Demonstrations are fantastic. They offer so many wonderful possibilities to show the beauty of physics and amaze pupils, that we really should do at least one in every physics class. While it may not always be feasible, the objection “which demo then?” no longer applies. This book presents a selection of the 99 ‘best’, most beautiful physics demonstrations from the Dutch book series “ShowdeFysica” as published by the Dutch Association for Science Education. The demonstrations are categorized as nature of science; scientific inquiry; conceptual development or special occasions. So, whether you want to deepen students’ understanding of a specific topic, want to engage them in thorough thinking, or if you were asked to demonstrate physics on a festive occasion, you can find demonstrations and inspiration in this book.

Through a five-lesson series with five activities, students are introduced to six simple machines inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, pulley, wheel-and-axle as well as compound machines, which are combinations of two or more simple machines. Once students understand about work (work = force x distance), they become familiar with the machines' mechanical advantages, and see how they make work easier. Through an introduction to compound machines, students begin to think critically about machine inventions and their pervasive roles in our lives. After learning about Rube Goldberg contraptions absurd inventions that complete simple tasks in complicated ways they evaluate the importance and usefulness of the many machines around them. Through the hands-on activities, students draw designs for contraptions that could move a circus elephant into a rail car, create a construction site ramp design by measuring different inclined planes and calculating the ideal vs. actual mechanical advantage of each, compare the theoretical and actual mechanical advantages of different pulley systems conceived to save a whale, build and test grape catapults made with popsicle sticks and rubber bands, and follow the steps of the engineering design process to design and build Rube Goldberg machines.

This is a calculus-based physics textbook meant for the type of freshman survey course taken by engineering and physical science majors, or for AP Physics C. It uses a nontraditional order of topics, with energy coming before force. For instructors who prefer the traditional sequence, there is a drop-in replacement for ch. 0-4, Mechanics, that covers force before energy. My text for the type of course usually taken by biology majors is Light and Matter.

"Sinergia Científica: Integrando las Ciencias desde una Perspectiva Multidisciplinaria" es un compendio de estudios que abarcan diversas disciplinas, uniendo la ciencia en un esfuerzo colectivo para resolver problemas complejos. El primer capítulo presenta una innovación en la cuyicultura sostenible, explorando la suplementación alimenticia con harina de amaranto y cúrcuma en cuyes. El segundo capítulo se adentra en el ámbito social, analizando los Derechos Humanos desde la perspectiva de las poblaciones vulnerables. En el tercer capítulo, se introduce un enfoque innovador en ingeniería civil, utilizando polímeros reciclados para el diseño de revestimientos de cunetas. El cuarto capítulo examina el impacto económico de la facturación electrónica en el sector de imprentas, un avance tecnológico crucial en la era digital. Finalmente, el quinto capítulo explora la influencia del neuromarketing en la rentabilidad de las PYMES, uniendo la neurociencia y el marketing para optimizar las estrategias comerciales. Este libro es un testimonio de cómo la integración multidisciplinaria puede conducir a soluciones innovadoras y sostenibles.

Follow the Resource Link to read about “Our School District” (non-fictional), a small district that wanted to adopt NGSS-designed Science materials.

I was contacted in Spring 2018 to consult with Our School District. The district’s Science Specialist and I were both members of a regional science leadership network (LASER), and so we had previously shared with each other a number of science education interests, experiences, and problems-of-practice.

Vignette Presentation: two representations

The vignette's Outline Representation is a breakdown of how this PD program was engineered to provide an NGSS-designed science program and also transform several characteristics of Our School District’s science systems.

The vignette's Website Representation, Small SD Science PD, presents a chronological and organizational view of this vignette.

A few nuggets from this vignette:

bit.ly/OurSDSciCurrPrinc
The "Our SD Science Curriculum Principles" were co-developed with teachers to provide long/short-term guidance in developing science programs and systems.

bit.ly/OurSDsciencePD
The website platform supports science program continuity by archiving PD events, tools, and resources, making it easy to stay connected to where they’ve been, what they’re using, where they’re going.

