Session A: Science Building

Session B: Science Building

1:45   Exploring the Invisible Universe
       Lynn Cominsky, Tim Graves and Sarah Silva, Sonoma State University

The universe around us teems with invisible energy. NASA's Swift mission, designed to detect bursts of the most energetic photons in the electromagnetic spectrum, has inspired a series of standards-based activities for use in the classroom. This talk will introduce you to these exciting labs designed to improve your student's knowledge of our invisible universe. By using ordinary supplies you can teach your students about light at different wavelengths while at the same time enticing them with NASA science.

1:45   Teaching Biomolecular Electronics and Biophotonics at college level: Is it possible?
       Enrique W. Izaguirre, Sonoma State University

Science and technology are moving with a fast pace which requires that colleges change their curricula more often than ever before. New technologies, such as nanotechnology, biomolecular electronics, and biophotonics, are going to be driving forces in the photonics and electronics industries in the coming years. We should prepare our students in these challenging subjects. I will describe a proposed teaching strategy to implement a multidisciplinary, hands-on program that can expose physics students to biophysics, protein dynamics, bimolecular devices, and nanotechnology at an early stage of their studies. I will present some examples of experiments that are used in undergraduate research and in an instructional laboratory.

2:00   "Humidity and the COR of Baseballs"
       David Kagan and Dave Atkinson, California State University, Chico

Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies play baseball, is known to be a "hitter's ballpark." This is not surprising to a physicist because the thinner air at the high altitude of Denver will cause less drag on a fly ball. Major League Baseball has attempted to correct for this effect by humidifying the baseballs used at these games. In principle, the balls will have a smaller coefficient of restitution (COR) and therefore not leave the bat with as high a velocity. We cannot find any published information about the COR as a function of the humidity and will describe our attempts to make the measurements.

2:00   "The Case for Increased Emphasis on Life-Science Applications for Students in Algebra/Trig-Based Physics Courses"
       Peter Urone, California State University, Sacramento

Students taking algebra/trig-based introductory courses at the college level differ significantly from those in other introductory courses, such as calculus-based physics. With a preponderance of life science majors and with lessons from the calculus reform movement, a compelling case can be made for increased emphasis of life-science applications in these courses. Data supporting this case and examples of life-science applications will be presented.

2:20   "Model Rockets and Student Trajectory Simulation"
       Patti McLain, Jesuit High School

Each year students build a model rocket and provide a simulation (spreadsheet or C++ programming) of the trajectory. This project allows the kids to model drag in a fairly high-fidelity way and model a non-uniform thrust of the solid rocket engine. Students spend about one-third of their time making rocket from kits (according to their previous rocket building experience) and two-thirds of the project time designing, coding and debugging their simulation and documenting their "lessons-learned".

2:20   "LabVIEW in Beginning Labs"
       Bob Good, Cal-State Hayward

We have introduced LabVIEW computers into about half of our calculus-based labs. Our physics and engineering students thereby experience programming and interfacing in LabVIEW while dealing with simple equipment and concepts.

2:40   "Experimental Designs in the Introductory Physics Laboratory"
       Xueli Zou, California State University, Chico

This talk will present three types of experimental designs-verification, application, and investigation designs-that have been developed and implemented in the calculus-based introductory physics laboratory at California State University, Chico. Examples of students' design tasks from mechanics and electromagnetism will be presented.

2:40   "Understanding Partially Coherent Light"
       Zhigang Chen, San Francisco State University

Light sources with partial coherence are abundant in nature, from LED's to sunlight. With a rotating diffuser, we can demonstrate some of the properties of partially coherent light. I will discuss briefly how to convert a laser beam into a partially coherent light source, and how to use it as a test bench for understanding partially coherent light.

3:00   " Analyzing Galileo's-Ramp Data"
       Tim Erickson, EEPS Media

Students have used a new analysis package, Fathom, to analyze data from a variety of "Galileo's Ramp" experiments, sending carts and spheres rolling down tracks. We'll see how the software helps students explore the data in ways that shed light on important conceptual issues in physics, and can help them make strong connections to mathematics.

3:00   "Detecting Infrared Light, Herschel's Experiment in the Classroom"
       Dan Burns, Los Gatos High School

Having students perform Herschel's experiment successfully can be troublesome. A method to do it cheaply and effectively will be demonstrated along with other related activities. A JPL video on infrared radiation, a poster, and a color handout will be provided

3:20   "Application of Video and Online Exercises to the Instruction of Kinematics and the Operation of the Air Table"
       Gary Latshaw, Foothill Community College

Concise video presentation has been prepared to explain how to use and interpret data from an air table. A set of online exercises supports the instruction. The presentation includes video clips and student comments.

