ERIC Number: EJ864416
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Nov
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Hanging an Airplane: A Case Study in Static Equilibrium
Katz, Debora M.
Physics Teacher, v47 n8 p516-519 Nov 2009
Our classrooms are filled with engineering majors who take a semester-long course in static equilibrium. Many students find this class too challenging and drop their engineering major. In our introductory physics class, we often breeze through static equilibrium; to physicists equilibrium is just a special case of Newton's second law. While it is difficult to find more time in the syllabus for any one topic, a hands-on case study may help students to develop their physical intuition about static equilibrium and may help them to succeed in their subsequent classes. This article describes a hands-on case study that you may wish to use in your classroom. (You may also wish to check a case study involving a boat published in this journal in the 1990s.) The hands-on case study presented here can be easily modified to work at the high school or introductory college level. There are three major components: I) planning, II) doing, and III) calculating.
Descriptors: Physics, Engineering Education, Case Studies, Science Instruction, Science Education, Scientific Concepts, College Science, College Students, Teaching Methods, Science Activities, Hands on Science
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A