The ability to categorize problems based upon underlying principles, rather than contexts, is considered a hallmark of expertise in physics problem solving. With inspiration from a classic study by Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser, we compared the categorization of 25 introductory mechanics problems based upon similarity of solution by students in large…

This action research study used data from multiple assessments in Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism to determine the viability of Modeling Instruction as a pedagogy for students in AP Physics C: Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism. Modeling Instruction is a guided-inquiry approach to teaching science in which students progress through…

Physics education aims to develop sophisticated thinking abilities and enhance conceptual depth, but student interest has decreased, emphasizing the importance of teacher quality in fostering success and positive attitudes. The aim of the study was to examine the physics teachers' self-efficacy, innovative teaching, and comprehensive teaching…

Subject selection is one of the key components in the new college entrance examination system. This study analyzed the data from a sample survey of college entrance examination participants in Zhejiang Province between 2017 and 2020 using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, cross analysis, and binary logistic regression in an effort to…

In the entertainment world, people usually like, and find memorable, novels, short stories, and movies with surprise endings. This suggests that classroom teachers might want to present to their students examples of surprising facts associated with principles of physics. Possible benefits of finding surprising facts about principles of physics are…

The phenomenon of lateral inversion is explored in this question. If a clock is viewed in a plane mirror, will the motion be clockwise or anticlockwise?

Most students find real-world examples of harmonic oscillations interesting. Besides, normal and friction forces are the types of concepts in physics that are readily applicable to their everyday life. For instance, we depend on these forces to write, to drive cars, to pick up objects, and even to walk! And yet introductory physics students have…

The rainbow is a beautiful optical phenomenon that has fascinated humankind since antiquity. It is caused by a huge number of water droplets in the atmosphere illuminated by the Sun. Many noted physicists have contributed to the explanation of the rainbow. The wave theory of the rainbow was developed by George Airy, and modern descriptions are…

Since 1987, the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics has regularly conducted a survey of high school physics teachers. This September we're at it again. This fall, we will look for physics teachers at each of the 4,000+ schools with 12th grade in our nationally representative sample of public and private schools. We…

Physics students often have problems understanding waves. Over the years numerous mechanical devices have been devised to show the propagation of both transverse and longitudinal waves (Ref. 1). In this article an updated version of an early-20th-century transverse wave machine is discussed. The original, Fig. 1, is at Creighton University in…

In this article we reviewed the main concepts of detonative combustion. Concepts of slow and fast combustion, of detonation adiabat are introduced. Landmark works on experimental and semi-empirical detonation study are presented. We reviewed Chapman-Jouguet stationary detonation and spin detonation. Various mathematical model of detonation wave…

In this work, we demonstrate the application of the variational method by computing the ground- and first-excited state energies of a double-well potential. We start with the proper choice of the trial wave functions using optimized parameters, and notice that accurate expectation values in excellent agreement with the numerical results can be…

The word "wave" is part of the daily language of every student. However, the physical understanding of the concept demands a high level of abstract thought. In physics, waves are oscillating variations of a physical quantity that involve the transfer of energy from one point to another, without displacement of matter. A wave can be…

On the first day of class I ask my students, "What makes a true statement true?" Then I tell them that they might be surprised to learn that there are only two types of true statements in physics, and I encourage them to try to discover the two categories.

Every year, thousands of college students in the life sciences take introductory physics. Some educators have advocated physics be presented in a way that is relevant to these students. Most are biology majors, but many students are in the allied health field studying to become athletic trainers, occupational therapists, or professionals in some…