Presents activities that enable students to determine the exact time of midday and to use this to plot a north-south line. Uses shadow experiments to teach the concepts of rotation of the earth and calculation of latitude. (JRH)

Describes the development of a gravity model based upon principles of spatial interaction to predict the circulation of libraries in the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (Indiana). The model effectively predicted past circulation figures and was tested by predicting future library circulation, particularly for a new branch library.…

Describes efforts aimed at reforming physics courses for first-year engineering and science students at Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey. Discusses the establishment and working of the Physics Learning Center (PLC) and its impact on the retention and performance of students. (JRH)

Presents techniques aimed at promoting a higher level of student-faculty interaction and active student participation in the learning process in introductory physics lecture classes. Discusses group problem solving, the use of flash cards, and assessment. (JRH)

Describes a method to obtain three-dimensional (3-D) representations of data on a computer using commercial data-plotting or spreadsheet analysis software in any personal computer. (JRH)

Describes two broad approaches to the introduction of the concept of energy in school science: the psychology-driven positions and the academic physics-driven positions. Outlines interrelationships, relative merits in certain circumstances, and the extent they might feed into each other. Presents historical evidence that they may not be as…

Describes a simple form of chromatography that illustrates several concepts of chemistry and physics and requires only inexpensive and readily available materials. (PR)

Describes a Principles of Technology course as an innovative approach to teaching physics that does away will the hype and stigma that frightens off many potential students. (PR)

Discussion of the use of programming as a learning activity focuses on software-realized scaffolding. Emile, software that facilitates programming for modeling and simulation in physics, is described, and results of an evaluation of the use of Emile with high school students are reported. (Contains 95 references.) (LRW)

Describes the powerful graphing ability of computer algebra systems (CAS) to create three-dimensional graphs or surface graphics of electric potentials. Provides equations along with examples of the printouts. Lists the programs Mathematica, Maple, Derive, Theorist, MathCad, and MATLAB as promising CAS systems. (MVL)

Discusses the teaching of vectors and the inadequate and inappropriate examples given in many textbooks. Suggests using the motion of a sailboat or the motion of a car moving on the Earth's surface as possible examples. Details a proper vector teaching example. (MVL)

Provides an activity which measures the heat transfer through an insulated cylindrical tank, allowing the student to gain a better knowledge of both the physics involved and the working of spreadsheets. Provides both a spreadsheet solution and a maximum-minimum method of solution for the problem. (MVL)

This article describes a teaching aid made from four colored foam balls mounted on a stiff wire circle used to teach about the changing seasons and earth temperature fluctuations. The spheres represent the Earth at the solstice and equinox positions. (MVL)

Describes the Macintosh equipment and software necessary to obtain and use digitized video for motion analysis. Also provides a simple strategy for undertaking such an analysis. (MVL)

Describes two laboratory exercises corresponding to studies of statics and dynamics to illustrate the concept that the combination of real and simulated laboratory tools, with some real data being recorded in computer-aided form, can result in a very sound understanding of physical principles. (JRH)