Using a paper-and-pencil test consisting of multiple-choice situational questions which also require reasoning for the choices made, common misconceptions in light were identified. It was found that most of the students understand the basic properties of light at a knowledge level but had difficulty applying these concepts in novel situations.…

Uses diagrams and text to illustrate the use of Lissajous figures (the figures that are traced out when two simple harmonic motions are combined at right angles to each other) in teaching basic physics concepts. Covers the mathematics of the Lissajous Figure; demonstrating Lissajous Figures; and a typical class. (ZWH)

Describes a community-college curriculum that incorporates Socratic Dialogue Inducing (SDI) laboratories into a new calculus-based preengineering physics sequence. SDI allows for group discussion labs that emphasize the concepts being taught in the lectures. (ZWH)

Discusses reasons for the decline in American student participation in the sciences and offers suggestions to reverse this trend. (ZWH)

Compares and reviews currently available brands of steel construction sets that are useful to physics teachers for building demonstrations, prototypes of mechanisms, robotics, and remote control devices. (ZWH)

Describes an interactive computer program (RelLab) that acts to introduce the fundamental ideas of relativity to students. Students working cooperatively investigate paradoxes of relative motion by constructing thought experiments and discussing their findings. (ZWH)

Described is the undergraduate curriculum in physics and its relationship to astronomy at Cambridge University. Discussed are the astronomical research and research establishments at Cambridge. Personal views of a student on the postgraduate research being done at Cambridge are also included. (KR)

An educational technique to calculate the lifetime of a comet using software-generated random numbers is introduced to undergraduate physiques and astronomy students. Discussed are the generation and eligibility of the required random numbers, background literature related to the problem, and the solution to the problem using random numbers.…

Suggests using poetry such as James Maxwell's "To the Chief Musician upon Nabla: A Tyndallic Ode" as a vehicle for learning physics. Discusses the physics concepts alluded to in the verses of the poem. (MDH)

Presents a laboratory exercise to reinforce the concepts of conductivity and resistance. Students measure resistance over rolled out Play-Doh of differing lengths and widths using the four-point resistance measurement method. (MDH)

Presents a method to convince students that the image produced by a plane mirror is actually behind the mirror. Uses observations that the letters of an eye chart posted on a mirror are twice the size of the images of letters of an eye chart they are holding. Provides two reproducible eye charts. (MDH)

Discusses problems for educational research posed by the unpredictability and indeterminism of human behavior. Presents a theory of purposeful behavior (perceptual control theory) to provide an explicit working model of how individuals produce repeatable outcomes via variable means. Describes primary characteristics of this theory and its…

Describes an Italian project designed to prepare elementary teachers to teach science by helping them understand basic physics concepts and realize the importance of considering students' conceptions in the teaching process. A practicum-based strategy, requiring that teachers carry out experimental activities designed for students is recommended.…

Some common themes of cartoons that use science as a subject are identified. Cartoons that deal with the topics of theory, the universe, school, the relationship between science and technology, and the nature of science are included. The sociology of scientific humor is discussed. (KR)

Describes the history of Richard Blakemore's discovery of magnetotaxic organisms. Discusses possible reasons why the magnetic response in bacteria developed. Proposes research experiments integrating biology and physics in which students investigate problems using cultures of magnetotaxic organisms. (MDH)