Publication Date
In 2024 | 0 |
Since 2023 | 5 |
Since 2020 (last 5 years) | 90 |
Since 2015 (last 10 years) | 192 |
Since 2005 (last 20 years) | 312 |
Descriptor
Introductory Courses | 324 |
Physics | 285 |
Science Instruction | 235 |
Scientific Concepts | 118 |
Teaching Methods | 111 |
College Science | 64 |
Science Experiments | 64 |
Motion | 62 |
Scientific Principles | 56 |
Mechanics (Physics) | 40 |
Energy | 38 |
More ▼ |
Source
Physics Teacher | 324 |
Author
Publication Type
Journal Articles | 324 |
Reports - Descriptive | 269 |
Reports - Research | 23 |
Reports - Evaluative | 22 |
Guides - Classroom - Teacher | 10 |
Information Analyses | 1 |
Education Level
Higher Education | 108 |
Postsecondary Education | 79 |
Secondary Education | 29 |
High Schools | 24 |
Elementary Education | 1 |
Elementary Secondary Education | 1 |
Grade 9 | 1 |
Junior High Schools | 1 |
Middle Schools | 1 |
Audience
Teachers | 60 |
Practitioners | 10 |
Students | 1 |
Location
Indiana | 2 |
Maryland | 2 |
California (Los Angeles) | 1 |
Canada | 1 |
Canada (Calgary) | 1 |
Colorado | 1 |
District of Columbia | 1 |
Georgia | 1 |
Hawaii | 1 |
Illinois | 1 |
Illinois (Chicago) | 1 |
More ▼ |
Laws, Policies, & Programs
Assessments and Surveys
What Works Clearinghouse Rating
Young, Douglas T. – Physics Teacher, 2023
Experiments involving RC circuits are an integral part of introductory physics courses. Previous articles using RC circuits describe determining the charge on a Van de Graaff generator, measuring currents and voltages in a charging RC circuit using a multimeter or an Arduino, measuring the decay constants of complex RC circuits, and using the…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Science Experiments, Physics, Spreadsheets
Kumar, Alok – Physics Teacher, 2023
Science does not belong to just one civilization, one culture, one country, or one gender; it belongs to all who want to unfold the mysteries of nature. Most scientists agree that science currently is, and indeed always has been, international and multicultural in character. Our teaching at all levels should reflect this multiculturalism as part…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Physics, Textbooks
Beil, Fabian; Thees, Michael; Kapp, Sebastian; Kuhn, Jochen – Physics Teacher, 2023
In introductory electric circuits in middle school, students often carry strongly held alternative conceptions. Common to many of these is an idea of electric current as some kind of substance that originates from the battery and moves toward electronic components. Learners often argue that current influences those one by one as they are…
Descriptors: Introductory Courses, Electronic Equipment, Middle School Students, Science Instruction
Rieger, Georg W.; McIver, Jess; Mazabel, Silvia; Burkholder, Eric W. – Physics Teacher, 2023
It is often challenging for physics instructors to dedicate time during a course to engage students in developing strategic approaches to learning in addition to problem-solving skills and content knowledge. In this work, we introduce a simple modification to our teaching practice with the purpose of fostering student development of self-regulated…
Descriptors: Independent Study, Introductory Courses, Physics, Science Instruction
Othon, Christina M. – Physics Teacher, 2023
The early 20th century marked a number of transformational experimental and theoretical discoveries in physics. Among them is one that is often neglected in the introductory physics curriculum, which revolutionized our understanding of the molecular world. Evidence for the thermal motions of atoms was first observed by Perrin in 1909, which had…
Descriptors: Toys, Physics, Science Experiments, Introductory Courses
Robertson, Amy D.; Goodhew, Lisa M.; Heron, Paula R. L.; Scherr, Rachel E. – Physics Teacher, 2022
Perhaps the most commonly cited student idea about forces in the literature is the notion of an impetus force, defined as the "belief that there is a force inside a moving object that keeps it going and causes it to have some speed," that can then "fade away as the object moves along." According to the literature, even after…
Descriptors: Physics, Science Instruction, Motion, Freehand Drawing
Baker, Blane; Sherer, Maggie; Mossinghoff, Ben; Laycock, Will – Physics Teacher, 2022
