Middle and High School … from a Montessori Point of View
The greater the resistance (R) of a circuit, the less current (I) will flow through it (an inverse relationship). The equation is: Current = Voltage / Resistance Resistors can be actual resistors, lamps, toasters, or anything else that uses electricity. Even the wires have resistance (but we don’t usually consider that since it’s small compared … Continue reading “Resistance in Circuits”
World-shaker tries to draw the modern parallels to 1984 and Brave New World in graphic form. Orwell’s (1948) distopian view of the future in 1984, warned against the government developing the ability to exert constant, repressive monitoring of everyone, controlling the means of communication and, perhaps more importantly, the use of language. Huxley’s (1932) Brave … Continue reading “1984 or A Brave New World”
So I put together this interactive parabola program using VPython (code here) for students encountering these curves in Algebra. It’s a more interactive version of the Excel parabola program in that you can move the curve by dragging on some control points, rather than just having to enter the coefficients of the equation. The program … Continue reading “Parabola Program”
There was a neat little conference today, organized by LEGO’s Education division. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to include robotics in my math and science classes, but since I haven’t had the time to delve into it, I was wondering if the LEGO Robotics sets would be an easy way to get … Continue reading “Considering LEGO Robotics”
Abstract A series of still photographs of a projectile (soccer ball) in motion were used to determine the equation for the height of the ball (h(t) = 4.9 t2 + 14.2 t + 1.25), the initial velocity of the ball (14.2 m), the maximum height of the ball (11.6 m), and the time between each … Continue reading “Projectile Motion”
I did a little exercise at the start of my high-school physics class today that introduced different types of experimental error. We’re starting the second quarter now and it’s time for their lab reports to including more discussion about potential sources of error, how they might fix some of them, and what they might mean. … Continue reading “Figuring Out Experimental Error”
A couple days ago I had students present their physics lab reports to the class. They did a good job, but I think I need to emphasize the importance of including graphs in their results. It’s much harder to look for trends and patterns in the data without charts, especially when presenting to an audience. … Continue reading “The Power of Graphs”
If you pull apart the nucleus of an atom, you’ll find that the mass of its parts is greater than the mass of the original nucleus. That extra mass is where nuclear energy comes from; it’s called the binding energy. How so? Take a helium atom for example. Its nucleus typically has two protons and … Continue reading “Energy in the Nucleus of the Atom”