Reports that many students do not believe Newton's law of action and reaction and suggests ways in which its plausibility might be enhanced. Reviews how this law has been made more plausible over time by Newton and those who succeeded him. Contains 25 references. (DDR)

Investigates how 10th-grade students acquire, extend, and successively relate knowledge about qualitative and quantitative aspects of classical mechanics. Analysis of the multicomponent tests revealed that qualitative, as well as quantitative, knowledge can be taught successfully using concept maps. (Author/CCM)

Reports on students' preexisting knowledge and examines misconceptions among nonscience major undergraduate students. Focuses on evaluating results of misconceptions in selected astronomy courses. (YDS)

Describes a microcomputer-based laboratory experiment designed for high school students that very accurately analyzes Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, addressing each variable separately while the others are kept constant. (Author/CCM)

Dynamic field maps and contour curves provide a new way of depicting and analyzing the electric field of uniformly moving point charges. Presents an alternative way of graphically representing the electricity field of a uniformly moving point charge. (CCM)

Argues that using in-class worksheets are versatile and can be tailored to meet specific goals. Finds that worksheets are effective for confronting preconceptions, ensuring class participation, and increasing student/teacher interactions. (CCM)

Describes how students in an introductory physics and astronomy lab used computer and data interface units to sample a 15 second portion of a prerecorded audiotape of two broadcast stations to measure the speed of light. (CCM)

Finds that few electricity and magnetism experiments make use of computers for data acquisition. Reports on the use of a Vernier system for the measurement of the RC time constant for the charging and discharging of a capacitor. (CCM)

Discusses in detail the claim that certain well-known physics experiments demonstrate the magnetic field produced by Maxwell's displacement current. Addresses the question of whether the displacement current acts as a source of magnetic field in the same way as a current in a wire would. (Contains 12 references.) (WRM)

Describes the use of classroom-quality barometers and the construction of a simple and convenient model. (WRM)

Describes a research-based activity for high school physics students in which they build an LC circuit and find its resonant frequency of oscillation using an oscilloscope. Includes a diagram of the apparatus and an explanation of the procedures. (DDR)

Presents a study designed to test the effectiveness of a constructivist-historical teaching strategy in changing students' misconceptions about the earth's shape and gravity at the upper elementary and middle school levels. Contains 27 references. (DDR)

Suggests the use of an analogy to resolve the puzzle of the lost energy when two capacitors are joined together. Uses the concept of water flowing between two tanks. (DDR)

Describes a series of simple and nontraditional experiments that enable students to discover the properties of infrared radiation by studying the propagation, reflection, diffusion, and refraction of infrared. The experiments rely on two modules, an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver. (SAH)

Discusses the reliability and versatility of using photovoltaics whereby solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. The growing concern of global warming promises to transform photovoltaics into a major energy producer. (Author/SAH)