Many students find it difficult to apply certain physics concepts to their daily lives. This is especially true when they perceive a principle taught in physics class as being in conflict with their experience. An important instance of this occurs when students are instructed to ignore the effect of air resistance when solving kinematics problems.…

In many introductory-level physics textbooks, the derivation of the formula for the speed of transverse waves in a string is either omitted altogether or presented under physically overly idealized assumptions about the shape of the considered wave pulse and the related velocity and acceleration distributions. In this paper, we derive the named…

Slow motion video enhances our ability to perceive and experience the physical world. This can help students and teachers especially in cases of fast moving objects or detailed events that happen too quickly for the eye to follow. As often as possible, demonstrations should be performed by the students themselves and luckily many of them will…

The Doppler effect has seen widespread use in the past hundred years. It is used for medical imaging, for measuring speed, temperature, direction, etc, and it makes the spatial relations of motion easy to map. The Doppler effect also allows GPS receivers to measure the speed of a vehicle significantly more accurately than dashboard speedometers.…

This paper represents a continuation of the theoretical and computational work from an earlier publication, with the present calculations using exactly the same physical values for the lengths L (0.435 m - 2.130 m) for the conical pendulum, mass m = 0.1111 kg, and with the local value of the acceleration due to gravity g = 9.789 ms[superscript…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics domains draw heavily on spatial reasoning (NRC, 2006). One particular science thought to be especially spatially-complex is astronomy. Understanding astronomy requires using a "space-based perspective" to explain phenomena we see from an "Earth-based perspective." That is, it…

Gravity racing can be studied using numerical solutions to the equations of motion derived from Newton's second law. This allows students to explore the physics of gravity racing and to understand how design and course selection influences vehicle speed. Using Euler's method, we have developed a spreadsheet application that can be used to predict…

The motions of Newton's cradle, consisting of several steel balls hanging side-by-side, have been analysed in terms of a sound pulse that travels via points of contact among the balls. This presupposes a focused energy beam. When the pulse reaches the fifth and final ball, the energy disperses and dislocates the ball with a trajectory equivalent…

A physical experiment concerning the moment of inertia of a rigid disk is described. Basic physical quantities such as the moment of inertia and torque are very important in elementary physics courses. This experiment was designed to improve students' understanding of the relation between the rigid moment of inertia and torque. The moment of…

According to the principle of equivalence, it is impossible to distinguish between gravity and inertial forces that a noninertial observer experiences in his own frame of reference. For example, let's consider an elevator in space that is being accelerated in one direction. An observer inside it would feel as if there was gravity force pulling him…

On July 19, 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy drove his vehicle off a low bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. The vehicle sank in 2.1 m of water, coming to rest on its roof. According to Kennedy's version of events, he managed to escape from the submerged vehicle without injury, but his female companion, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned without…

This study analyzed the effect of Physical Best (PB) Curriculum on activity levels of children in physical education class. Activity levels of elementary school students (N=92, males = 50, females = 42) were recorded throughout six normally scheduled physical education class periods. Students participated in both traditional and PB curriculums and…

Background: Using progress monitoring data to make effective and timely decisions in early intervention (EI) requires high quality assessment. Infant/toddler individual growth and development indicators (I/T IGDIs) have been developed to be brief, reliable and engaging progress monitoring tools that are sensitive to change over short time periods…

In the last few years, engaging students to create digital games has been a pole of attraction for many teachers and researchers, resulting in highly positive learning experiences and promoting their thinking skills, e.g., programming and computational thinking (CT) skills. Researchers have already stated about the need for further research not…

The cannon boring experiment of Count Rumford, where eight kilograms of water were boiled by metal on metal friction, is investigated. Consideration of this dramatic demonstration can enrich classroom discussions of calorimetry, units of measure, elements, and thermodynamics. A section pertaining to use of the article in the classroom appears…