Development of a student-centered instrument to assess middle school students’ conceptual understanding of sound

This article describes the development and field test of the Sound Concept Inventory Instrument (SCII), designed to measure middle school students’ concepts of sound. The instrument was designed based on known students’ difficulties in understanding sound and the history of science related to sound and focuses on two main aspects of sound: sound has material properties, and sound has process properties. The final SCII consists of 71 statements that respondents rate as either true or false and also indicate their confidence on a five-point scale. Administration to 355 middle school students resulted in a Cronbach alpha of 0.906, suggesting a high reliability. In addition, the average percentage of students’ answers to statements that associate sound with material properties is significantly higher than the average percentage of statements associating sound with process properties (p<0.001). The SCII is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to determine students’ conceptions of sound

Interweaving the Principle of Least Potential Energy in School and Introductory University Physics Courses

Understanding advanced physical phenomena such as vertically hanging elastic column, soap bubbles, crystals and cracks demands expressing and manipulating a system’s potential energy under equilibrium conditions. However, students at schools and universities are usually required to consider the forces acting on a system under equilibrium conditions, rather than taking into account its potential energy. As a result, they find it difficult to express the system’s potential energy and use it for calculations when they do need to do so. The principle of least potential energy is a powerful idea for solving static equilibrium physics problems in various fields such as hydrostatics, mechanics, and electrostatics. In the current essay, the authors describe this principle and provide examples where students can apply it. For each problem, the authors provide both the force consideration solution approach and the energy consideration solution approach

Development of a diagnostic tool aimed at pinpointing undergraduate students’ knowledge about sound and its implementation in simple acoustic apparatuses’ analysis

The present study describes the development and field testing of a simple apparatus-based diagnostic instrument (SABDI) that examines undergraduate students’ understanding of the underlying physics principles that explain how simple acoustic apparatuses work. SABDI comprises 13 items. Based on previous research studies and the history of science, the 38 distractors of SABDI were designed to reflect the following four categories of possible misconceptions: (a) direct and (b) incorrect emergent views of sound; (c) explanations based on a device’s salient feature; and (d) wrong applications of physics knowledge. Field testing carried out on 159 participants showed the salient features category to be the most popular. SABDI is a valid and reliable tool that could be used to determine students’ thinking regarding acoustic devices

Taiwanese middle school students’ materialistic concepts of sound

This study investigated if and to what extent grade 8 and 9 students in Taiwan attributed materialistic properties to sound concepts, and whether they hold scientific views in parallel with materialistic views. Taiwanese middle school students are a special population since their scores in international academic comparison tests such as TIMSS and PISA are among the highest in the world. The “Sound Concept Inventory Instrument” with both materialistic and scientific statements of sound concepts was applied to explore Taiwanese students’ ideas and corresponding confidence. The results showed that although the subject of sound is taught extensively in grade 8 in Taiwan, students still hold materialistic views of sound. The participants agreed, on average, with 41% of the statements that associate sound with materialistic properties. Moreover, they were quite confident in their materialistic answers (mean=3.27 on a 5-point Likert scale). In parallel, they also agreed with 71% of the scientific statements in the questions. They were also confident of their scientific answers (mean=3.21). As for the difference between grade 8 and 9 students, it seems that in grade 9, when students do not learn about sound, there is a kind of regression to a more materialistic view of sound. The girls performed better than the boys (t=3.59, p<0.001). The paper uses Vosniadou and Brewer’s [Cogn. Sci. 18, 123 (1994).COGSD50364-021310.1207/s15516709cog1801_4] framework theory to explain the results, and suggests some ideas for improving the teaching of sound

Interweaving the Numerical Kinematic Symmetry Principles in School and Introductory University Physics Courses

The &#8220;super-gun&#8222; class of weaponry has been around for a long time. However, its unusual physics is largely ignored to this day in mainstream physics. We study an example of such a &#8220;super gun&#8222;, the &#8220;Paris gun&#8222;. We first look into the historic accounts of the firing distance of such a gun and try to reconcile it with our physical understanding of ballistics. We do this by looking into the drag component in the equations of motion for ballistic movement, which is usually neglected. The drag component of the equations of motion is the main reason for symmetry breaking in ballistics. We study ballistics for several air density profiles and discuss the results. We then proceed to look into the effects of muzzle velocity as well as mass and ground temperature on the optimal firing angle and firing range. We find that, even in the simplest case of fixed air density, the effects of including drag are far reaching. We also determine that in the &#8220;sensible&#8222; range of projectile mass, the muzzle velocity is the most important factor in determining the maximal firing range. We have found that even the simplest of complications that include air density, shifts the optimal angle from the schoolbook&#8217;s 45-degree angle, ground temperature plays a major role. While the optimal angle changes by a mere two degrees in response to a huge change in ground temperature, the maximal distance is largely affected. Muzzle velocity is perhaps the most influential variable when working within a sensible projectile mass range. In the current essay, this principle is described and examples are provided where students can apply them. For each problem, we provide both the force consideration solution approach and the energy consideration solution approach

Energy, Christiaan Huygens, and the Wonderful Cycloid—Theory versus Experiment

The cycloid is one of the most intriguing objects in the classical physics world, at once solving the brachistochrone and isochronous curve problems. Historically, the cycloid shape has been employed to great success in many physical contexts. We discuss one such case, presenting the longitude problem as a pathway into an in-depth discussion of the analytical solution of a point mass motion along a cycloid. The classical solution is presented, and the modifications needed for a rolling ball along a cycloid rail are made. A comparison is then made between the two cases, and we show that the difference in most physical cases between the point mass and the rolling ball is at most ~7%. Next, an experiment is presented in which the isochronous nature of the cycloid path is tested, to different degrees of success. The results are discussed and several possible origins of the discrepancy between the theory and the experimental results are identified. We conclude with a discussion of skidding and slipless rolling

Introducing Taiwanese undergraduate students to the nature of science through Nobel Prize stories

Although there is a broad agreement among scientists and science educators that students should not only learn science, but also acquire some sense of its nature, it has been reported that undergraduate students possess an inadequate grasp of the nature of science (NOS). The study presented here examined the potential and effectiveness of Nobel Prize stories as a vehicle for teaching NOS. For this purpose, a 36-hour course, “Albert Einstein’s Nobel Prize and the Nature of Science,” was developed and conducted in Taiwan Normal University. Ten undergraduate physics students participated in the course. Analysis of the Views of Nature of Science questionnaires completed by the students before and after the course, as well as the students’ own presentations of Nobel Prize stories (with an emphasis on how NOS characteristics are reflected in the story), showed that the students who participated in the course enriched their views concerning all aspects of NOS. The paper concludes with some suggestions for applying the novel idea of using Nobel Prize stories in physics classrooms