Physics Resources on the Web
Chaz Ruggieri
DELTA-P 2014
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Why use online resources?
Why bother using online resources at all?
Aren’t students happy enough with books, chalkboards, and the
lecturer’s soothing voice?
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Each student learns in unique ways - different pathways toward
understanding the material.
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Learn by doing.
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Students get bored easily! (e.g., when staring at a chalkboard
or sheet of paper after lunch… or TAs staring at a screen at 5pm)
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Many online resources are FREE and easy to use.
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Note: these are not a direct substitute for hands-on labs or
experiments, but they’re close.
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Learning Goals
From this presentation, you will (hopefully):
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Gain exposure to free online resources for physics education,
to use in your teaching positions and beyond.
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Learn to use physics simulations in class and in homework
assignments.
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Realize the importance of social media blogs and videos in
transforming physics into something accessible to the general
public.
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Make use of social media as a path for physics education
enrichment inside and outside the classroom.
Order of topics:
•
Resources inside the classroom, outside the classroom, and for
general interest (i.e., broader audience).
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Resources for the Classroom
Moving Man
PhET
Collisions
Springs with Masses
Energy Skate Park
Note: Some simulations require Java Web Start, which can be found
here:
DC Circuits
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
Faraday's Electromagnetic Lab
Waves
Why use PhETs?
Photoelectric Effect
1. they can be used in classrooms where the real equipment is either not available or
impractical to set up
2. they can be used to do “experiments” that are impossible to do otherwise (e.g. sim
shows immediate response to adjusting the amount of greenhouse gas in the
atmosphere or the resistance of a bulb in a circuit);
3. it is easy to change variables in response to student questions that would be difficult
or impossible to change with real apparatus
4. they can show the invisible and explicitly connect multiple representations
5. the students can run the sim on their own computer at home to repeat or extend the
experiments from class to clarify and strengthen their understanding.
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Question 1: Sketch position vs time and
velocity vs time graphs for when Moving Man
walks steadily toward the tree for 6 seconds, then
stands still for 6 seconds, then towards the house
twice as fast as before for 6 seconds.
PhET Moving Man Example #1
Moving Man
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Question 1: Sketch position vs time and
velocity vs time graphs for when Moving Man
walks steadily toward the tree for 6 seconds, then
stands still for 6 seconds, then towards the house
twice as fast as before for 6 seconds.
PhET Moving Man Example #1
Moving Man
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PhET Lecture Demo
Interactive Lecture Demo
Pose scenario and ask for predictions
Students make individual predictions
Student-student discussions.
Revise predictions.
Instructor elicits
predictions and reasoning
Instructor conducts “experiment”
with simulation
Students record result and
how different from prediction.
Whole class discussion with student
participation. Focus on reasoning.
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PhET Moving Man Example #2
Question 2: Sketch position vs time, velocity vs time, and acceleration vs time
graphs for the following: Moving Man leaves his home walking at a steady pace out
his door toward a large tree for 6 seconds, then abruptly stops for 3 seconds while he
checks to see if he has his wallet. It seems he clumsily left his wallet on the kitchen
table, but he’s late as it is, so he steadily speeds up toward his house for 2 seconds,
runs at full speed for 1 second, and steadily slows down for 2 seconds to a halt at his
front door.
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PhET Photoelectric Effect Homework Example
Photoelectric Effect Simulation
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Algodoo Interactive Physics Environment
Algodoo Website
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Algodoo Interactive Physics Environment
• Comes with tutorials and lesson plans.
• Easy to learn.
• Easy to use.
• Helps students visualize and play with basic physics problems in real
time (this is impossible to do on a chalkboard!)
• Extremely customizable features to allow exploration of a broad range of
physics!
• Oh, and it’s 100% free, so even students can download it and play
around in their spare time (i.e., mandatory homework).
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Other Simple Applets in Physics and Astronomy
Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project - Flash animations and simulations for
astronomy education. Topics include seasons, moon phases, coordinate systems,
light, and more.
Math Physics Applets - Educational java applets to help visualize various
concepts in math, physics, and engineering.
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Resources for Outside the Classroom
Khan academy – math, science, economics and finance, humanities
~10 minutes per video
The questions and discussion in the comments section can be
extremely helpful. (Khan academy physics page)
PHYSCLIPS – Video clips covering mechanics, waves and
sound, and light for senior high school and introductory
university level physics.
MIT OpenCourseWare
AAPT Website
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Videos and Blogs for General Interest
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Each day a different image or photograph of
our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by
a professional astronomer.
Videos:
Around the World in 90 Minutes
The Scale of the Universe
Veritasium - Candle Flame
Rubens' Tube
Minute Physics - Physics misconceptions
Rubens' Tube Explanation (brief)
Blogs:
NOVA's Physics Blog - Current events and some higher level discussions
Wired Science Blogs - Dot Physics - Fundamental physics applied to real life
situations, well-done simple examples and explanations.
Bad Astronomy - Astronomer Phil Plait's popular blog focusing on popular
misconceptions and hoaxes involving astronomy.
Preposterous Universe
Empirical Zeal - Aatish Bhatia
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Practicality of Internet Resources as a TA
What do the students gain from using these sources? Why use them?
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Another perspective on the material.
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Generally less technical in presentation, more easily accessible than
textbooks since it’s done in real time with verbal explanations.
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More opportunities to test their own understanding and learn
nuances of the application of physics principles.
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Fast feedback on questions from forums (Khan Academy).
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They’re free!
How should you use these resources as the TA?
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Supplementary material, leave it up to the students but make them
aware that these resources exist.
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Perhaps use as an aid in office hours, if the students’ issues may be
cleared up through a simulation.
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Finale
Ok so… what now?
• A list of the links will be made available to you shortly (after I compile it).
• Explore the web to find other interesting resources, I’ve just scratched the
surface.
• Pass on some of the information you gained here to your students,
particularly the learning resources.
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Sims and Applets:
http://phet.colorado.edu/ - PhET website
http://www.algodoo.com/ - Algodoo website
http://astro.unl.edu/naap/ - Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project
http://www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html - Math Physics Applets
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics - Khan Academy Physics
http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/ - UNSW PHYSCLIPS
http://www.aapt.org/Resources/ - AAPT Resources website
Videos:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html - Astronomy Picture of the Day
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111121.html - Around the World in 90 Minutes
http://htwins.net/scale2/ - The Scale of the Universe 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7_8Gc_Llr8 – candle flame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2awbKQ2DLRE – Rubens’ Tube
Blogs:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/ - Nova Physics blog
http://www.wired.com/category/dotphysics - Wired Dot Physics blog
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy.html - Bad Astronomy blog
http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/ - Preposterous Universe blog
http://www.wired.com/category/empiricalzeal/ - Wired Empirical Zeal blog
Links