the direction of motion of Earth relative to the star. There are in fact three different angular positions of interest: the observed position of the…

Numerous studies have demonstrated the substantial advantages of integrating music education into the overall development of students, particularly in early childhood education. This integration allows for combining music education with various curriculum areas, utilizing its playful and motivating nature as a practical methodological tool for…

Conceptual body movement in education is an external representation mode that research suggests can support children's learning about mathematical phenomena. Children's learning and understanding of mathematical concepts and processes, such as number structure and relationships, number sequencing, position, or geometric properties, may be…

Kids are drawn to dolls and dump trucks, and crashing the two together might just be a child's favorite pastime. Who knew such a simple pleasure could serve as an accessible, compelling phenomenon for instigating investigations of force and motion. With a few inexpensive materials straight out of the toy box (literally, a doll, a dump truck, a…

Dysfunctional movement, a suggested contributing factor for musculoskeletal pain and injury, appears to increase as adolescents experience puberty. This study investigated dysfunctional movement among a group of ninth-grade physical education students to determine if a standardized functional movement warm-up (FMWU) would improve movement quality…