3:20   "Photoelectric Experiment with Light-Emitting Diodes"
       James M. Lockhart, San Francisco State University

A photoelectric experiment is standard in modern physics laboratory courses to illustrate the quantized, photon nature of light. Students observe that the energy of electrons photo-emitted from a cathode depends on the wavelength of the incident light rather than its intensity. Typically, monochromatic light is obtained by using a diffraction grating to separate emission lines from a mercury vapor source, and variable-transmission filters are used to vary the intensity. We have had good results with a simpler arrangement which uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with six different wavelengths, from red through UV, as adjustable-intensity light sources.

3:40 "Research Project as a Final Assessment"
       Algis Sodonis, The Urban School of San Francisco

By giving students appropriate resources and guidelines, they were able to complete individual research projects of their own design. Students were able to define a problem, devise a method for collecting data and prepare a presentation of their methods and results. This final project provided a great deal of motivation for the students and gave them a much better view of the scientific process than most lab experiments.

3:40   "Experimental Conic Sections"
       Lew Epstein, City College of San Francisco, and Wally Downs

To fully understand the optics of conic sections, you need to make some drawings. Wally Downs has shown me some elegant ways of generating conic sections with techniques that the company he founded has used for many years to make microwave antennas. Wally is willing to teach these techniques to students who are interested in making such things as parabolic dishes.

4:00   "CPS Course Response System in Introductory Physics Courses"
       Susan Lea, San Francisco State University

The CPS course response system allows students to respond to multiple-choice format questions during a class period. Each student purchases a transmitter at the bookstore, and enrolls on-line through the e-instruction web site. The instructor downloads the class list from the web site, and then each student's response is tagged with his or her name. The students can answer without fear of embarrassment, since only the instructor knows which student made which response.

4:00   "Simple Physics Uses of the Macintosh Graphing Calculator"
       Arnold F. McKinley, The Marin Science and Math Support Center

A demonstration of some neat uses of the Graphing Calculator that is shipped with the Macintosh. These will vector calculations (2D and 3D), surfaces and tangent lines, E&M fields, and Relativistic transformations. These may cause you to explore this interesting tool for theclassroom.

4:20   "Tuvan Throat Singing and You"
       Damon Jansen, Newark Memorial High School

Possibly the coolest thing you can learn to spice up discussions in sound and harmonics is Tuvan throatsinging. Folks from Tuva (popularized in Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey, by Ralph Leighton) have figured out how to sing so that two notes are heard at the same time. We'll look at spectrogram analyses of various instruments, voice, vowels, then at throat singers. You'll learn some simple techniques to teach yourse

4:20   "Is Pressure Really Lower in a Moving Fluid?"
       Evan Jones, retired, Sierra College

The common claim that a moving fluid has a lower pressure than a fluid at rest is examined, for the case of free stream flow. Simple experiments and theoretical arguments will be entered into evidence. Commonly-used demonstrations purporting to illustrate that the pressure is lower in moving fluids and the inappropriate application of the Bernoulli principle are discussed.

4:40   "Lowell saw the canals on Mars, why can't NASA?"
       Phil Gash, CA State University, Chico

4:40   "High Voltage Junk"
       Dave Wall, City College of San Francisco, and Mike Kan

About 20 years ago, I built a lab set of 1.5 kV high impedance power supplies for a quantitative electrostatics student lab I had devised. The cost per unit was about $100 and maybe 20 person hours each. Mike Kan has shown me how to make 30 kV power supplies from junk. I will demonstrate one that I built in a couple of hours. I will also introduce Mike Kan, a tinkerer par excellence, who could be a valuable resource for many of you.

5:00   "Integrating Modern Topics and Dark Energy"
       James Dann, St. Ignatius

The idea of dark energy as an explanation for the interesting Type Ia supernova observations and the Boomerang results are discussed in this talk. Last year I knew next to nothing on the subject, but due to persistent pestering by a few students I spent some time at UC Santa Cruz educating myself on the topic. I will also discuss how my student questions on modern physics has evolved into a weekly event titled 'How it Works Wednesday'.

5:00   "Taking Data Collection to the Next Level"
       Clarence Bakken, retired, Gunn High School

Using the new Logger Pro scheduled to come out early 2003, you can now enhance learning for your visual learners as well as your math genii. I will show how linking MBL and video will give a great picture of what happened during your experiment.