I am a third year high school physics teacher, and I frequently have
trouble developing what I consider to be thought provoking physics
questions. I was wondering if anyone out there could suggest some good
widely available resources that contain a variety of "non-chug-and-plug"
problems and questions relating to physics.
For example, in our current unit on STR, we did a set involving a
variety of problems related to time dilation. Most of the set consisted
of "here are parts a, b, and c, put them into the stated formula and
find part d", at which point I worry that it just breaks down into a
math worksheet. I did locate a "thought provoking question" in an old
text book (Bueche, Principles of Physics, 5th edition),
"Suppose the speed of light were only 20 m/s, and all
relativistic results applied when this speed was used for c. Discuss
how our lives would be changed."
To me, that's a fantastic divergent question. Unfortunately, I have a
heck of a time coming up with stuff like that on my own.
They don't even necessarily have to be divergent. I like questions
where a little substitution is involved. In other words, the students
are required to manipulate several equations in order to get the desired
answer. I'm not expecting a "Higher Order Physics Questions for
Dummies", but I'm not aware of any "good" resources other than my
growing collection of old physics text books.