We report a school project which equips students with both theoretical and practical knowledge in material physics. We construct dumpling skins from a mixture of flour and water. A series of experiments is then conducted to quantify the toughness, hardness, and tensile strength of the skins, and how they are affected by adding other materials into…

Activity-based collisional analysis is developed for introductory physics and astronomy laboratory experiments. Crushable floral foam is used to investigate the physics of projectiles undergoing completely inelastic collisions with a low-density solid forming impact craters. Simple drop experiments enable determination of the average acceleration,…

In this paper we describe a teaching approach focusing on modelling in physics, emphasizing scientific reasoning based on empirical data and using the notion of multiple representations of physical phenomena as a framework. We describe modelling activities from a project (PHYS 21) and relate some experiences from implementation of the modelling…

Photoelectrochemical cells using dye-sensitized ZnO with a Cu[superscript 2+]/Fe[superscript 2+]/Fe[superscript 3+] electrolyte can be easily made at home or in a school classroom with household chemicals and other readily available materials. The cells, which are made with wire housed within plastic drinking straws, have open-circuit voltages of…

A 2 m long wooden beam provides an ideal demonstration tool for exploring moments. A class set is cheap and can be used at introductory and advanced levels. This article explores how such beams can be used to support learning about moments, equilibrium, vectors, and simultaneous equations. (Contains 7 figures.)

Human walking is a complicated motion. Movement scientists have developed various research methods to study gait. This article describes how a high school student collected and analysed high quality gait data in much the same way that movement scientists do, via the recording and measurement of motions with a video analysis tool and via…

A well-known experiment for the measurement of the acceleration of gravity is carried out on a personal computer using standard software for a sound card in a non-canonical way, which provides an improved, more accurate, result and is a useful teaching method for a traditional classroom experiment. (Contains 3 figures and 1 footnote.)

This short article describes some useful and quick applications of a cooking electronic balance. Newton's third law, Archimedes buoyancy and an estimate of relative density are accomplished in a very simple way. (Contains 1 figure.)

In the "Third Day" of the "Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences" Galileo Galilei describes the famous experiment of the inclined plane and uses it to bring an experimental confirmation to the laws of uniformly accelerated motion. We describe a reconstruction of the experiment and how the results can be used for…

We describe the design of a simple homemade apparatus for the measurement of the refractive indices of liquids and demonstration of refraction. A circular transparent plastic tank and a lazy Susan are held concentrically. A laser pointer is mounted on the lazy Susan with its laser beam pointing radially through the centre of the plastic tank.…

Introductory physics laboratories have been demonstrated in some instances to be difficult or uninteresting to students at the collegiate level. We have developed a laboratory that introduces the concept of the Lorentz force and allows students to build a non-traditional DC motor out of easily acquired materials. Basic electricity and magnetism…

It is not common to introduce current astronomy in school lessons. This article presents a set of experiments about gravitational lenses. It is normal to simulate them by means of computers, but it is very simple to simulate similar effects using a drinking glass full of liquid or using only the glass base. These are, of course, cheap and easy…

The National Curriculum for 14-16 year old students in England contains a mandatory element called "How science works". Included in this material is interpretation of data, collecting data from primary sources, using ICT tools, and developing an argument and drawing conclusions. What follows is an activity, based on magnetic braking, which allows…

This article describes how to motivate senior school pupils using environmental experiments with a luxmeter. A luxmeter is a portable device for measuring illuminance E (the SI unit is lux, lx) at industrial sites, offices, hospitals, schools etc. to check the light intensity of illuminated devices or workplaces, in order to fit valid standards.…

With the radon measurement activities at Stockholm House of Science, nuclear and experimental physics is introduced in a way that attracts the attention and interest of the students. These projects give the students the opportunity to use mobile detectors, either in their school, in the House of Science or in their homes. During 2006, 34 radon…