As part of "The Blue Marble" project, the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham, UK, have developed day-long, interdisciplinary, hands-on workshops for primary schools to introduce space technology and the role of the research scientist. The workshop activities introduce 5-11 year olds to the role of the UK space industry, show the…

This work examines the feasibility of employing a Nintendo Wii game controller for measuring car speed in an interdisciplinary school project. It discusses the physical characteristics of the controller and of vehicle headlights. It suggests how an experiment may be linked to topics in mathematics, statistics, physics and computer science. An…

This paper describes the construction of a simple inexpensive scanner which can be used in conjunction with a data logger to produce intensity plots of diffraction and interference patterns. Making use of the drive mechanism from an old inkjet-printer is the central feature. (Contains 7 figures.)

This paper presents a comparative study of the thermal efficiencies of mechanical heat engines by using a graphical approach based on the pressure-volume ("P-V") diagram. Three types of idealized thermodynamic cycles--the Otto, the Diesel and the Brayton--are compared in pairs. Given the same temperature range within which the engines…

In this paper, an in-class activity concerned with real image formation by a converging lens in the context of accommodation in human eyes is described. In the first part of the activity, students are encouraged to experience the accommodation of their eyes in a prescribed way using simple materials. In the second part, the accommodation function…

Here is a way to show a sound wave travelling through air in real time. The method employs a set of low-cost microphone--LED units and demonstrates the movement of a pulse of sound as it lights up LEDs along a long (100-200 m) distance across a field. (Contains 4 figures.)

The phenomenon of interference has great importance in understanding the wave properties of light. Here, we demonstrate the effect of a moving reference frame on an interference pattern by building a simple Sagnac interferometer, without the burden of using optical fibres. A generalized theoretical derivation for an arbitrarily shaped…

The maximum power theorem is a useful extension to work on EMF and internal resistance at school level. Furthermore, a very simple physical collision model can be used to show equivalent mathematical patterns to those found with the maximum power theorem and to emphasize fundamental links to ideas of impedance matching. (Contains 2 tables and 6…

We describe recent experiments at CERN in which antihydrogen, an atom made entirely of antimatter, has been held in a magnetic minimum neutral atom trap and subjected to microwave radiation to induce a resonant quantum transition in the anti-atom. We discuss how this, the first experiment to observe an interaction between an antihydrogen atom and…

Assuming a constant mass decrease per unit surface and unit time we provide a very simplistic model for the dissolution process of spherical candies. The aim is to investigate the quantitative behaviour of the dissolution process throughout the act of eating the candy. In our model we do not take any microscopic mechanism of the dissolution…

Studies have shown that standard lectures and instructional laboratory experiments are not effective at teaching interference and diffraction. In response, the author created an interactive computer program that simulates interference and diffraction effects using the finite difference time domain method. The software allows students to easily…

This experimental activity aims to visualize the variations in the tension force on a rope with a mass attached to it in horizontal and vertical circular motion. The results facilitate comprehension of the effect of the direction of the radial force in changing the magnitude of the tension force. (Contains 10 figures.)

We use the context of astroparticle physics to introduce several fundamental concepts in physics and astrophysics. An activity has been developed using inexpensive materials that allows the reconstruction of the impact point and arrival direction of a cosmic ray particle measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The activity includes the…

The familiar bell-jar demonstration, commonly used to show that sound cannot travel in a vacuum, is revisited in this study. It is suggested that by emphasizing the different media present in this set-up, sound propagation in near-vacuum conditions can be made possible. In this way, the concept of sound propagation in this set-up can be examined…

This case study follows a teacher candidate through her semester of student teaching English in a suburban high school in the U.S. Southeast. The study is part of a line of inquiry that investigates the factors that contribute to teachers' development of "concepts" to guide their instruction. In particular, this research focuses on…