The importance of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) in today's research and industry leads to the question of how to include such a key technology in physics education. Manfred Euler has developed an acoustic model experiment to illustrate the fundamental measuring principles based on an analogy between quantum mechanics and acoustics. Based on…

An undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory that provides an introduction to various spectroscopic techniques is reported. Whereas organic spectroscopy is most often learned and practiced in the context of reaction analyses, this laboratory experiment allows students to become comfortable with [superscript 1]H NMR, [superscript 13]C NMR, and IR…

A simple, inexpensive, discovery-based experiment for undergraduate organic laboratories has been developed that demonstrates the Lewis acid and shape-selective properties of zeolites. Calcined zeolite Na-Y promotes the electrophilic aromatic bromination of toluene with a significantly higher para/ortho ratio than observed under conventional…

The spatial dependence of magnetic fields in simple configurations is a common topic in introductory electromagnetism lessons, both in high school and in university courses. In typical experiments, magnetic fields and distances are obtained taking point-by-point values using a Hall sensor and a ruler, respectively. Here, we show how to take…

In this paper we report an investigative activity on hydrodynamics, in the context of an inquiry-based learning project. The aim is to analyse the experiment of a bullet shot underwater. Using "Tracker," a video analysing and modelling software, the displacement of the bullet was measured as function of time, processing a slow motion…

The Doppler effect has seen widespread use in the past hundred years. It is used for medical imaging, for measuring speed, temperature, direction, etc, and it makes the spatial relations of motion easy to map. The Doppler effect also allows GPS receivers to measure the speed of a vehicle significantly more accurately than dashboard speedometers.…

The Exploding Carts is a popular introductory physics activity in which a one-dimensional explosion is simulated utilizing two dynamics carts that are pushed apart by a spring-loaded plunger released from one of the carts. Traditional treatments of the Exploding Carts usually involve multiple trials where the mass of one or both of the carts is…

One challenge for the introductory physics teacher is incorporating calculus techniques into the laboratory setting. It can be difficult to strike a balance between presenting an experimental task for which calculus is essential and making the mathematics accessible to learners who may be apprehensive about applying it. One-dimensional kinematics…

A simple diffraction experiment was designed using banana stem as natural grating. Coherent beams of lasers with wavelengths of 632.8 nm and 532 nm that pass through banana stem produce periodic diffraction patterns on a screen. The diffraction experiments were able to measure the distances between the slit of the banana stem, i.e. d = (28.76 ±…

This article describes how by using three points to make a line and comparing the graphs for water and oil, students can mathematically demonstrate that Gatorade dissolves in water much more readily than in oil. Students can also use units to understand and solve a multi-step problem by observing the color of each solution, making conductivity…

In PASCO's Technical Article #763, it is stated that "PASCO [also] makes sensors with an 8-pin DIN connector. These sensors cannot be used with the Vernier interfaces, as they have different power requirements." Recently we had the need to make such connections in a 10-station freshman lab. Since the Vernier input is a 6-way BT 631A plug…

Winston Churchill once said of Russia that it was a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma. Were the British Bulldog a physicist, he might have been talking of something other than our Slavic comrades. He might have been talking about an electron. This article covers the more modern representations of the electron. A brief reminder of the…

Under certain conditions a body of hot liquid may cool faster and freeze before a body of colder liquid, a phenomenon known as the Mpemba Effect. An initial difference in temperature of 3.2 °C enabled warmer water to reach 0 °C in 14% less time than colder water. Convection currents in the liquid generate a temperature gradient that causes more…

The motions of Newton's cradle, consisting of several steel balls hanging side-by-side, have been analysed in terms of a sound pulse that travels via points of contact among the balls. This presupposes a focused energy beam. When the pulse reaches the fifth and final ball, the energy disperses and dislocates the ball with a trajectory equivalent…

A physical experiment concerning the moment of inertia of a rigid disk is described. Basic physical quantities such as the moment of inertia and torque are very important in elementary physics courses. This experiment was designed to improve students' understanding of the relation between the rigid moment of inertia and torque. The moment of…