Category: NCNAAPT meetings & news

Workshops in Room 307

Cailin Creighton, iFly: Cailin explained the format of educational programs available at iFly Indoor Skydiving in Union City, CA. There are several topics available for lectures, classroom examples as well as experiments at the facility. The educational program includes a tour of the wind tunnel, a lecture tailored for your class and one minute flights for students. Information about the program is available here. Any material developed by teachers relevant to the iFly experience can be sent to Cailin and contributed to a teacher resource page. (cailin@iflysfbay.com) Promo Code: “EDUCATION” 20% off first time flyer “earn your wings,” “spread your wings,” and “take flight” programs.

Scott Perry, Wind Energy: A Sustainable Future?: Scott discussed the possibilities for sustainable energy and some of the difficulties with such a discussion. One hurdle that teachers can appreciate is that each country or business entity deals in different units (barrels of oil, BTUs, kWh, etc.).  Scott suggested that everyone read David McKay’s book “Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air;” it is a free publication that discusses different sustainable energy options. Jared Diamond’s book “Collapse” was also recommended which discusses several populations use and overuse of energy sources.. The United States (~5% of the world’s population) uses ~20% of the energy used in the entire world. Some companies are looking at larger wind farms along the coasts of the United States; it is a goal that 20% of the United States Electric Energy Production by 2030 is wind energy.

Byron Philhour, Lunar Landing Project: Students produce numerical simulations of an Apollo-style launch using kinematics & drag equations. Students are supplied with the mass, and the thrust in conjunction with a drag atmospheric model to create this information. This project also requires students to work with angular momentum, energy, etc. to prepare for the Advanced Placement exam. The Lunar Lander Project is a long challenging assignment meant to challenge AP level students.

Bernard Cleyet, Not the Usual Coupled Oscillators: Bernard discussed various experiments using coupled oscillators and their decay.

Kevin McLin, Using Global Telescope Networks for Research & Science Education: Kevin discussed various programs that use telescope networks and allow students in high school, middle school and even elementary school to work with data from these networks.

Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Using Class Facebook Fan Pages: Facebook is a free online social networking site that allows people to share information, pictures, etc. A “fan page” can be created for a classroom that allows students to communicate with each other and the teacher in a different format. Instructions were given on how to create the page, as well as warnings and suggestions. You can visit Bree’s fan page or obtain workshop information on her website under “Professional Development.”

The Fall 2010 meeting location has yet to be identified. Volunteers from CSU Chico, Carondelet High School and the Exploratorium Teacher Institute are willing to inquire about being used as a location.

Programming suggestions were made that:
– The Share & Tell should remain in the morning
– Multiple tracks for workshops (one high school oriented and one college level oriented)
– A speaker for our next meeting is needed; some suggested looking up local science organizations for speaker lists

The Treasurer’s report said that we were in the black but did see an increase in the cost of printing, postage and program printing. Suggestions were made that the “call for papers” which was initially a legal size paper and has now been decreased to a postcard should remain a postcard. Today’s income has not yet been added to the balance.

Elections were held for the 2010-2011 officers. Claudia Winkler is the current President but was away due to a family emergency. There were no other nominations for President. Alex Wurden and Leanna Felardo agreed to share the position of Vice President of High Schools. David Marasco was not present but had indicated he would like to continue the position. Lee Trampleasure, Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Dennis Buckley and Paul Robinson indicated they would like to continue in their positions. The membership voted and approved the following officers for the 2010-2011 year:

President – Claudia Winkler
Vice President of High Schools – Alex Wurden & Leanna Felardo
Vice President of Colleges & Universities – David Marasco
Webmaster – Lee Trampleasure
Secretary – Bree Barnett Dreyfuss
Treasurer – Dennis Buckley
Program Chair – Paul Robinson
Section Rep – Paul Robinson

A raffle was conducted with prizes donated by several members, ARC and PASCO.

Neville (Bill) Reay of Ohio State University “My Corner of Physics Education Research; Clickers & Beyond”

Bill demonstrated how to use clickers for a simple survey of current occupation. Some features include a timer once the question is revealed and a graph is displayed with the results of the clickers. There are benefits of using clickers including active learning to the classroom by providing

– Constructivist approach to active learning
– Series of visual steps
– Cognitive conflict stimulating dialogue
– Real time assessments

The success of clickers depends on the questions asked! Research based concept question sequences can be used to assess the same concepts with different surface features (different entity, different situation, different representation). Bill demonstrated a progression of questions on circuits that progressively increased in difficulty that requires students to think while the professor does not have to lecture.

Through a study clickers were assessed on their ability to progress student learning. Surveys have shown that students enjoy using clickers because they feel more involved in the course and feel that the clickers help them learn. Studies done by the Ohio State University show that across the board, class averages showed higher post-test scores and higher end of class grades with clickers than identical classes that did not use clickers.

The main hypothesis of the study was that using problems synthesizing concepts that are widely-separated in the teaching timeline and using conceptually based questions as scaffolding (two questions followed by a synthesis problem) with repeated training can develop expert-like problems solving skills in students. CDs were made available that had sample clicker publications and relevant publications. The materials will soon be linked here.

Ken Crawford, “The Universe from my Backyard”

Ken discussed how his interest in astronomy began and continued into astrophotography. There are several organizations that have telescope farms with remote access available for teachers. Light pollution is an increasing problem in the United States and makes photographing the stars difficult. Ken continued by discussing specific difficulties in capturing photos, including the exposure time, tracking, equipment etc.

