Children's Science - Paper Circuit Cards

Making paper circuit cards is the perfect union of science, technology, art, and design. For that reason, this activity fits perfectly into any STEAM or STEM curriculum at school, for library events, or just for fun at home. Let kids unleash their creativity as they experiment with paper circuit art and create a unique card that really lights up

https://sciencekiddo.com/paper-circuit-cards/

Do Physics with a Minds On Emphasis

Who isn't a proponent of thinking deeply, reading carefully, and continuously reflecting upon the things that you know and believe? These three traits are foundational to success on our Minds On Physics program. Many teachers share reports with us every year about how their use of the Minds On Physics Internet Modules with their classes has improved understanding by promoting critical thinking, close reading, and mastery learning. And now with the program transformed from a web-based program demanding the Shockwave plug-in to an app-based program that will work on all devices, there's nothing stopping a student, a teacher, or a classroom from doing physics with a "Minds-on" emphasis.  We encourage all physics teachers to consider making it part of their plans. Learn more at ...

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/MOP-the-App

In Silico Flurries

In this blog post from the Scientific American website, authors Martin Krzywinski and Jake Lever detail the making of a snowflake. The authors explain how and why a snowflake grows on a hexagonal grid with six-fold radial symmetry. The article is filled with interesting factoids, a wealth of visuals, and even some computer code that can be downloaded and run. Enjoy at …

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/sa-visual/in-silico-flurries

Ten Reasons Why Failure is Important

Educator Sylvia Duckworth shares another gem of a Sketch Note with this appeal to embrace failure as a stepping stone towards success. It is an important lesson ... and a difficult one as well ... to learn. For children, for students, for budding scientists, learning to embrace failure as your teacher will make you more resilient, more daring, more humble, more empathetic, a better problem-solver, more commited to growth, and more successful. 

Enjoy other Sketch Notes like this one at Sylvia's Flickr site at ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/15664662@N02/

Charge and Charging Concept Builder

The Charge and Charging Concept Builder engages the learner in exploring the manner in which objects become electrostatically charged in terms of protons and electrons. There are 38 total questions that are organized into 16 different Question Groups and spread across three Activities. The three activities include Particle Count, Get Into the Flow, and Analyze This! Activity 1 - Particle Count challenges learners to compare the relative number of protons and electrons for neutral, positively-charged, and negatively-charged objects. In Activity 2 -Get Into the Flow, learners identify how objects beome charged positively or negatively and how they become neutral if previously charged. And in Activity 3 - Analyze This!, learners must apply what they have learned in the first two activities to analyze an electrostatic phenomenon. Question-specific help is provided for each of the 16 situations. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Static-Electricity/Charge-And-Charging

Helping Students Learn How to Learn

What’s the key to effective learning? One intriguing body of research suggests a rather riddle-like answer: It’s not just what you know. It’s what you know about what you know. This article from the MindShift website elaborates on the idea of how to help student reflect on their learning and so make them better learners. As it has been said "If you give a child a fish, they will eat for a day. But if you teach a child to fish, they will eat for a lifetime." The same goes for teaching a student how to learn. It's time to make lifetime learners out of our students. Enjoy the article at ...

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/10/07/smart-strategies-that-help-students-learn-how-to-learn/

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Momentum and Impusle at The Tutorial

One of the most visited pages at The Physics Classroom this week was the Momentum and Impulse Connection page found in the Momentum and Collisions chapter of The Physics Classroom Tutorial. This Tutorial page helps learners to understand the connection between the impulse an object experiences and the momentum change that results. Using graphics and numerous examples, this Tutorial explains how collisions are characterized by impulses that change the momentum of an object. The concept and mathematics are explained and elaborated upon. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/momentum/Lesson-1/Momentum-and-Impulse-Connection

2. Impulse and Force Concept Builder

The Case Studies: Impulse and Force Concept Builder is designed to help students gain comfort with the use of the impulse-momentum change theorem. The main outcomes is an understanding of how to use the theorem to analyze a collision to identify how the variables mass, time and velocity change affect the force experienced by an object. There are two difficulty levels in the Concept Builder - Master and Wizard. Question-specific help is provided for each question. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Momentum-and-Collisions/Impulse-and-Force

