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There will always be a few kids who are exceptionally over-prepared._______________________________________________
The question is, what to do with these kids, so that they don't get
bored to death and/or drive everybody else crazy.
It is guaranteed that they won't be paying attention in class.
There's no reason why they should. So the best you can do is give
them something else to do, something educational.
This is a fun thing to discuss. I offer a few obvious ideas, to get
the ball rolling:
*) If all else fails, tell them to bring a library book to class.
They can sit in the back and read.
*) It's even better if they read a /physics/ book. A good place to
start is PSSC _Physics_. This is a physicist's physics book.
http://www.textbookleague.org/32pssc1.htm
Some people consider it too challenging for the typical student ...
but that makes it just right for the student who needs a bit of a
challenge. So the assignment is to read PSSC _Physics_ cover to cover
and work all the end-of-chapter problems.
This means the student will have something to do for a few weeks, and
will learn some serious physics. It requires very little effort from
the teacher. It requires some preparation, namely obtaining a copy or
two of the book.
*) Continuing down that road: Have 'em read Feynman volume I. This
is the quintessential "physicist's physics book".
Are they going to understand everything in that book? Of course not.
I've read the thing ten times over the years, because each time I get
something I didn't get previously.
*) Have 'em do some lab work. Part of the idea is to find things that
place minimal demands on the teacher, who is already overloaded
dealing with the main group of students. Another part of the idea is
to find things that can be done in the far corner of the room without
distracting the main group of students.
-- IMHO a fine assignment in this category is this: Set up a ripple
tank and do some experiments with it. Diffraction. Refraction.
Interference. Dispersion relations. There are many hours of good
things that could be done.
This meets all the requirements: It is safe, quiet, highly
educational, et cetera. It requires having the apparatus, but other
than that it doesn't require much from the teacher.
(Imagine this student a couple of years later, taking a college
course in electrodynamics or quantum mechanics, and imagine how nice
it is to actually know something about waves.)
-- Set up an oscilloscope to show Lissajous patterns. Read
Rayleigh's _Theory of Sound_ to see some of the clever physics that
can be done using Lissajous patterns. As a modern example, plot the
power-line waveform (as seen at the output of a doorbell transformer,
*not* the power line itself, for safety reasons). Plot it versus a
60Hz local oscillator.
-- Set up an oscilloscope in XY mode to plot the B versus H hysteresis
curve for a magnetic material.
(Imagine how advantageous it is for the student to actually know how
to operate an oscilloscope.)
-- An idea from Ludwik: Set up an audio speaker and turntable (or two
speakers, X and Y) plus a mirror and laser, to make a giant
oscilloscope that draws waveforms on the wall of the room.
-- Perform a random-walk experiment by tossing coins and moving a
marker accordingly. Plot distance versus N.
(Imagine how advantageous it is for the student to actually have a
clue about probability.)
-- Choose some project, not necessarily original, and do it. There
are lots of possibilities:
http://www.google.com/search?q=physics+build+project
++ Think of some *original* project and do it.
++ Help the other students with their assignments.
-- etc. etc. etc.
========================
It would be good to hear from other folks about their ideas for
self-study ... and other tactics for dealing with students who have
wildly disparate levels of preparation.
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l