Search results for " Didattica."
showing 10 items of 881 documents
Collisions and Mechanical Wave Propagation in Elastic Rods
2011
Some results from experiments intended to measure the propagation speed of sound waves produced by collisions between small bodies and metallic rods are analysed. Elementary models of elastic collision and of the reflection and transmission of waves at media boundaries are discussed and tested with experimental data, in the framework of a workshop on mechanical wave propagation that featured at the University of Palermo in a two-year graduate programme for prospective physics teachers and in courses for undergraduate engineering and physics students.
A pedagogical approach to the Boltzmann factor through experiments and simulations
2009
The Boltzmann factor is the basis of a huge amount of thermodynamic and statistical physics, both classical and quantum. It governs the behaviour of all systems in nature that are exchanging energy with their environment. To understand why the expression has this specific form involves a deep mathematical analysis, whose flow of logic is hard to see and is not at the level of high school or college students' preparation. We here present some experiments and simulations aimed at directly deriving its mathematical expression and illustrating the fundamental concepts on which it is grounded. Experiments use easily available apparatuses, and simulations are developed in the Net-Logo environment…
Two experiments to approach the Boltzmann factor: chemical reaction and viscous flow
2012
In this paper we discuss a pedagogical approach aimed at pointing out the role played by the Boltzmann factor in describing phenomena usually perceived as regulated by different mechanisms of functioning. Experimental results regarding some aspects of a chemical reaction and of the viscous flow of some liquids are analysed and described in terms of macroscopic variables whose temperature dependence is proportional to the Boltzmann factor. A description of a workshop implementing the approach in the framework of an undergraduate course for engineering education and some preliminary results about its pedagogical relevance are then reported.
A Problem Based Approach to Elastic Wave Propagation: The Role of Constraints
2009
A problem-based approach to the teaching of mechanical wave propagation, focused on observation and measurement of wave properties in solids and on modelling of these properties, is presented. In particular, some experimental results, originally aimed at measuring the propagation speed of sound waves in metallic rods, are used in order to deepen the role of constraints in mechanical wave propagation. Interpretative models of the results obtained in the laboratory are built and implemented by using a well-known simulation environment. The simulation results are, then, compared with experimental data. The approach has been developed and experimented in the context of a workshop on mechanical …
Dynamic measurement of the elastic constant of an helicoidal spring by a smartphone
2021
Abstract We describe an educational activity that can be done by using smartphones to collect data in physics experiments aimed to measure the oscillating period of a spring-mass system and the elastic constant of the helicoidal spring by the dynamic method. Results for the oscillating period and for the elastic constant of the spring agree very well with measurements obtained by different methods. We also discuss the error analysis that can be done in an introductory physics laboratory at undergraduate level.
2D simulation of wave-particle coupling inspired by walking droplets
2018
In recent years, a fluid dynamics phenomenon has been observed that shows interesting analogies with several quantum mechanical ones. Under specific experimental conditions, a liquid droplet released on a vibrating liquid persists in jumping, forming a localized wave-particle, and its behaviour resembles that of a de Broglie wave-particle. In this paper we discuss a simplified model for this phenomenon and the results of numerical fluid dynamics simulations implemented on the basis of the model. In spite of the relevant simplifying assumptions of our approach, we observe that a wave-droplet coupling is obtained and the droplet travels at nearly constant velocity, as it is observed in experi…
Open inquiry-based learning experiences: a case study in the context of energy exchange by thermal radiation
2013
An open inquiry (OI)-based teaching/learning experience, regarding a scientific investigation of the process of energy exchange by thermal radiation, is presented. A sample of upper secondary school physics teachers carried out this experience at the University of Palermo, Italy, in the framework of ESTABLISH, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing inquiry-based science education. The teachers had the opportunity to personally experience an OI-based learning activity, with the aim of exploring the pedagogical potentialities of this teaching approach to promote both the understanding of difficult concepts and a deeper view of scientific practices. The teachers were firstly …
Elucidating the electron transport in semiconductors via Monte Carlo simulations: An inquiry-driven learning path for engineering undergraduates
2015
Within the context of higher education for science or engineering undergraduates, we present an inquiry-driven learning path aimed at developing a more meaningful conceptual understanding of the electron dynamics in semiconductors in the presence of applied electric fields. The electron transport in a nondegenerate n-type indium phosphide bulk semiconductor is modelled using a multivalley Monte Carlo approach. The main characteristics of the electron dynamics are explored under different values of the driving electric field, lattice temperature and impurity density. Simulation results are presented by following a question-driven path of exploration, starting from the validation of the model…
Video-Analysis of the flight of a model aircraft
2011
A video-analysis software tool has been employed in order to measure the steady-state values of the kinematics variables describing the longitudinal behaviour of a radio-controlled model aircraft during take-off, climbing and gliding. These experimental results have been compared with the theoretical steady-state configurations predicted by the phugoid model for longitudinal flight. A comparison with the parameters and performance of the full-size aircraft has also been outlined.
The Teaching of Pragmatics in L2
2019
Abstract The teaching of pragmatics in L2 would be useless, if we consider pragmatics such as the study of the language in use, because this is what is done in the teaching of L2. In reality, apart from the routines, pragmatics is the branch of linguistics that is learned later, especially if we think of facts such as courtesy strategies, which require a rather advanced level of language. Despite numerous studies on the acquisition/learning of languages and on pragmatics, the two factors were not very often studied together. The learning of grammar and pragmatics are not synchronous. Even in a strictly communicative model, apart from greetings, “thanks” and "please", we tend to learn the mo…