This paper describes a set of demonstration school experiments where infrared radiation is detected using thermal sensitive foils. The possibility of using standard glass lenses for infrared imaging is discussed in detail. It is shown that with optic components made from glass, infrared radiation up to 2.5 µm of wavelength can be detected. The…

What follows is a description of a demonstration of superposition of waves and Fourier analysis using a set of four tuning forks mounted on resonance boxes and oscilloscope software to create, capture and analyze the waveforms and Fourier spectra of musical intervals.

The teaching of the principle of conservation of linear momentum is considered (ages 15 + ). From the principle, the momenta of two masses in an isolated system are considered. Sketch graphs of the momenta make Newton's laws appear obvious. Examples using different collision conditions are considered. Conservation of momentum is considered…

Physics Teaching for the 21st Century (://c21.phas.ubc.ca) is a free online resource for teachers who are interested in teaching physics concepts in real-world contexts. The materials on this site were developed by a team of physics faculty and graduate and undergraduate students at the Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British…

Although prediction is claimed to be a prime function of mental models, to what extent students can run their mental models to make predictions of physical phenomena remains uncertain. The purpose of this study, therefore, was first to investigate 30 physics students' mental models of heat convection, and then to examine the relationship between…

Paired (simultaneous) electrochemical processes can increase energy savings in selected cases by using the reactions at both electrodes of an electrochemical cell to perform a desired process, as is the case in the commercially successful chlor-alkali process. In the demonstration described herein, simultaneous blue electrochemiluminescence (ECL)…

The lithium ion battery will be a reliable electrical resource for many years to come. A simple model of the lithium ions motion due to changes in concentration and voltage is presented. The battery chosen has LiCoO[subscript 2] as the cathode, LiPF[subscript 6] as the electrolyte, and LiC[subscript 6] as the anode. The concentration gradient and…

Several educators have advocated teaching thermodynamics using a"global" approach in place of the conventional "local" approach. This article uses four examples of experiments to illustrate the two formulations and the definitions of heat and work associated with them. Advantages and disadvantages of both approaches are…

Carbohydrate analysis is an excellent way to expose second-year biochemistry majors to the subtlety and nuance of sugar chemistry. In one, 3-h practical period, students must identify an unknown mono- or disaccharide from a collection of three hexoses (glucose, galactose, and mannose), two pentoses (ribose and arabinose), and three disaccharides…

A handheld emitter-receiver device suitable for the direct estimation of the velocity of radio waves in air is presented. The velocity of radio waves is measured using the direct time-of-flight method, without the need for any tedious and precise settings. The results for two measurement series are reported. Both sets of results give an estimate…

Though student understanding of the nature of matter has been studied extensively, little is known about student knowledge of the biological molecules. This study examined understanding of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids in 25 undergraduate students in order to document logical structures within student alternative concepts. Student knowledge…

The aim of this study was to investigate performance of student teachers regarding skills translating verbal representation to graphical, table and physical representations. The study group was constructed with the participants of 45 student teachers. Data of the study was collected with open-ended questions. The results of the study indicated…

This study explores the way the concept of temperature was presented in lower-secondary science textbooks in France, Poland and England at the end of the 1950s and in the 2000s. I draw on history of science, history of education and book history to analyze different treatments of an apparently-similar scientific concept with regard to national…

Research in chemical education has shown that while students (K-20) can perform well on tasks that require use of algorithmic and symbolic skills, they struggle with tasks that require conceptual understanding of chemistry. One area where such a trend has been observed is the Particulate Nature of Matter (PNM). A number of factors have been…

The purpose of this article is to describe the construction of a Sun clock and calendar (SCandC) that will allow an observer to not only see the time but also the symmetry properties of the Sun-Earth relative movement. A set of circles drawn on the SCandC will allow the observer to see their associated dates as well as to perform a visual…