Dance of the Changes: ∆p vs. ∆K

Once momentum p and kinetic energy K were derived and the connection between them was established, our task as a class was to find any connections, if any, between ∆p & ∆K. The derivations shown below were conducted in class with the participation of everyone using what I call "Stand/Sit Participation Method". This ensures that every student is active in the derivation process from beginning to end with emphasis on understanding all along.

Students were asked to compare and contrast the two relationships that were derived and only then did the following slide show up.

This, my friends, led to the Free Body Diagrams (FBD) challenges activity that eventually  led to the formulation of Newton's 2nd Law of Motion (N2L.)

A simple harmonic oscillator (SHO) attached to a force probe with a motion detector set below the mass that is attached to the spring provided the conformation of N2L.

The above derivation is aimed at achieving three goals.

1) To help students realize that Physix concepts are not disconnected islands, rather they are individual cells within the organism of Physix knowledge.

2) To establish the emergence of acceleration as a quintessential aspect of any changes in the state of motion of particles.

3) To overemphasize the complementarity between between space and time that relativity asserted and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle alluded to in Quantum Mechanics.

Thank you for reading this post and I look forward reading your valuable comments.   

Dedicated to the memory of my beloved father (RA).

Cool Physix & Astronomy Apps to Consider

I thought starting the academic semester/year with a bunch of Physix Apps and strategies for acquiring them might be the best gift I give my fellow Physix teachers and instructors the world over.

So, within this PDF file I listed all the Apps I currently own, which I hope you can acquire as many of them as possible to make your educational experience with your students a richer experience at least as far as mobile devices technology is concerned.

Please, keep in mind that most of the apps were free when I first got them but some either were removed from the App store or a price was added to them.

Mr. Le Nadj! suggestions regarding app acquirement:

1) Check the app store every two weeks or so and search for new apps dealing with specific topics you are interested in.

2) Sift through the junk by setting the search criteria to be Free & the display to be based on Ratings so that you get the free apps that got the best ratings.

3) Download the chosen app(s) even if you may not think you would need it right away because they may either disappear or become pricy. You still can delete them if need be.

Happy Educational App Year! :-)

iDevice Physix App of the Month

In my article "iPad & weightlessness" in Volume 50, Issue 5, May 2012 I mentioned that I used the free app AccelGraph to take the acceleration measurements. Unfortunately, that cool app (which I still have and enjoy) has since been removed from the App Store for unstated reasons.

So, here is an alternate app that should do the job equally well and it is my choice for the Physix App of the Month.

a-logger

My students and I used this app on numerous occasions with iPhones and iPad and it operated quite well each time. One of its strongest features is the ability to set it to do delayed recordings that start any time in the future. In an upcoming blog (ISA) I will share examples of how my students and I used the app to extend and deepen our understanding of motion and its properties.

If you have used another app that accomplishes the same tasks, share its name and how you and your students used it to further your investigation of the Physix of motion. Thank you