Search results for "Physics Education"
showing 10 items of 101 documents
Experimental demonstration of the physics of resonant cavities
2005
We describe an undergraduate experiment that demonstrates the physics of cavity resonators. A mobile wall lets students alter the position of the nodes, thus changing the mode pattern. The nodal structure is made apparent by placing a metallic plate at different positions inside the cavity. A technique for dielectric characterization also is introduced, which helps students understand the boundary conditions in dielectrics, as well as highlighting the characteristics of fields in cavities.
Physics demos for all UVEG degrees: a unique project in Spain
2016
Abstract The Physics Demo Project at the University of Valencia ( www.uv.es/fisicademos ) has developed a collection of physics demonstrations to be used during lectures. It consists of more than 130 experimental demos about different physics topics. More than 30 professors borrow them whenever they lecture on physics in any of our 40 courses in 17 different science or technical degrees, involving 246 ECTS and more than 3500 students. Each demo kit with a simple experimental set displays a particular physics phenomenon. An on-line user guide highlights the main physics principles involved, instructions on how to use it and advices of how to link it to the theoretical concepts or to technica…
An approach to the Venturi effect by historical instruments
2021
Student understanding of the laws that describe the flow of a fluid is often hampered by a defective knowledge of basic classical mechanics (kinematics, statics, dynamics, and conservation laws) and by wrong common-sense ideas about quantities related to fluids, such as velocity and pressure. A pedagogical discussion about the Venturi effect, based on experiments inspired by historical instruments, may be an effective way to introduce students to these laws. In this paper, we discuss an approach to the understanding of the Venturi effect based on the study of historical instruments and on simple experiments. In particular, after a presentation of the Venturi effect, also from a historical p…
USE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY „PHYSLETS“ IN PHYSICS EDUCATION
2007
Use of ICT can provide many opportunities for physics education, and one of these opportunities is a use of physics simulations. Physicists professionals use complex simulations to solve real world problems, but for educational use simulations/animations not always have to be so complex. More lightweight simulations and animations can be used. Such simulations usually are more easily distributable through the Internet. Simulations and animations are important in physics education because they can help to visualize different physical processes and to provide some interactivity. This paper is focusing on a use of Physlets – small portable Java Applets, which can be used to simulate and animat…
Analysing the conceptions on modelling of engineering undergraduate students: A case study using cluster analysis
2016
The problem of taking a set of data and separating it into subgroups where the elements of each subgroup are more similar to each other than they are to elements not in the subgroup has been extensively studied through the statistical method of Cluster Analysis . This method can be conveniently used to separate students into groups that can be recognized and characterized by common traits in their answers, without any prior knowledge of what form those groups would take (unsupervised classification). In the last years many studies examined the consistency of students’ answers in a variety of situations. Some of these papers have tried to develop more detailed models of the consistency of st…
Applications of sinusoidal phase modulation in temporal optics to highlight some properties of the Fourier transform
2019
International audience; Fourier analysis plays a major role in the analysis and understanding of many phenomena in physics and contemporary engineering. However, students, who have often discovered this notion through numerical tools, do not necessarily understand all the richness that can be derived from joint analysis in the temporal and spectral domains, particularly in the field of optics. As part of the second year of the Master's degree in Physics Lasers and Materials at the University of Burgundy, we have set up a set of experiments to highlight these concepts and to show, on a non-trivial example of periodic phase modulation, the precautions to be taken in the interpretation of the …
An experiment to study the structure of the focal volume in apertured focusing systems
2001
We present a simple experiment, specifically designed for students of undergraduate optics courses, where the influence of an aperture stop position on the three-dimensional structure of the focal volume of focusing systems is studied. The experiment, which involves only simple optical elements, permits an undergraduate student to generate different focal structures by simply axially displacing the aperture stop.
Introductory Quantum Physics Courses using a LabVIEW multimedia module
2007
We present the development of a LabVIEW multimedia module for introductory Quantum Physics courses and our experience in the use of this application as an educational tool in learning methodologies. The program solves the Time Dependent Schrodinger Equation for arbitrary potentials. We describe the numerical method used for solving this equation, as well as some mathematical tools employed to reduce the calculation time and to obtain more accurate results. As an illustration, we present the evolution of a wave packet for three different potentials: the repulsive barrier potential, the repulsive step potential, and the harmonic oscillator. This application has been successfully integrated in…
Teaching and Learning of Algebra
2015
Topic Study Group 9 aimed to bring together researchers, developers and teachers who investigate and develop theoretical accounts of the teaching and learning of algebra. The group sought both empirically grounded contributions focussing on the learning and teaching of algebra in diverse classrooms settings, the evolution of algebraic reasoning from elementary through university schooling as well as theoretical contributions throwing light on the complexities involved in teaching and learning of algebra. Prospective contributors were requested to address one or more of the following themes: early algebra, use of ICT in algebra classrooms, proof and proving in algebra, problem solving, semio…
Teaching gauge theory to first year students
2020
One of the biggest revelations of 20th century physics, is virtually unheard of outside the inner circles of particle physics. This is the gauge theory, the foundation for how all physical interactions are described and a guiding principle for almost all work on new physics theories. Is it not our duty as physicists to try and spread this knowledge to a wider audience? Here, two simple gauge theory models are presented that should be understandable without any advanced mathematics or physics and it is demonstrated how they can be used to show how gauge symmetries are used to construct the standard model of particle physics. This is also used to describe the real reason we need the Higgs fie…