Gravity bends light. One can argue this by reasoning that a beam of light should travel in a curved path when viewed from within an accelerating frame of reference, and then invoking Einstein's principle of equivalence, which asserts that the effects observed in an accelerating frame of reference are indistinguishable from the effects observed in…

The family resemblance approach to nature of science is receiving increasing attention by science educators since its inception about a decade ago. Many scholars of science education have contributed and continue to contribute to it not only theoretically but also by applying it empirically to a wide range of areas such as curriculum and textbook…

Electromagnetism is a complex topic for students at different educational levels. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that students are unable to visualize the forces, fields, currents, and other electromagnetism key concepts that are related to the topic. Most teachers address this difficulty by including the use of some technological…

A popular introductory physics laboratory experiment is one focusing on Snell's law. This is straightforward to complete with lasers and prisms, but here we present an alternative version that guides the students through some of the major historical developments, recreating and analyzing significant experiments. The discovery of Snell's law has a…

In this work, we present an experimental approximation to the study of the phenomenon of radioactivity in secondary schools, taking as an analogy the process of release of carbon dioxide in a carbonated beverage. In this way, we intend to facilitate the approach to the mathematical formalism and to the graphical description of this phenomenon, as…

Newton's laws are a ubiquitous topic in introductory physics instruction. One common problem involves asking what will happen if you stick your finger into a cup of water sitting on a scale. A way to solve the problem would be to first recognize that the water exerts a buoyant force upward on the finger, which students can recognize as being the…

Newton's laws are essential for understanding causes and description of mechanical motion. Great attention is paid to them during physics education. Unfortunately, many students, not only in high school, but also undergraduates, can recite them but do not understand their essence. Therefore, it is useful to demonstrate different experiments in the…

The flight of a quadcopter drone, readily available as a toy, is analyzed using simple physics concepts. A smartphone with built-in accelerometer and gyroscope was attached to the drone to register the accelerations and angular velocities along the three spatial axis while the drone is taking off, landing or rotating. The vertical speed, the…

In many introductory physics classes, diffraction of light is introduced first, then more advanced diffraction topics such as x-ray diffraction, Bragg's law, and crystallography are covered. Since using x-rays raises safety concerns and atomic spacing in a crystal is not easy to change, microwaves with macroscopic crystals have been used to study…

Student understanding of the laws that describe the flow of a fluid is often hampered by a defective knowledge of basic classical mechanics (kinematics, statics, dynamics, and conservation laws) and by wrong common-sense ideas about quantities related to fluids, such as velocity and pressure. A pedagogical discussion about the Venturi effect,…

Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical techniques are very important for characterizing energy materials. In the search for new sources of renewable energy, water splitting for hydrogen production and CO[subscript 2] reduction is attracting significant attention. These applications require efficient and durable catalysts and a detailed…

Based on a publication of Assis, where the most straightforward and oldest motor is described, first constructed by Ampère, a simple experiment is added to demonstrate once again, why published explanations about its principle of operation and especial the kind how Newton's 3rd principle is used has to be rejected. Ampère's description of his…

The concept of black body is of primary importance in studying the energy transfer of thermal electromagnetic radiation at all wavelengths. Several physical bodies like incandescent lamps, electric heaters, stoves, the sun and the other stars, microwave background radiation, etc., are considered to be black bodies as their radiation spectra fits…

Novel technology has been applied to improve students' learning abilities in different disciplines. The research in this field is still finding suitable methodologies, tools, and evaluation mechanisms to devise learning frameworks with high impact on students' performance. This article describes an instructional method to perform Newtonian physics…

Students were tasked with the creation of videos of ordinary reactions to promote significant learning of complex concepts underlying chemical transformations. Interactive infographics were used to deliver instructions. Afterward, students planned the experimental setup for the reaction execution and video recording using their mobile phones. The…