The goal of this course is to illustrate the spectroscopy of small molecules in the gas phase: quantum mechanical effective Hamiltonian models for rotational, vibrational, and electronic structure; transition selection rules and relative intensities; diagnostic patterns and experimental methods for the assignment of non-textbook spectra; breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation (spectroscopic perturbations); the stationary phase approximation; nondegenerate and quasidegenerate perturbation theory (van Vleck transformation); qualitative molecular orbital theory (Walsh diagrams); the notation of atomic and molecular spectroscopy.

Since 1998, Software Carpentry has been teaching researchers the computing skills they need to get more done in less time and with less pain. Our volunteer instructors have run hundreds of events for more than 34,000 researchers since 2012. All of our lesson materials are freely reusable under the Creative Commons - Attribution license.

This class presents a detailed study of soil properties with emphasis on interpretation of field and laboratory test data and their use in soft-ground construction engineering. Topics to be covered include: consolidation and secondary compression; basic strength principles; stress-strain strength behavior of clays, emphasizing effects of sample disturbance, anisotropy, and strain rate; strength and compression of granular soils; and engineering properties of compacted soils. Some knowledge of field and laboratory testing is assumed for all students.

Are you interested in Solar Energy? Solar Resource Assessment and Economics explores the methods, economic criteria, and meteorological background for assessing the solar resource with respect to project development of solar energy conversion systems for stakeholders in a given locale. It provides students with an in-depth exploration of the physical qualities of the solar resource, estimation of the fractional contributions of irradiance to total demand, and economic assessment of the solar resource. The course utilizes real data sets and resources to provide students context for the drivers, frameworks, and requirements of solar energy evaluation.

An introduction to our solar system the planets, our Sun and Moon. To begin, students learn about the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They explore energy transfer concepts and use renewable solar energy for cooking. They see how engineers design tools, equipment and spacecraft to go where it is too far and too dangerous for humans. They explore the Earth's water cycle, and gravity as applied to orbiting bodies. They learn the steps of the design process as they create their own models of planetary rovers made of edible parts. Students conduct experiments to examine soil for signs of life, and explore orbit transfers. While studying about the International Space Station, they investigate the realities of living in space. Activities explore low gravity on human muscles, eating in microgravity, and satellite tracking. Finally, students learn about the context of our solar system the universe as they learn about the Hubble Space Telescope, celestial navigation and spectroscopy.

This is an introduction to the study of the solar system with emphasis on the latest spacecraft results. The subject covers basic principles rather than detailed mathematical and physical models. Topics include: an overview of the solar system, planetary orbits, rings, planetary formation, meteorites, asteroids, comets, planetary surfaces and cratering, planetary interiors, planetary atmospheres, and life in the solar system.

Solving Complex Problems provides an opportunity for entering freshmen to gain first-hand experience with working as part of a team to develop effective approaches to complex problems in Earth system science and engineering that do not have straightforward solutions. The subject includes training in a variety of skills, ranging from library research to Web Design.
Each year’s course explores a different problem in detail through the study of complimentary case histories and the development of creative solution strategies. Beginning in 2000 as an educational experiment sponsored by MIT’s Committee on the Undergraduate Program, and receiving major financial support from the Alex and Britt d’Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education, the subject is designed to enhance the first-semester freshman experience by helping students develop contexts for other subjects in the sciences and humanities, and by helping them to establish learning communities that include upperclassmen, faculty, MIT alumni, and professionals from many walks of life.
In Fall 2003, students from the Class of 2007 were challenged with “Mission 2007”:

To design the most “environmentally correct” strategy for oil exploration and extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); and
To perform a cost-benefit analysis in order to evaluate whether or not the hydrocarbon resources that might be extracted from beneath ANWR are worth the environmental damage that might result from the process.

Students are provided with an understanding of sound and light waves through a "sunken treasure" theme a continuous storyline throughout the lessons. In the first five lessons, students learn about sound, and in the rest of the lessons, they explore light concepts. To begin, students are introduced to the concepts of longitudinal and transverse waves. Then they learn about wavelength and amplitude in transverse waves. In the third lesson, students learn about sound through the introduction of frequency and how it applies to musical sounds. Next, they learn all about echolocation what it is and how engineers use it to "see" things in the dark or deep underwater. The last of the five sound lessons introduces acoustics; students learn how different materials reflect and absorb sound.

