A container was placed on top of a piece of white paper, and a pin positioned so that it vertically touched an outside wall of the container. Students were asked to predict the image of the pin when it was observed from the top of the container. Two scenarios of either an empty container or a container completely filled with water were considered…

Experiments are described on collisions between two billiard balls and between a bat and a ball. The experiments are designed to extend a student's understanding of collision events and could be used either as a classroom demonstration or for a student project.

The traditional introductory-level meterstick-balancing lab assumes that students already know what torque is and that they readily identify it as a physical quantity of interest. We propose a modified version of this activity in which students qualitatively and quantitatively measure the amount of force required to keep the meterstick level. The…

The study of the ideal solenoid is a common topic among introductory-based physics textbooks and a typical current arrangement in laboratory hands-on experiences where the magnetic field inside a solenoid is determined at different currents and at different distances from its center using a magnetic probe. It additionally provides a very simple…

Halfway through the 2015 AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, game officials discovered that the Patriots were using underinflated footballs on their offensive snaps. A controversy ensued because the Patriots had actually supplied these balls to the game's referee just hours before kickoff. Athletes and…

Probably owing to the prejudice that gold is a metal too noble to be used much in chemistry, the chemistry of this element has developed much later than that of its congeners and neighbors in the periodic table. In fact, before and after the time of alchemists, and up to the 20th century, all chemistry of gold was mainly performed in attempts to…

We use a tablet to experimentally determine the dependencies of the magnetic field (B) on the electrical current and the axial distance from a coil (z). Our data shows good precision on the inverse cubic dependence of the magnetic field on the axial distance, B?z[superscript -3]. We obtain the value of air permeability µ[subscript air] with good…

Many students probably know something about space from playing computer games or watching movies and TV shows. Teachers can expose them to the real thing by launching their experiments into near space on a weather balloon. This article describes how to use high-altitude ballooning (HAB) as a culminating project to a chemistry unit on experimental…

Although the development of next-generation (NextGen) sequencing technologies has revolutionized genomic research and medicine, the incorporation of these topics into the classroom is challenging, given an implied high degree of technical complexity. We developed an easy-to-implement, interactive classroom activity investigating the similarities…

Undergraduates from chemical engineering, applied chemistry, and environmental science courses, together with first-year postgraduate research students in electrochemical technology, are provided with an experiment that demonstrates the reduction of dissolved oxygen in aerated seawater at 25°C. Oxygen reduction is examined using linear sweep…

The Engineering Department's vision for undergraduate education for the next century is to develop a set of laboratory experiences that are thoughtfully sequenced and integrated to promote the full development of students in all courses. Optoelectronics is one of the most important and most demanding courses in Electrical and Computer Engineering.…