Presents five interactive, computer-based activities that mimic scientific tests used by sport researchers to help companies design high-performance athletic shoes, including impact tests, flexion tests, friction tests, video analysis, and computer modeling. Provides a platform for teachers to build connections between chemistry (polymer science),…

Presents a method to measure the mass of a definite amount of a gas that occupies a known volume at a given pressure in order to determine experimentally the root mean square speed of molecules of a gas. (JRH)

Describes a simple manual apparatus designed to serve as an effective demonstration of the differences between isothermal and adiabatic processes for the general or elementary physics student. Enables students to verify Boyle's law for slow processes and identify the departure from this law for rapid processes and can also be used to give a clear…

Discusses the reasons for identifying the contributions of women astronomers in introductory textbooks. The evolution of inclusion over the past 4 decades is explored by examining the rates of inclusion of 10 women astronomers in textbooks. Contains 100 references. (DDR)

Presents an activity in which students construct a roller coaster to illustrate the concept of physics as part of a forces, motion, and energy unit for their physics course. (ASK)

Carries out a study into the choice of physics in secondary education against a background of disappointing percentages of students choosing exact and technical studies and the academic choice research tradition. Focuses on the predictive value of certain characteristics of the curriculum, the differences between schools, and the stability of the…

Reports findings of an Indirect-Collective Referencing (ICR) investigation carried out in a representative sample of the elite physics journal literature, "The Physical Review," in the January 1997 issues of 44 source journals. Findings revealed ICR phenomenon present in all journals, that the quantity of non-indexed ICRs in this literature…

Describes how to use weekly reports and addresses three questions: (1) What did you learn this week?; (2) What questions remained unclear?; and (3) If you were the professor, what questions would you ask to find out whether students understood the material? Student writing was used as a two-way feedback tool in teaching science. (Contains 21…

Analyzes the language used to introduce forms of energy in order to determine possible inconsistencies and limitations of validity judged from the viewpoint of thermodynamics. (Author/MM)

Explores the effectiveness of concept mapping, the learning cycle, expository instruction, and a combination of concept mapping/learning cycle in promoting conceptual understanding of diffusion and osmosis. Concludes that the concept mapping/learning cycle and concept mapping treatment groups significantly outperformed the expository treatment…

Given that hypothetico-deductive reasoning has played a role in other important scientific discoveries, asks the question whether it plays a role in all important scientific discoveries. Explores and rejects as viable alternatives possible alternative scientific methods such as Baconian induction and combinatorial analysis. Discusses the…

Selection is the key to learning from the huge amount of information on the Internet. Describes how teachers can use a school Intranet or website to organize resources and direct students to the best interactive and educationally appropriate pages. (Author/MM)

A new website from the Institute of Physics, physics.org, will now provide answers to many questions about physics. Developers describe the design and purpose of the site and look forward to forthcoming enhancements. (Author/MM)

Reviews the use of concept cartoons in support of the constructivist view of learning, and gives two particular examples to show how they can help students' understanding of the formation of shadows. (Author/MM)

The play Copenhagen has attracted the attention of a large audience in several countries. The hypothetical discussion between two of the giants in physics, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, has inspired us to start a theoretical and experimental exploration of quantum physics. This theme has been used in Stockholm Science Laboratory for audiences…