3. Roller Coaster Model at The Physics Interactives

One of this week's hottest simulations was the Roller Coaster Model. This Interactive allows a learner to study the interplay between forces, accelerations, velocities, and kinetic and potential energies for a roller coaster car. The track can be modified by lowering and raising strategic locations and by changing the amount of curvature of loops and hills. The simulation is accompanied by a classroom-ready exercise. It is an HTML5, mobile-friendly Interactive that suits itself as an ideal accompaniment to any classroom, but especially for the 1:1 classroom.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Work-and-Energy/Roller-Coaster-Model

15 Rules of Great Teaching

Hey Teachers! As the school term starts up, this is an opportune time to reflect on your teaching and consider ways that you can improve. We offer a link to Silvia Duckworth's Sketch Notes on the topic of 15 Rules of Great Teaching. Take a moment to reflect upon her ideas and consider adopting one or two or three of them as areas of focus and professional development. Enjoy at ...

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/12-rules-of-great-teaching/

Get Your Students Reasoning Scientifically

It is generally safe to assume that Physics teachers seek to open up the world of physics to their students. But as science teachers, it is also the hope of a physics teacher to train their students how to reason scientifically. Scientific reasoning includes a variety of traits that pertain to the ability to understand the scientific process, to interpret scientific findings, to analyze scientific data and suggest appropriate conclusions, etc. The Physics Classroom has provided an entire section to help teachers guide students towards becoming more adept at reasoning scientifically. If you are a science teacher, then you will love our Science Reasoning Center. It includes a variety of reading passages that thoroughly address the various components of scientific reasoning. If you are not a science teacher, perhaps you can recommend our Science Reasoning Center to someone who is. Enjoy at ...

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/reasoning

Light Bulb Anatomy

In the Light Bulb Anatomy Concept Builder, learners explore the manner in which a light bulb is wired and how to configure the bulbs within a circuit in order to produce an intended result. There are 48 total questions that are organized into 18 different Question Groups and spread across three Activities. The three activities include Which Bulb Will Light?, Pathways, and Wire It Up. Activity 1 - Which Bulb Will Light? challenges learners to identify which configurations of a cell, a bulb and a wire will result in a lit bulb. In Activity 2 - Pathways, learners inspect the arrangement of two bulbs and two wires and determine the path of charge through the bulbs and wires and identify which of the two bulbs (if any) will light. And in Activity 3 - Wire It Up, learners make decisions about where to attach a connecting wire in order to get a specified bulb or set of bulbs to light. Question-specific help is provided for each of the 18 situations. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Circuits/Light-Bulb-Anatomy

Teacher Toolkits

At The Physics Classroom, our tagline is "Serving Students, Teachers, and Classrooms." We get no greater joy than knowing that we are making the learning and the teaching of students and teachers a bit easier, a bit deeper, and bit better. One way that we've been serving teachers is through the use of our Teacher Toolkits. Teacher Toolkits provide teachers with a collection of resources that are ideal for planning standards-based, multimedia lessons and units. We've combed the web and selected some of the best, most professional simulations, videos, and other tools that complement the resources present at The Physics Classroom. Our hope is that teachers who use The Physics Classroom with their classes will find a Toolkit to be a convenient tool for planning engaging lessons and units. Each resource on every Toolkit is organized into a category (simulation, video and animations, problems, etc.) and annotated. We've also taken the time to identify NGSS Standards that coordinate with the resources found in our Toolkits. 

If you've not tried a Toolkit lately, why not try one today at ... 

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Teacher-Toolkits

Not a teacher? Then please share our post with someone who is. They may be forever thankful to you.

Studying with Quizzes Helps Make Sure the Material Sticks

“The actual act of retrieving the information over and over, that’s what makes it retrievable when you need it.”

Roddy Roediger is a professor and researcher of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. His energies have been focused on learning how information is remembered and how various memory strategies work. His nearly four decades of research are summarized in this article from the MindShift website.

