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Expert TA Blog

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Science

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What Your Students Should Know About Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday was a 19th century British scientist that made major contributions in the area of chemistry and physics. The son of a blacksmith, Faraday had limited education, working as a bookbinder’s apprentice, but had a keen interest in the natural sciences. This interest was given clear direction after attending a lecture on electrochemistry by Humphry Davy of the Royal Institute. After the lecture, Faraday asked Davy for a job, which he was later granted. It was in this position that Faraday conducted his most famous experiments.

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Solar Panel Technology In The Physics Classroom

There are a number of physics topics that relate directly to the core principles underlying the development of solar panels. With growing interest in the field of renewable energy, this may be a good opportunity to introduce your students to real-world applications of principles covered in class. We put together a basic overview of the technology, and included some additional resources, lesson plans, and even a list of degree programs for students interested in pursuing a career in renewable energy.

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10 Ideas For Physics Demonstrations To Use In Your Classroom

If done appropriately, in-class physics demonstrations can be a great way to engage students and exhibit key concepts. Dr. Adam Beehler, Lecture Demonstration Specialist at the University of Utah shares a few of his favorites in the list below. Many of these examples are simple to implement in any classroom, though if resources are a concern, utilizing a video of the demonstration may be an effective alternative.

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How Are Buildings Made Earthquake-Proof?

We’re excited to kick off a new series in which we will highlight a variety of interesting topics related to Physics and Engineering. If you’re like us, you love science, and if you’re teaching Physics you’re probably curious about the world around you. We hope you enjoy the first in our Explore Science series - What it Takes to Make a Building Earthquake-Proof.

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Six Science Podcasts Worth A Listen

There are many great science podcasts, and lots of intriguing episodes out there to explore. In this post we do not intend to offer a comprehensive review of them all, but rather a recommendation of a few of our favorites. From the ethereal narratives of Radiolab, to the cutting edge research of the Physics World, we can’t get enough science, and these six podcasts are topping our list right now. Let us know what you’re listening to in the comment section below.

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A Guide to In-Class Physics Demonstrations

Classroom demonstrations can be a great way to get students excited about what you want them to learn, and in-class physics demonstrations can be easier than you realize. If you are not doing any in-class demonstrations, then you are doing too few. Here are some thoughts about getting started with demonstrations that are both affordable and effective.

  1. Wow them! If you want to get students’ attention, show them something they aren’t expecting. Who doesn’t love a good trick by David Blaine or David Copperfield? There are plenty of physics experiments where the outcome is counterintuitive. When students guess one outcome and see another, not only does it grab their attention, but it also sparks interest in finding out why things behaved differently than they expected.
  2. Classic examples of Counterintuitive Demonstrations: The two-part spool experiment is one that any instructor can do in class with minimal cost and minimal setup. All you need is a basic spool with rope or yarn on it. You can get a spool and rope at a home improvement store like Home Depot or a craft store like Michaels. It is important that the spool have an inner diameter that the rope is wrapped around. Simply put the spool on a tabletop, and ask the students which way the spool will roll when the rope is pulled horizontally. You can do this with the rope coming over the top of the spool and underneath the spool. The result will surprise some students. Here is a link to a video that shows this demonstration.

  3. Sometimes a video can do the job. There are some nice experiments out there that involve set-ups that are either too complicated or too dangerous to do in the classroom. Dropping a tennis ball onto a basketball allows for the tennis ball to bounce back to a height much higher than its starting position (see a video here). You could probably do this demonstration in your class. However, if you want to include a golf ball, which goes to a height of about 27 feet when dropped from 3 feet, the demonstration probably becomes unsafe. If the golf ball rotates and is launched at an angle, rather than straight up, it could be directed at a student and cause injury. You can still get a reaction from your students when you show them the video. Ask them how high they think the top ball will reach and show them the video. If you really want to integrate the demo, go through all of the calculations together or get them started, and make it a group project.

  4. Bullet block demonstration: For obvious reasons, it’s not possible to shoot bullets into wooden blocks in your classroom. This video demonstration shows a wooden block that flies into the air when hit in the center with a bullet. The demonstration will challenge your students with this question: When a block is shot off-center, will it fly higher, not as high, or the same height as the block that’s shot in the center? Again, the answer will surprise many. See the video here.

Physics is tied to the real world as proven by these classroom demonstrations. Showing your students interesting and particularly counterintuitive demonstrations will motivate many of them to want to investigate further.
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The AP Physics Exam's Shift Toward Symbolic Problem Solving

In 2015, the AP Physics Exam experienced significant changes. AP Physics B was split into two exams and two courses: AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2. In addition, the amended approach emphasizes the processes of scientific inquiry and reasoning, experimental design and working symbolically. As shared in a previous Expert TA blog, the number of students who took the AP Physics exam doubled in 2015, but the percentage of students who scored a 3 or higher (and therefore received college credit) declined from 59.7% in 2014 to 39.2% in 2015. Examination of score distribution data from the College Board shows that the number one reason for the decline in passing scores in 2015 was lack of sufficient preparation for the free response questions.

Students are not getting enough practice with solving problems symbolically, which is a big part of the exam. In the free response section, test takers are asked to show all their work, and as stated in the course and exam description from The College Board, even correct answers may not receive full credit if supporting information is insufficient. This supporting information almost always includes fundamental symbolic relationships and equations. Preparation Material for the exams should not just require students to regularly deal with symbolic expressions, but should also continually reinforce the problem solving process. This gives students the opportunity to think about why a given equation is important within the context of a specific problem.

We believe that many homework platforms are not properly preparing students for exam day, because they simply ask a student to provide a final numeric value. However, to fully understand the material, and do well on the AP Physics exams, it’s important to know and show the process of arriving at the final answer. Based on our research, we see strong evidence that reinforcing the problem-solving process can have a significant impact on exam results for Physics students in college-level courses.

Our development of the Expert TA Online AP Physics I Study Guide is an effort to help AP Physics students receive the same practice that has guided students through rigorous Introductory Physics courses at the college level. In an effort to provide students with much needed practice, specifically using symbolic problem solving, we worked with AP Physics teachers to build modules for each of the key areas of the exam using our best symbolic problems. Additionally, Expert TA is not just for exam preparation, many high school teachers use Expert TA to assign homework in their courses. AP Physics teachers have the option to create weekly homework, quizzes, or tests, and allow their students to engage in guided practice through the study guide.  


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Shining a Light on OpenStax

Our goal at Expert TA is to improve the learning experience for both educators and students. Whenever we have a chance to associate with someone working toward the same end, we are delighted. And with that in mind, we want to shine a light on a partner with whom we feel so grateful to work. You probably have heard of Rice University-based OpenStax — a nonprofit that is revolutionizing the education world by offering free, peer-reviewed textbooks to students in a variety of subjects.

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Studying for the AP Physics Exam: A New Approach for Students

You probably already know that the AP Physics exam recently underwent dramatic and fundamental changes. And students still studying for the old style of exam suffered. In fact, the College Board reported that more than 60 percent of those taking the Physics I exam in May 2015 did not receive a score high enough to earn college credit—up from 40 percent in 2014.

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