Edited by Caitlin Finlayson, Ph.D.

Word Count: 91292

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Introduces students to problem-solving and decision making using geospatial analysis techniques, applicable to a range of disciplines.

Geospatial perspectives and technologies play a major role in planning for and responding to emergencies. Geospatial tools - from aerial mapping techniques to data acquisition, are changing rapidly as is emergency management as the frequency and magnitude of crises and disasters are increasing.

A spatial database is the backbone of a successful organization or website that depends upon maintaining and using data pertinent to locations on Earth. In GEOG 868, Spatial Database Management, capabilities specific to Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are combined to teach students to create, maintain, and query spatial databases in both desktop and enterprise environments. Learn the basics of Standard Query Language (SQL) and database design/normalization, the specifics of managing spatial data in an open-source technologies context (Postgres/PostGIS) and in the context of the Esri geodatabase. Along the way, you will become familiar with spatial functions and versioning, the latter in a server environment hosted by Amazon Web Services.

The goals of this textbook are to help students acquire the technical skills of using software and managing a database, and develop research skills of collecting data, analyzing information and presenting results. We emphasize that the need to investigate the potential and practicality of GIS technologies in a typical planning setting and evaluate its possible applications. GIS may not be necessary (or useful) for every planning application, and we anticipate these readings to provide the necessary foundation for discerning its appropriate use. Therefore, this textbook attempts to facilitate spatial thinking focusing more on open-ended planning questions, which require judgment and exploration, while developing the analytical capacity for understanding a variety of local and regional planning challenges.
While this textbook provides the background for understanding the concepts in GIS as applicable to urban and regional planning, it is best when accompanied by a hands-on tutorial, which will enable readers to develop an in-depth understanding of the specific planning applications of GIS. Chapters in this text book are either composed by the editors using Creative Common materials, or linked to a book chapter scanned copy in the library reserve. In the end of each chapter, we also provided several discussion questions, together with contextual applications through some web links.

The course discusses several Geopgraphical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) tools relevant for analysis of (problems in and aspects of) water systems. Within the course, several applications are introduced. These applications include GIS tools to determine mapping of surface water systems (catchment delineation, reservoirs and canal systems). The RS tools include determination of evaporation and soil moisture patterns, and measurement of water levels in surface water systems. In exercises and lectures, different tools and applications are offered. For each application, assignments are given to allow students to acquire relevant skills. The course structure combines assignments and introductory lectures. Each week participants work on one assignment. These assignments are discussed in the next lecture and graded. Each week a new assignment is introduced, together with supporting materials (an article discussing the relevant application) and lectures (introducing theoretical issues). The study material of the course consists of a study guide, assignments, lecture material and articles. The final mark is the average of the grades of the individual assignments.

Short Description:
This supplementary first-year physics textbook explores the role of language, alongside figures and mathematical symbols, in solving physics problems. The aim of this textbook is to help students gain extended, practical awareness of the roles of language in solutions to a range of first-year physics problems. The learning is guided mainly by comparing how language is used in formal, written solutions and in students' problem-solving dialogues. With new awareness how and why language is used in these two central forms of university physics practice, students can more effectively communicate solutions and guide their development as physicists and users of scientific English. After introducing problem-solving strategies and foundational aspects of language, the textbook guides students in the three primary functions of language in solutions: to represent concepts and phenomena, organize messages to facilitate their interpretation, and evaluate knowledge claims. Learning is largely task-based, emerging from completing the textbook tasks and reviewing feedback. The textbook is recommended for use alongside first-year physics instruction in self-guided study or instructor-facilitated contexts such as physics tutorials and English for physics courses.

Long Description:
This textbook combines the perspectives of physics and language to help you solve first-year physics problems and communicate your problem-solving choices more consciously and effectively. From the view of physics, the units present physics problems linked to the set of physics concepts typically taught in first year, focusing on how students with various physics competencies solve problems in dialogue and report their solutions in writing. By exploring the various competencies involved in solving physics problems and illustrating these competencies in solutions produced by students with different strengths and weaknesses, this textbook aims to help you understand and develop your own competencies.

