Re: Need Ideas

[Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

Robert Carlson wrote:

> I have a new course starting next semester and need some ideas.  The course
> will concentrate on graphical analysis with some additional miscellaneous
> topics.  In general, the course will cover graphical techniques to find the
> relationship of a set of data pairs (not concentrating on theory) and written
> reports discussing the analysis will be a fundamental part of the course. ....

A simple pendulum is a good candidate because students can
collect data at home. How does T depend on L? How does T
depend on the swing size? How does it depend on mass?

Counting intervals (in seconds) between passing cars on a road
or highway, and plotting a distribution (~ Gaussian) is another
possibility. Also a distribution at one time (heavy traffic) versus
another (not so heavy).

What about temperature versus time curves for different objects
as they cool down from the same initial T. How long does it take
for the temperature to decrease by 20 C under different conditions
(amount of coffee in a cup, outside temperature, shape of the
container ? Nearly any physics lab can be turned into a HOW
activity.

I hope your HOW questions will lead to WHY questions. Let us
know how it works. Perhaps this is a good way to start teaching
physics. Measure and describe first, explain later.

                Ludwik Kowalski