In this paper, the dynamic case of a system made up of two blocks connected by a string over a smooth pulley is revisited. One mass lies on a horizontal surface without friction, and the other mass has a vertical displacement. The motion equation is obtained and its solution is determined using the "Mathematica" package. Also an…

For conducting laboratory experiments on Fresnel diffraction, the use of a simple point light source from an LED and the application of a modern smartphone for photographing the diffraction patterns are proposed. The developed devices allow the experiments to be carried out under normal laboratory lighting.

The vector of aircraft motion and analysis using FlightRadar24 and Tracker motion analysis has been investigated and studied. The straight, turning and circular aircraft motion were recorded from www.flightradar24.com using a commercial desktop video recording. Then, the video of the aircraft motion was analyzed using Tracker 5.1.1 to determine…

When injecting dye into a vortex, one finds that the dye remains captured around the vortex core over minutes, despite the fact that the vortex (and the dyed region) is strongly time-dependent. According to a recent theory, three-dimensional time-dependent vortices should be defined as rotating, material-holding regions of the fluid. Vortices…

Physics learning cannot be separated from the existence of physics measuring instruments, but their existence in schools are very limited. Therefore, creativity and innovation are needed to develop physics measuring instruments that are easily accessible by schools. This research aims to design and construct a liquid density measuring instrument…

A ball at rest on a surface can be made to bounce up by pushing it down then releasing the downward force as fast as possible. Measurements and calculations are presented to show how it can best be done.

Short videos are widely used in secondary level physics classes, part of a portfolio of strategies for teaching and learning. However, research into how they are used, why they are used and the optimum design for learning is in its infancy. This paper seeks to examine how videos are used in UK physics classrooms for the communication of physics…

These days, smartphones are popular commodities among students in high school and college. Students carry their devices all the time, so why not use such a popular electronic device to measure physical quantities such as "g" in physics labs? In this work, we report a "multiple tasking" method, a measurement technique that we…

In this paper a "non-elementary system" is defined as a system consisting of elementary (i.e., indivisible) constituents. Such systems are a common feature of the standard model of particle physics: for example, according to the standard model, a proton (non-elementary particle) consists of two up quarks and one down quark (elementary…

Physics experiments powered by a universal serial bus (USB) connection are becoming increasingly common. With teachers going through so many batteries each year, USB-powered physics provides an economical and environmentally friendly alternative. In this article, the authors discuss several ways that USB power can provide a convenient way to do…

We show that the gravitational acceleration g near Earth's surface can be easily determined with high accuracy by conducting the usual free fall experiment in high school or college physics laboratories. Unlike the conventional method of data analysis that uses formulas without taking air resistance into account, we consider the effect of air drag…

This paper introduces quantum materials and the notion of using models to aid the comprehension of complex ideas. It describes a hands-on activity, collaboratively developed by scientists and artists, that promotes an understanding of how experts take advantage of analogical thinking and model building to develop important frameworks. Quantum…

Abundant prior research has compared effects of physical and virtual manipulatives on students' conceptual learning. However, most prior research has been based on conceptual salience theory; that is, it has explained mode effects by the manipulative's capability to draw students' attention to conceptually relevant (visual or haptic) features.…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention of formative assessments with a clicker-based technology on anxiety and academic performance. We use a randomized experiment in physics education in one school in Dutch secondary education. For treated students, the formative assessments are operationalized through quizzing at the end of…

Sound educational policy recommendations require valid estimates of causal effects, but observational studies in physics education research sometimes have loosely specified causal hypotheses. The connections between the observational data and the explicit or implicit causal conclusions are sometimes misstated. The link between the causal…