Ken uses several different software manipulations in order to reduce noise, remove atmosphere, sharpen the image, etc. The representative colors are assigned to images in order to make the image detail easier to view and also more engaging. Many of Ken’s fabulous images were shared as he discussed how the images have been created and compiled from multiple images. Ken is also the President of the Advanced Imaging Conference, Inc.  Ken’s website is: www.imagingdeepsky.com. You can also sign up to receive emailed images before they are published here.

Several animations of astronomical events are available free for download on the internet. Ken suggested the following websites:

• Astronomy Education Animation Page
• SNAP Animation Gallery
• Hubble Site Gallery
• Penn State Physics Animations
• Telescope Time for schools

Share & Tell:

Ann Hanks, PASCO & ARC retired: PASCO had to remove all lead from their products and in their production plants. Some lead spheres have to be replaced with tungsten spheres which are more expensive and smaller do to a higher density. Adaptors are available to use the new spheres; the Gravitational Balance that uses it is still the same price.

Jon Hanks, PASCO & ARC retired: Demoed PASCO new Fire Syringe that has had modifications to improve use.

Bill Simpson, ARC: Bill explained a new launch pad for bottle rockets that he saw on an episode of This Old House that are air pressurized with extra tall launch page for safety. There will  be two raffled off this afternoon and it will be demonstrated at lunch. Step-by-step instructions and video by Slater Harrison are available here.

Alex Wurden, Western Sierra High School: Alex demonstrated the Singing Rod which creates a standing longitudinal wave in a long metal rod with resin available in music stores. Holding the rod in the center (at a node), you can stroke one end to create sound. The rod can also be turned to create a Doppler Effect.

Bill Papke, ARC retired: Shared a twist of fate that when he bought “Galileo’s Dream” by Kim Stanley Robinson on July 10^th, 2009 and Galileo first looked through a telescope in July of 1609. A copy of the book has been donated to the raffle. Bill also shared a video of the “tablecloth trick” on the XXXL scale by using a a twenty foot table and a motorcycle. There is definite debate on the videos authenticity.

David Kagan, Cal State University, Chico: Demonstrated a projectile rod that models the decay of an objects height with gravity by dropping.

Bernard Cleyet, retired: Demonstrated an experiment with microwaves and filters to block radiation. A sensor was used to project the level as a sound wave to demonstrate the levels of intensity.

Alex Wurden, Western Sierra: Demonstrated several Physical Science Mnuemonics that can help students remember complicated formulas. Such as “Funny Emergency! Matador Tusk Attack!” for “F =m x a.” Funny pictures are often paired with the equations. Alex can be emailed at: alex.wurden@gmail.com.

Blaine Wells, ARC: Tennis ball launcher with Co2 cartridge power supply. Alternate barrels can shoot foam golf balls. Pressure vessel to barrel volume ratios are used for calculations; 3:1 will be a slow launch but 5:1 will guarantee a launch. Search “Co2 paintball cannon” for plans online from a variety of sources. PVC is not recommended; It is dangerous! Use black pipe instead for safety. A launcher will be in the raffle pile as well.

Chuck Hunt, ARC: Demonstrated a Ruben’s tube which is a large tube with small holes equally spaced along the length. One end has an input for flammable gas that fills the pipe; the other has a diaphragm on it that is put against a large speaker. As sound is pumped into the speaker the diaphragm is moved and creates a pressure wave inside the pipe. The tube’s flame will oscillate in a standing wave if a pure tone is played threw the speaker. As the tone is changed, a different number of wavelengths appears in the pipe. Music with pure tones in the right range work best. Six have been donated to the raffle. Holes should be 1/16” or smaller and a half inch to inch apart. Various videos and instructions exist online.

Don Rathjen, Exploratorium: Don demonstrated several resonators from the Exploratorium Snackbook. In one resonator, several balls of assorted sizes and on various lengths of dowels are all attached to a wood base. By shaking the base you can see that different frequencies of shaking make different balls move. This relates to seismology and engineering as such things have to be taken into account while planning. Quarter inch dowels are used and ideally balls of all the same mass and size (Don used Superballs). He also quickly demonstrated coupled oscillators.

Dean Baird, Rio Americano: Discussed using “Conceptual Physics Alive!” video series in his classes with questions  to be answered while watching. The accompanying questions will be sold by Arbor Scientific but he has some samples available. The newest edition (11^th) of the lab manual to accompany the Conceptual Physics textbook is also available as a sample for those that are interested. The lab manual should be available in the Fall of 2010. As a highlight, he shared some online resources such as Danny MacAskill who does stunt bicycle videos all over England, PhET Simulations from  the University of Colorado and his blog and website Book of Phyz.

Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Amador Valley High School: Bree shared examples of a recent Electric House Project for physics. Students had to create a small house with two rooms, often made from a shoebox. One room was to have three lights in series (dim) and the other two lights in parallel (bright). Examples were passed around as well as an example of the project description. “Best of” pictures are available on her website as well as a video explaining how to build the switch.

Frank Cascarano, Foothill College: Many of us demonstrate pressure and force using a bed of nails but the demonstration is also large and can be cumbersome. Fran shared a miniature version of the classic demonstration that helps with repeatability. A plan was passed around that allows for a balloon to be tested against two nails and then against ten nails with addable weights. You can mail Frank Cascarano for more information.

Leanna Felardo, Oroville High School: Shared the Physics literacy report letter to the teacher that requires students to read a book about Physics and write a one page letter about the book.  It is virtually plagiarism-proof and requires students to actually read the book in order to complete it. Leanna also passed around an AP Physics Lab Notebook. Email Leanna for more information.