This dissertation presents the results of an experiment that measured the learning outcomes associated with three different pedagogical approaches to introductory physics labs. These three pedagogical approaches presented students with the same apparatus and covered the same physics content, but used different lab manuals to guide students through…

This chapter describes an innovative method of curriculum design that is based on combining phenomenographic research, and the associated variation theory of learning, with the notion of disciplinary threshold concepts to focus specialised design attention on the most significant and difficult parts of the curriculum. The method involves three…

One major thrust of Physics Education Research (PER) is the identification of student ideas about specific physics concepts, both correct ideas and those that differ from the expert consensus. Typically the research process of eliciting the spectrum of student ideas involves the administration of specially designed questions to students. One major…

Each fall the Statistical Research Center conducts its Survey of Enrollments and Degrees, which asks all degree-granting physics and astronomy departments in the US to provide information concerning the numbers of students they have enrolled and counts of recent degree recipients. In connection with this survey, the authors ask for the names and…

Many students meet dipole-dipole potential energy quite early on when they are taught electrostatics or magnetostatics and it is also a very popular formula, featured in encyclopedias. We show that by a simple rewriting of the formula it becomes apparent that, for example, by reorienting the two dipoles, their attraction can become exactly twice…

"Tops" are mentioned in classical literature and references are even found in the ancient world. For many children a top is one of the first mechanical toys that they play with by themselves, yet a full appreciation of their motion is rare. My hope is that this article will stimulate the reader's interest in tops, will help with the first stages…

Many problems of electric field strength on a boundary between two media require college-level mathematical analysis. However, when the boundary between media is represented by a sphere or a flat plane, these types of problems can be solved algebraically, placing them within reach of high school students. This article presents a solution analysis…

Two recent articles make prominent use of the concept of "apparent weight." The concept of "apparent weight" leads to two confusing inconsistencies. We need to know that with very little change in our representations, we can give our students an improved understanding of "weight" without ever having to invent the appealing but confusing concept of…

The rotational speeds of stars in the disc of a spiral galaxy are virtually independent of the distances of the stars from the centre of the galaxy. In common parlance, the stellar speed versus distance plot known as a galactic rotation curve is by observation typically nearly flat. This observation provides strong evidence that most galactic…

Previous studies examining expertise have used a wide range of methods. Beyond characterizing expert and novice behavior in different contexts and circumstances, many studies have examined the processes that comprise the behavior itself and, more recently, processes that comprise training and practice that develop expertise. Other studies, dating…

Within the context of Newton's equation, we present a simple approach to the constrained motion of a body forced to move along a specified trajectory. Because the formalism uses a local frame of reference, it is simpler than other methods, making more complicated geometries accessible. No Lagrangian multipliers are necessary to determine the…

One of the popular demonstrations of atmospheric pressure in introductory physics courses is the "crushing can" or "imploding can" experiment. In this demonstration, which has also been extensively discussed on the Internet, a small amount of water is placed in a soda can and heated until it boils and water vapor almost entirely fills the can. The…

Tea leaves gather in the center of the cup when the tea is stirred. In 1926 Einstein explained the phenomenon in terms of a secondary, rim-to-center circulation caused by the fluid rubbing against the bottom of the cup. This explanation can be connected to air movement in atmospheric pressure systems to explore, for example, why low-pressure…

The first physical explanation of Earths blue sky was fashioned in 1871 by Lord Rayleigh. Many discussions of Rayleigh scattering and approaches to studying it both in and out of the classroom are available. Rayleigh scattering accounts for the blue color of the sky and the orange/red color of the Sun near sunset and sunrise, and a number of…

On the answer page to a recent "Figuring Physics" question, the cute mouse asks another question: "Does the [sea] water level change if the iceberg melts?" The conventional answer is "no." However, in this paper I will show through a simple analysis involving Archimedes' principle that the sea level will rise. The analysis shows the wrong…