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/10/16/studying-with-quizzes-helps-make-sure-the-material-sticks/

For the Physics teachers and students who are tuning in today, we would like to mention to tools that The Physics Classroom offers that reflect several of the strategies that Roedinger has discovered. 

The Review Session consists of a series of reviews on common physics topics. Each review consists of 30-80 questions of varied type and difficulty level. The answer and an explanation or solution is provided for each question.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/reviews

Minds On Physics is an interactive questioning and quizzing program that consists of a collection of assignments or missions that cover a discrete concept. Immediate feedback is given and links to tutorial information specific to the question are provided. The program is available as both a browser version and an app version.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/MOP-the-App

Why NFL Helmets Will Never be Concussion-Proof

Published nearly a year ago, this article by Mark Wilson delivers a hard blow to the National Football League's hope of combatting concussions by building better helmets. Relying on solid physics principles and interviews with the world's best minds on helmet design, Wilson suggests that "if the NFL wants concussion-free football, they’ll need to redesign football." As one physicist put it, the easiest way to stop concussions is to equip the helmet with a 15-inch thick piece of foam that surrounds the skull. Unfortunately, the impact of a wider reciever with a safety trusts in 1.5 inches of foam to decelerate a player's head gently enough to prevent the brain from bouncing around inside the player's skull. Given that no player is going to surround their skull with a 15-inch thick piece of foam, Wilson concludes that a concussion-proof helmet is a pipe dream. 

Learn more about Wilson's research at ...

https://www.fastcodesign.com/1671752/why-nfl-helmets-will-never-be-concussion-proof

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1. Momentum Conservation Principle Work at The Tutorial

One of our top Tutorial pages this week was our page on the Momentum Conservation Principle. This is a second page of a six-page lesson focusing on how to understand and analyze a collision or an explosion. The page begins with a logical presentation of the basis for the law of momentum conservation. It then explains the meaning of momentum conservation using an analogy with money conservation in a financial transaction. The two characteristics of momentum conservation are clearly described: the momentum change of one object is equal and opposite to that of a second object and the total system momentum is the same before and after the collision or explosion. The page combines graphics, tables of numerical data, examples, videos and a Check Your Understanding section to bring learners to a clear understanding of what momentum conservation involves.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/momentum/Lesson-2/Momentum-Conservation-Principle

2. Momentum and Impulse Concept Builder

The Being Impulsive About Momentum Change Concept Builder is designed to help students build an understanding of the impulse-momentum change theorem. The main outcomes are an understanding of how an impulse changes the momentum of an object from an initial state to a final state. There are three difficulty levels in the Concept Builder - Apprentice, Master, and Wizard. Question-specific help is provided for each question. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Momentum-and-Collisions/Impulse-Momentum-Change

3. Egg Drop Simulation at The Physics Interactives

The Egg Drop Interactive provides a virtual egg drop activity. Learners can vary the mass of the egg that is dropped, the height from which it is dropped, and the surface onto which it is dropped. The egg drop is simulated and the result is displayed. The impulse-momentum change theorem is used to show how the force is calculated from the egg drop parameters that are selected. The Interactive provides a eggcellent demonstration of how alterations in one variable affect another variable.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Momentum-and-Collisions/Egg-Drop

Children's Science - An Awesome Static Electricity Demonstration

Make cornstarch jump with the power of static electricity!  Kids will love this fun science demonstration! This static electricity demonstration is simple to do, and you probably have the supplies on hand. View directions, photos, and suggestions at ...

https://frugalfun4boys.com/jumping-goop-static-electricity-demonstration/

Triboelectric Charging Concept Builder

The Triboelectric Charging Concept Builder engages the learner in an investigation of what happens when two objects are rubbed together. The connection between the relative affinity for electrons of two or more materials and the charge that they acquire when rubbed with one another is explored. There are 33 total questions that are organized into 16 different Question Groups and spread across three Activities. The three activities include What's the Charge?, Triboelectric Series, and Rank the Materials. Activity 1 - What's the Charge? challenges learners to predict the type of charge two materials would acquire when rubbed together. In Activity 2 -Triboelectric Series, learners use observations about what happens when an unknown material is rubbed with two or three known materials in order to place the unknown material in the proper area of a triboelectric series. And in Activity 3 - Rank the Materials, learners use observations of charge acquired by three or four materials when rubbed together in order to rank the materials on a triboelectric series. Question-specific help is provided for each of the 16 situations. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Static-Electricity/Triboelectric-Charging

Four Great Static Electricity Interactives

Whether you're a teacher or a learner, these four simulations will help bring understanding and visualization of physics concepts.

