7:45 Registration, Coffee, Donuts and other culinary delights
Sign up for lunch if you would like one.
8:55 Welcome and Announcements
9:00 Show & Tell — Part 1
Share your favorite demonstration or teaching tip. Since new teachers and section members will be at this meeting, you are encouraged to dust off some of your oldies but goodies. If you have handouts, please bring 75 copies. Time limite is 5 minutes per person or you risk the dreaded Gong!
10:00 “Blinky Lights — Quantized Motion”
Invited Speakers: Paul Doherty & Don Rathjen
Join the crew from the Exploratorium investigating the motion of objects using time exposure digital images of Inova microlights which blink at 100 Hz. We’ll do quantitative analysis of constant velocity, accelerating and rotational motion. We’ll produce some artistic images as well. Bring your own digital camera and learn ahead how to take long exposures.
11:15 Break
11:30 Business Meeting
12:00 Show & Tell — Part 2
12:30 Lunch
For those staying for the afternoon workshops, or just to socialize.
Have you been interested in the Modeling Method of High School Physics Instruction? Come to a two-hour mini-workshop to get your hands on some of the activities, and have some of your questions answered. “Modeling,” developed in 1990, cultivates physics teachers as experts on effective use of guided inquiry in physic teaching. Program goals are fully aligned with National Science Education Standards. The Modeling Method corrects many weaknesses of the traditional lecture-demonstration method, including fragmentation of knowledge, student passivity, and persistence of naive beliefs about the physical world. The Modeling Method organizes the course around a small number of scientific models, thus making a more course coherent.
Workshop B: Exploring Optics at the Convenient Three Centimeter Wavelength
While many of the properties of E-M radiation are readily demonstrated with visible light (the geometric) some are not (many physical), because of its microscopic wavelength. The invention of the klystron and more recently the Gun diode makes it possible to more easily demonstrate those of microscopic character, because their generated wavelengths are about five orders of magnitude greater. These include measurement of the evanescent wave resulting from frustrated total internal reflection, Miraldi’s spot, zone plates, and the phase speed of E-M radiation confined in a waveguide. We can demonstrate some of these using the X-band radiation generated by a WW II surplus klystron. Several firms sell instructional systems using Gun diodes. However, they don’t include the apparatus or directions for the above and other more esoteric effects. If time permits, we can explore those in addition to the former listed above. They include dichroism (birefringence), retardation plates, and various optical elements using artificial dielectrics including optical activity. The commercial systems include such basic demonstrations as polarization and refraction. If desired, we can do these, also.
Registration
$10 for NCNAAPT members; Free for first-time attendees and students.
We will have “proof of attendance” letters documenting attendance for any teacher who needs one for their district/credential professional development purposes.
Dues and Don’ts
Section dues are $25 for the academic year, due each Fall. If you cannot attend the meeting, remain an active member and ensure you’ll receive all our mailings by sending dues to our treasurer, Dennis Buckly, PO Box 735, Brentwood, CA 94513
Lodging
Three local hotels include:
Embassy Suites; 1345 Treat Blvd.
Walnut Creek, CA
866-654-8205
or
Holiday Inn Express; 2730 N. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
925-932-3332
or
Motel 6; 2389 North Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-935-4010
Exploring Optics at the Convenient Three Centimeter Wavelength
Dr. Chris Fassnacht, UC Davis, will present his lecture, “Measuring the Universe with Gravitational Lenses” on Thursday, February 11, 2010, at 4pm in Mendocino Hall 1015, Sacramento State University. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Chris Fassnacht received his AB degree from Harvard College and immediately afterward joined the Peace Corps, where he served as a secondary school math and science teacher in Ghana, West Africa. After returning, he received a PhD from Caltech. He held postdoctoral fellowships at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, NM and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD. He is currently an associate professor in the physics department at UC Davis, where he has been for the last seven years.
Prof. Fassnacht’s research involves using gravitational lenses to measure the rate at which the Universe is expanding and how galaxies such as the Milky Way are assembled.
Science on Saturday (SOS) is a series of science lectures for middle and high school students. Each topic highlights cutting-edge science occurring at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The talks are presented by leading LLNL science researchers supported by master high school science teachers. These presentations are offered in several locations. See the schedule below to find locations nearest to you.
Students receive a “Student Notes” worksheet to record key information from the talk. The worksheet will be marked with the official SOS stamp at the end of the presentation. Many teachers use the worksheet to award “extra credit.” Students should check with their teacher in advance to determine if they will receive credit for attending SOS.
Teachers who attend the SOS presentations can receive a CD with the presentation slides. If the talk is video recorded, they can receive a DVD of the recorded talk as well. These CDs and DVDs are offered free of charge and are sent by mail after the completion of the lecture series for the year. Be sure to register when you attend to receive your copy of these valuable teaching resources.
Presented by:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Education Program
Two presentations: 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Reflections on the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Program
Thursday, October 8, 2009 • 7:30PM
Flight Controller Sy Liebergot
Sy Liebergot, a former NASA flight controller, was on the job for some of the most memorable moments in space exploration, including the Apollo 13 fuel cell explosion.
Mr. Liebergot will be available for book signings before and after the talk.
Sponsored by the Northern California and Nevada American Association of Physics Teachers, NASA Lunar Science Institute, and NASA Ames Research Institute