A wood cantilever of length ~2.5 m is driven into resonance using the hand as a simple driver. Video recordings of these oscillations are analyzed to determine experimental second harmonic (n = 2) damped resonance frequencies. These frequencies are compared to theoretical ones, obtained from measurements of elastic moduli, damping properties, and…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Science Laboratories, Science Experiments, Laboratory Experiments
Rojas, Roberto – Physics Teacher, 2022
In one of the Faraday's experiments an electric current is induced in a conducting loop when a magnet in front of it moves towards or away from the loop. While the direction of circulation of the electric current in the loop has only two options, it depends on three experimental conditions that generate eight cases. Even though the Faraday law or…
Descriptors: Energy, Magnets, Science Experiments, Scientific Principles
Nissen, Jayson M.; Her Many Horses, Ian; Van Dusen, Ben; Jariwala, Manher; Close, Eleanor – Physics Teacher, 2022
Research-based assessments (RBAs) measure how well a course achieves discipline-specific outcomes. Educators can use outcomes from RBAs to guide instructional choices and to request resources to implement and sustain instructional transformations. One challenge for using RBAs, however, is a lack of comparative data, particularly given the skew in…
Descriptors: Physics, Science Instruction, Introductory Courses, Teaching Methods
Redish, Edward – Physics Teacher, 2022
When students are learning to use math in physics, one of the most important ideas they need to learn is that equations are not just calculational tools; they represent relationships between physical variables that change together (co-vary). How much a change in one variable or parameter is associated with a change in another depends on how they…
Descriptors: Mathematics Skills, Physics, Equations (Mathematics), Introductory Courses
Tarigan, Hendra Jaya – Physics Teacher, 2022
We describe here a low-cost experiment for introductory physics students where they compare the physical properties of aluminum and steel by means of cantilever oscillations. This, in turn, allows the students to improve their physical intuition about these materials. Further, the students can apply their physics and mathematics knowledge and…
Descriptors: Acoustics, Physics, Science Instruction, Teaching Methods
Wong, Kin Son; Wong, Hang – Physics Teacher, 2022
The law of conservation of momentum is a fundamental law of nature. It states that the momentum of an isolated system is conserved. In high school or introductory-level physics courses, for simplicity, teachers and textbooks always use collisions in one dimension as the examples to introduce the concept of conservation of momentum. To solve simple…
Descriptors: Scientific Principles, Kinetics, Motion, Scientific Concepts
LoPresto, Michael – Physics Teacher, 2022
When teaching a general education introductory astronomy course that includes a mathematics prerequisite, it is important to convey that formulas and equations physically represent properties of actual objects and processes that occur that can actually be observed. Students with varying comfort levels with mathematics often need to be convinced…
Descriptors: Introductory Courses, Physics, Astronomy, Light
DiLisi, Gregory A. – Physics Teacher, 2022
On April 14, 1912, the British passenger liner R.M.S. "Titanic" struck an iceberg. The ship sank in a fraction of the time designers had estimated following a worst case scenario. The purpose of this article is to examine the atmospheric refractive phenomena that might have played a significant role in obscuring the iceberg from…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Introductory Courses, Physics, Oceanography
Zeng, Liang; Zeng, Guang; Guerrero, Oscar; Garcia, George – Physics Teacher, 2022
Instructors of introductory college physics courses are in a unique position to explain the physics of skateboarding and its associated risks. A field trip to a skate park to explore the law of conservation of energy and measure the impact forces can enhance student analytical thinking skills and their appreciation of physics in everyday life.…
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Introductory Courses, College Science, Physics