Aluminum Can Polarization

The Aluminum Can Polarization Interactive allows learners to visualize the underlying cause for the attraction between a charged and an uncharged object. The uncharged object is an aluminum can at rest on a level surface. The charged object is either a glass rod or a rubber rod. The charged object can be brought near to the uncharged object and the resulting interaction is clearly observed. But more importantly, the response of electrons within the aluminum can is depicted in the animation.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Aluminum-Can-Polarization

Charging

The Charging Interactive allows users to explore charge interactions, the charging of objects by conduction and induction, and the grounding of objects. The Interactive is accompanied by a challenging game as a follow-up activity to the learning experience.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Charging

Name That Charge

The Name That Charge Interactive is a skill building exercise that provides the learner with an interactive self-assessment of electrostatic charging methods. The Interactive presents seven different situations, provides animations of each situation, and asks the learner to identify the type of charge present on the objects as the result of the charging process. 

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Name-That-Charge

Coulomb's Law

The Coulomb/s Law Interactive allows learners to explore the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged objects. The quantity of charge on the objects can be varied by dragging a slider. And the objects can be dragged closer together or further apart. The distance between objects can be measured using a built-in measuring tool.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Coulomb-s-Law

Have You Tried a Concept Builder Lately?

The newest and most exciting section of our website is the Concept Builders section. If you have never tried a Concept Builder, you might be asking “What is a Concept Builder?” A Concept Builder is an interactive learning activity that targets student understanding of a discrete concept. Each Concept Builder presents learners with carefully crafted questions that target various aspects of the concept. There are typically multiple levels of difficulty or multiple activities. And there is an effort to track learner progress at each level or in each activity. Questions are presented in a random order from a bank of several questions. In most cases, when a student misses a question, they will have to answer the same or similar question twice before considered to have exhibited proficiency with that question. Question-specific help is provided for the struggling learner; such help consists of short explanations of how to approach the situation and a statement of the fundamental concept that the question addresses. The essence of a Concept Builder is the blending of carefully-crafted questions pertaining to a discrete learning goal with immediate feedback, question-specific help that seeks to remediate naive and ill-adopted student conceptions, and an emphasis on mastering a concept at multiple levels. That's what we think of when we think of a Concept Builder. But we encourage you to try a few yourselves and tell us what you think.

Version 2 - Coming Very Soon

And coming very soon, there will be a Version 2 update to all our Concept Builders. This update will provide teachers the ability to create accounts, add classes, and easily add students to those classes. Once classes and students are set up, teachers will have the ability to create assignments with due dates, point values, bonus options, and due date extension penalties. Students will be able to view the assignments and the due dates and complete work within class or out of class and have their results saved on our Physics Classroom servers. Teachers will be able to view reports and export grades for entry into their gradebooks. Version 2 will be tested this month. If all looks good, we will post directions on our website about how teachers can upgrade to Version 2 and participate in the trial. Participation will be free of charge until July 31. This affords teachers an opportunity to preview Version 2 during the Spring term and evaluate whether or not they wish to purchase an account for following school year at a cost of $50 for up to 50 students and $1/student for any students above 50. If you are a teacher, be on the lookout for Version 2 later this month.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders

So You Wanna Get Into Physics. Here Are Three Tips and Tricks

For many teachers and students, it is or soon will be the start of a new semester of physics labs. That means it is also a good chance to reset the dial, stand back and reflect, or charge forward with a new vision as to how to make this semester of lab work count. Of course, no one is really 100 percent ready to start these labs—but that's OK. In this article from the WIRED blog, Physics prefessor Rhett Allain discusses three ideas that students need to work on to be successful in lab. Read Dr. Allain's insights at ...

https://www.wired.com/2017/01/wanna-get-physics-3-tips-tricks/

The Science of Review

There's one thing you can count on in schools: if students are going to put effort into their course, they are certainly going to do it when an exam is on a horizon. For many American high schools, the exam happens this week, next week, or last week. The fear is always: will my effort count? Will I get a return on my investment? 