A language perspective on learning first-year physics

The perspective of language complements the learning in physics because language systems are a key resource for thinking through and solving physics word problems. Language use in specialized activities such as solving physics problems tends to form identifiable patterns, implying that some language choices are more effective than others. Working through this textbook, you will observe the systems of language choices available for solving physics problems and develop capacities to use language more mindfully and effectively in your physics work.

Physics knowledge is produced, exchanged, and assessed in two main forms in first year courses, in speech and writing. In each textbook unit, a problem is introduced that requires application of one or more focal physics concepts, exploring spoken and written solutions to this problem to help you improve the effectiveness of solutions in both forms. Each unit also focuses on a specific function or sub-function of language, such as how concepts are represented or how solutions are organized, which is explored by comparing the spoken and written modes of communicating physics.

Across the 14 units, the textbook describes and explains the functional scope of the English language in shaping valued physics knowledge. For example, we explore the use of particular functional structures of English that physicists typically use when a problem requires us to re-interpret the concrete, physical world in terms of abstract concepts, such as when modelling a running person (concrete) as a point mass (concept).

The language perspective helps us answer questions such as these: What are the functions of language in solving physics problems? How does language help us to shift perspectives between a problem’s dynamic, physical situation and the stable, theoretical concepts involved? What are the roles of visual figures and mathematical symbolism relative to language in solving physics problems? What language choices are involved in effectively solving a physics problem in group dialogue and writing? Can we distinguish between reporting and explaining our solution? If so, how? What does it mean for a solution to be effectively communicated?

The knowledge and experiences you build in this course about the role of language in physics will help you to meet your expectations for solving physics problems and those of your peers and instructors. This aim is achieved in combination with the increased awareness and development of your competencies in solving physics problems. The guiding aim of this textbook is for you to apply the knowledge and experiences you gain towards your personal and professional development according to your interests in physics and science.

The organization of the textbook

The roles of language in solving physics problems are explored in increasing detail across the textbook units. Unit 1 provides the foundational perspectives on physics and language. The focus for learning is on strategies for solving word problems and the units and scales of language use in communicating the solutions.

Units 2 to 14 focus on physics concepts typically covered in first year, from motion along a straight line to fluid dynamics. Each unit introduces a problem developed to apply the unit’s focal concept and explores with you the solutions to these in spoken and written forms. A second problem is then introduced in the unit as an opportunity to apply, assess, and reflect on what you’ve learned.

Ways to use the textbook

The focus of this textbook is on improving your use of language, problem-solving strategies, and physics concepts in solving problems. As such, this book is not intended to replace a physics first-year textbook. Rather, this textbook is designed to be used in combination with a standard first-year physics textbook or course, where the methods and concepts are covered in detail.

This textbook is designed for first-year Science or Applied Science programs, where it would be used in (1) the tutorial section of the physics course focusing on problem-solving competencies and communicating solutions or in (2) a linked content-and-language syllabus such as an English for First-Year Physics course. This textbook will also find good use in (3) advanced placement high-school science programs, (4) pre-sessional university preparation programs, and (5) refresher courses for first-year physics. The book was designed especially for multilingual students of physics; however, it is expected to interest any physics enthusiasts with an interest in explicit understanding and extended practice of the language of physics.

The course is designed to be used in self-guided learning, peer study groups, or instructor-led classes. Whatever approach you take, learning through this textbook happens through your active engagement with the tasks. The task-based design involves a cycle of pre-task preparation, task activity, and post-task checking of responses and reflection. The post-task checking of your responses is crucial as this is typically where the effectiveness of your task performance is explained, that is, where the teaching emerges in dialogue with your input.

This course also includes optional features for deeper engagement and community-building around the language of solving physics problems. Chief among these features is the sharing of physics problems and solutions produced by you, the textbook users. As a user of the online textbook, you are invited to submit your solutions to the collection and compare these in terms of language features against our analyses of how language is used across all submissions. Users are also encouraged to design and share unique problems that reflect their particular interests and curiosities within and beyond physics. As the collection grows, so will the analyses, opportunities for engagement, and the learning community.

Word Count: 6443

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