Quantum science is in the news daily and engages students' interest and curiosity. A fundamental quantum science concept that underpins medical imaging, quantum computing and many future technologies is quantum spin. Quantum spin can explain many physical phenomena that are in the lower secondary school curriculum, such as magnetism and light,…

This study focused on developing physics test instruments for senior high school students on the topics of temperature and heat. The study aimed to determine (i) the quality of the test instrument content, (ii) the feasibility of the test instrument, and (iii) students' graphic representation abilities on "Temperature and Heat" topics.…

We present a new secondary school teaching method of quantum uncertainties of two-state systems. Intending to be a material teachable in schools, only two-state systems described by real numbers can be considered. An elementary argumentation based on school statistics leads to the identification of the uncertainty of a physical quantity in such…

Why does a raindrop on a window pane show an image of the environment that is turned upside-down? And why does vision go blurry underwater, but is perfectly clear with diving goggles? Our everyday life is rich in optical phenomena. Unfortunately, these phenomena often play a subordinate role in Optics teaching, compared to ray constructions or…

In physics lessons at secondary school and experimental physics courses at universities, the magnetic field inside a current-carrying solenoid is considered quantitatively. The corresponding equations and theories are supported by measuring the magnetic flux density inside the solenoid with a Hall probe. It has already been shown that smartphones…

With support from QuarkNet, high school students investigated the effect of overburden on muon flux by collecting data from Fermilab's Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) tunnel. Muon flux varied due to a change in overburden created by a 103-meter deep access shaft. A profile of muon flux as a function of distance from the access…

The principle of relativity is of fundamental importance in practice when we are solving problems in physics since the axiom states that the result of any physical experiment is the same when performed with identical initial conditions relative to any inertial coordinate system. Hence, conceptual knowledge of coordinate systems is central in any…

About 30 years ago I taught a series of summer enrichment programs for high school physics teachers, using funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes. I deliberately chose teachers from smaller cities and towns who were unlikely to have contact with other physics teachers. One of my more interesting teachers came from a rural area in a far…

The Arduino microcontroller is currently one of the favorite tools of makers, and many teachers have used it in teaching or experiments. In addition, light-emitting diode (LED) smart lighting is the worldwide trend in lighting. There are many teaching demonstrations or applications of color addition using LEDs. Furthermore, the Internet of Things…

In this paper, we discuss a demonstration we have been performing for years with students from different levels, from physics students from our university to high school students in some talks aimed at encouraging them to study science. It provides visualization of Brewster's angle in an ingenious way using a "loaded" liquid crystal…

When thinking about Olympic winter sports and watching events on television, people mostly focus on events where the chances of success are high for fellow-countrymen. For example, in the Netherlands speed skating is considered the main winter sports event. But with Kimberley Bos there is now also a Dutch medal candidate for the Winter Olympics…

Assessment feedback is an essential way to promote student learning. Students and teachers may benefit from educational technologies during the feedback process. The purpose of this study was to identify the feedback dimensions that were fulfilled by iPad applications (apps) and to compare teacher practice to the affordances of apps. Typological…

The law of conservation of momentum is a fundamental law of nature. It states that the momentum of an isolated system is conserved. In high school or introductory-level physics courses, for simplicity, teachers and textbooks always use collisions in one dimension as the examples to introduce the concept of conservation of momentum. To solve simple…

In this article, simple models of optical computing circuits (1 x 4 demultiplexer (DEMUX), 4 x 1 multiplexer (MUX), Boolean logic, and half-adder (HA)) are shown with mechanically controlled plane mirrors. Photographs of the proposed computational circuits are also shown. It is very useful for the school student to understand optical logic and…

An absorption line at 900 nm has been observed in Perspex. Samples of 1 and 2 cm thickness were used and the integrated absorption (line width times peak absorption) of the line was proportionate to the thickness. Facilities for lowering the sample temperature were not available and therefore both measurements were carried out at room temperature.…