Today we share a post from The Guardian blog that highlights research done on effective and ineffective methods of reviewing. The article briefly discusses nine research-based tips for preparing for an exam. Whether that preparation is happening this week or four months from now, the wisdom is useful and worth the read. Enjoy at …

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/apr/19/students-revise-exams-revision-science

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Definition and Mathematics of Work at The Tutorial

A very popular page at The Physics Classroom Tutorial was the page titled Definition and Mathematics of Work. The page lays the foundation for understanding mechanical work and its connection to energy. The page combines informative text written in an everyday style, graphics, widgets, a quick quiz and more. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/energy/Lesson-1/Definition-and-Mathematics-of-Work

2. Momentum Concept Builder

The Momentum Concept Builder is designed to help students build an understanding of momentum. The main outcomes are an understanding of the dependence of momentum on mass and velocity and the vector nature of momentum. There are three activities in the Concept Builder - What's Happening With Momentum?, Momentum Ranking Tasks, and Getting Direction on Momentum. Question-specific help is provided for each question. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Momentum-and-Collisions/Momentum

3. Uniform Circular Motion at The Physics Interactives

One of this week's top Interactive was the Uniform Circular Motion Interactive. This Interactive is part of our Circular and Satellite Motion collection. The Interactive allows learners to explore the concepts and mathematics associated with objects moving in circles at a constant speed. The Interactive has controls for modifying the object mass and speed and the radius of the circle. The acceleration and net force are reported on a digital display. Velocity and acceleration vectors can be toggled on an off. The Interactive is accompanied by an activity sheet that can be used by teachers with their classes. The Interactive works well on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on most mobile devices. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Circular-and-Satellite-Motion/Uniform-Circular-Motion

Slowing Down to Learn

Learning takes effort. Sometimes with some subjects for some people, learning takes much effort.  As teachers, any small tip that gives us an edge is greatly appreciated. In this article from the MindShift website, author Patricia Jennings describes the value of a silent pause for increasing engagement within the classroom. Learn why, when, and how to increase the value of slowing down and pausing. Enjoy at ...

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/02/17/slowing-down-to-learn-mindful-pauses-that-can-help-student-engagement/

The Race Track Interactive

OK – we’ll admit to having lots of “favorites” … and this is definitely one of them – the Race Track Interactive. Mix a little learning with a little gamification and with a little circular motion and Newton’s Laws and you end up with … this Interactive. It’s hard for students to stop and just as hard for teachers to stop playing it. Use force buttons and an understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion to guide a race car around an oval race track in the least number of moves. Compete with your friends or just try it one more time to see if you can beat your low score. But whatever you do – watch your speed because it might take more than one turn to slow your car down to a safe turning speed. Enjoy at …

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Circular-and-Satellite-Motion/Race-Track

The Review Session

For many US schools, the end of a school term is approaching and student stress is rising as exams loom in the near future. Why not be proactive about final exam preparation? We can help! Consider the use of our Review Session. The Review Session features numerous reviews on typical units like Kinematics, Vectors and Projectiles, Electric Circuits, and many more. Each review consists of a wide collection of questions of varying types. For instance, you will find Multiple Choice, True-False, Multiple Select, Diagramming, Short Computations, longer Problem-Solving questions on any given review. Every question is accompanied by an answer with a relatively thorough explanation or solution. Finally, for every question, there is a link to a Tutorial page that addresses the concept that the question targets. What more could you ask for? ... besides an A-mark on the exam. 

Wait no longer and visit the Review Session today at ...

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/The-Review-Session