Re: Need Ideas

["Bernard G. Cleyet & Nancy Ann Seese" <georgeann@REDSHIFT.COM>]

High their!

I like the simple pendulum --- because with a little care and direction the
students will find the pendulum "not so simple."   I accidentally found this
when teaching a lab at Ventura J.C. (a long time ago when C.C.'s were J.C.'s).

At least one student discovered that it was not isochronos.  I reminded them of
the derivation .. ah haa!

With a heavy bob and long "l"  they can easily measure a difference in period
with varying amplitudes.  I never had the opportunity to relate the data to sine
(x) instead of x.  Seems this will be particularly easy now that most labs now
have Vernier and other computer data collection systems.  [Is this now "old
hat", and I've missed it because I been away from "elementary" teaching for so
long?]

bc


Raacc@aol.com 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.
>
> So, I am looking for simple experiments/projects that show linear, quadratic,
> exponential, power, or sinusoidal relationships, etc.  I've listed some
> topics below, and need more ideas.  The course is not concentrating on any
> one science area, so topics from biology, chemistry and other fields are also
> welcome.  Ideas can include in-school experiments, out-of-school experiments,
> or data that is available from other sources such as the internet.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob Carlson
>
> Possible Topics:
>
> Linear:
> Resistance as a function of length
> Constant velocity
> Z versus atomic number and n+p versus atomic number
> Continental drift?  Is there data on the internet?
> Circumference versus diameter
>
> Quadratic:
> Dropped ball
> Fan starting
>
> Log-log:
> Planet period versus mean distance from sun
> Period of a simple pendulum
> Resistance as a function of cross section area
> Areas and volumes of geometrical shapes
>
> Semi-log:
> Newton's Law of Cooling
> Bacteria growth
> Light intensity as a function of distance
> Light absorption as a function of plastic thickness
> Shake pennies and remove heads
> Radioactive decay
> Compound interest
> Capacitor voltage versus time
>
> Sinusoidal:
> Mass-spring system
> Annual temperature for a city
> Rotating wheel
>
> Miscellaneous:
> Finding the heights of buildings using a protractor
> Conservation laws
> Height of a bouncing ball versus the number of bounces
> Use a protractor, compass and ruler to derive sine, cosine & tangent for
> various angles