Re: physics experiments
From: Paul Draper (pdraper_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 10/21/04
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Date: 21 Oct 2004 06:16:23 -0700
billybilly54321@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (Doodedski) wrote in message news:<417701e9$1_2@127.0.0.1>...
> I have just started working as a supply high school teacher in
> science. The lab part of the courses doesn't seem to interest the
> students all that much and I don't really blame them. The
> experiments are very basic and not that impressive. I am trying to
> think of new experiments and I was just wondering if anybody had
> suggestions about sources to consult (internet, books...). The
> courses that I teach touch a broad range of subjects: mechanics,
> optics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, general chemistry,
> technology, earth sciences, biology...
> Thanks for any suggestions
>
1. Get them out of the lab and into real life. Take them to the
playground for a mechanics lab. A swing demonstrates how the period
depends on the length of the chains and not the mass at the end. Two
kids tossing a ball on a rotating merry-go-round teaches them
everything about the Coriolis force. Have them predict the
acceleration of a sliding object on the slide.
2. Arrange a trip to a local theme park. You can make lateral and
vertical accelerometers for about $1 apiece. Have them draw the
electrical circuit analogous to the log flume ride. Have them measure
g-forces on the looping roller-coaster. Have them measure the height
of a non-looping roller coaster by sighting the angle to a point on
the ground and pacing off the horizontal distance, and then calculate
the top speed at the bottom of the hill using energy conservation.
3. Give them a big semester project to build a clock, or rather, a
timer that counts to and marks one hour without going over with a
clear event or signal. Offer 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes. The only
proviso is they have to do their own design (due midterm), they have
to prototype to demonstrate to themselves that things don't always
work as designed and need bugs worked out, and -- by the way -- they
can't use any clock parts or anything that serves as a clock in any
device. You'll get water clocks, marked incense sticks, toy trains
that revolve on a track winding up a spool of string as it goes, etc,
some truly amazing ideas. More importantly, they'll get over their
fear of actually BUILDING something, and it will give them a sense of
applying physics -- e.g. engineering.
PD
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