This work analyzes whether there is a cognitive bias between the ideal perception of the skills and the real performance in an introductory physics class, and additionally, whether predictions of students' performance are related to various motivational variables. We examined through a validated survey and network analysis the relationship between…

The present research is an examination of Augmented Reality (AR) applications in Science Education using the Multi-complementary Approach (McA). This incorporates multiple analyses: i) Pre-complementary: meta-analysis and meta-thematic analysis, ii) Post-complementary: an experimental design with a pre- and post-test control group and iii)…

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare acceleration outputs of the parkour-style "tic tac" action with those of the drop jump and the lay-up shot in youth basketball players. A total of 25 participants (17 boys, 13.80 ± 1.30 years of age; and eight girls, 15.00 ± 0.80 years of age) completed three trials of each action…

On 24 June 1994 at Fairchild Air Force Base, during practice for an air show, a low-flying B-52H aircraft banked its wings vertically and crashed. Emphasizing the activity of modeling drag and gravity, these notes examine the possibility of recovery with several models. First, with algebra, historical data lead to a model where in a free fall near…

The physics' subject aims to provide the student with a broad understanding of the physical phenomena that occur around them every day and introduce them to the scientific search. The use of experiments in the teaching of the subject contributes to the understanding of these phenomena, the development of skills and critical thinking and has many…

For Massive Open Online Courses to have trustworthy credentials, assessments in these courses must be valid, reliable, and fair. Item Response Theory provides a robust approach to evaluating these properties. However, for this theory to be applicable, certain properties of the assessment items should be met, among them that item difficulties are…

Social semiotic discussions about the role played by representations in effective teaching and learning in areas such as physics have led to theoretical proposals that have a strong common thread: in order to acquire an appropriate understanding of a particular object of learning, access to the disciplinary relevance aspects in the representations…

Resonance is an important, and rather dramatic, phenomenon in physics. The mechanical case of a mass-spring oscillator is generally the first example that students encounter in introductory courses. In electromagnetism, the resonance in driven RLC circuits is presented in analogy with mechanics, since the mathematical equations describing them are…

Introductory calculus-based mechanics ("Physics 1") is an important gateway course for students desiring to pursue a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career. A major challenge with this course is the large spread in the students' incoming physics preparation. This level of preparation is strongly predictive of a…

The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a popular multiple-choice instrument used to measure a student's conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. Recently, a network analytic technique called module analysis has been used to identify responses to the FCI and other conceptual instruments that are preferentially selected together by students;…

Siphons have been used since ancient times to transport water between two points over an intervening barrier higher than the water source. This paper describes a practical application of a siphon to provide fresh water to a remote island community in the Solomon Islands. The siphon was constructed from 25 mm diameter blue line polyethylene pipe.…

A rocket in free space accelerates from rest by continuously expelling fuel; as its speed increases, its mass decreases. At what speed (and remaining mass) does the rocket carry maximum momentum? Maximum kinetic energy? The answers provide insights into the dynamics of variable-mass systems, and have applications to planetary defense that are…

In a traditional teaching approach, a physics course begins with mechanics, and generally the braking effect due to magnetic interactions is not mentioned among the various types of friction presented (static, sliding, rolling) because students will discover magnetism only in later chapters. In our didactic experience this traditional choice is…

Smartphones and their internal sensors offer new options for an experimental access to teach physics at secondary schools and universities. Especially in the field of mechanics, a number of smartphone-based experiments are known illustrating, e.g., linear and pendulum motions as well as rotational motions using the internal MEMS accelerometer and…

As physics laboratory courses (labs) transition from traditional, model-verifying activities to discovery-based investigations, it becomes crucial to understand the role of the instructor in the implementation of various lab types. Prior work has started to address this need by examining either coarse-grained frequencies or fine-grained content of…