Reviews the theories and fundamental principles of physics as they relate to the comprehensibility of the cosmos. (DKM)

Two experiments examined the effects of common motion, background texture, and orientation on four-month olds' perception of unity of a partially occluded rod. Results indicated that infants' perception of object unity is not dependent on a single visual cue but on a variety of cues including motion, interposition, depth cues, background texture,…

Compared the postural responsiveness of seven-, eight-, and nine-month-old infants. Results indicated greater use of optic flow for postural control after a self-produced locomotor experience. Infants with endogenous (creeping) or artificial (walker) self-produced locomotor experience responded to portions of the optic flow field, whereas…

Presents an activity in which race cars are designed and constructed out of edible materials. Students explore relationships between speed, distance, and time using both math and science. Includes a chart that shows alignment with the National Science Education Standards. (DDR)

Describes an activity for designing, building, and launching rockets that provides students with an intrinsically motivating and real-life application of what could have been classroom-only concepts. Includes rocket design guidelines and a sample grading rubric. (KHR)

Examines the relative effectiveness of the traditional lab method and the microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) for improving student understanding. Examines three areas of achievement: graphing interpretation skills, and interpreting motion graphs and understanding of motion. Results indicate that MBL laboratories are more effective than…

Investigates the psychological representation of visual-gestural languages from a cross-linguistic perspective. The perception of signers of American and Chinese Sign Languages is analyzed. (27 references) (Author/VWL)

Examines the use of pictures by different learners in different ways, and presents guidelines for using pictures in teaching culturally diverse children. The degree of complexity versus simplicity is discussed, the need for effective directional cues is emphasized, and depth and motion cues are described. (LRW)

Shows how the thermal power developed by friction is exactly half the supplied power in the general case of a variable force of friction. Investigates the mechanism whereby one-half the input energy is dissipated as heat using mathematical expressions. (YP)

Describes three physics demonstrations: "Sticky Kinematics," dealing with motion in friction; "The Whistler," presenting a whistle-like sound of descending pitch from an iron spring; and "Magnetic Superconducter Mystery," generating a question why a magnet keeps spinning. (YP)

Presents a three-dimensional analysis of the relative speed before and after a two-body elastic collision, based on the concept of a Galilean invariant. (JRH)

Presents experiments that use Microcomputer Based Laboratory (MBL) techniques to enable freshmen physics students to investigate complex systems, such as nonlinear oscillators or coupled harmonic oscillators, at a level appropriate for an independent project. (JRH)

Provides instructions for the construction and launch of a two-liter plastic soda-bottle rocket and presents the author's theory of their motion during launch. Modeled predictions are compared with actual experimental data. Explains theory behind the motion of a water rocket during launch. (LZ)

Presents an activity that enables students to answer for themselves the question of how fast a body must travel before the nonrelativistic expression must be replaced with the correct relativistic expression by deciding on the accuracy required in describing the kinetic energy of a body. (ZWH)

Considers using a football game to provide a group activity on physics reasoning. Groups determine how long the coin toss was in the air, distance of kickoff, velocity of ball leaving the tee, maximum height of ball, force applied to the ball when passed by the quarterback, etc. Provides possible solutions to each question. (MVL)