Promoting physics supporting physicists Son of New Ideas

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Son of New Ideas? A workshop from the Institute of Physics Teachers Network Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Celestia Target: Any A virtual chunk of the Galaxy. Free to download. Really needs a good computer to do the software justice. You have to see this to appreciate how good it is. Equipment and suppliers: Download it from http: //www. shatters. net/ celestia/ Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 2

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Fun with Snakes and Latex 14 - 16 Equipment and suppliers: Try your local fishing tackle shop or • Fishing elastic. Stretches a long way. Available in bright colours. Very stretchy stuff, ~ £ 2 for 6 m. • Bored with stretching springs and rubber bands? Then why not try frogs and snakes instead? http: //www. tackleshop. co. uk/ and Hawkins Bazaar for the snakes Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 3

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Vidshell Target: 14 -18 Equipment and suppliers: A free piece of motion analysis software that comes with video clips. It lets you measure and draw all sorts of things on the screen. Download it free from: http: //webphysics. t ec. nh. us/vidshell/v idshell. html Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 4

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Water sprinklers Title: Target: 11 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Try your local garden centre for sprinklers. See if the height of the reservoir changes the distance that the water shoots out from the sprinkler. Use hands to detect the water. If the sprinkler turns faster does the reservoir empty sooner? Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 5

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Power tools Target: Any Equipment and suppliers: Use a cheap drill with a bent nail in the chuck and a fishing swivel and some rope to show standing waves! Cheap drills and rope from DIY shops, swivels and pole elastic from fishing shops Leaf blowers also have many uses! Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 6

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Light sticks Target: 11 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Keep your eyes open at fairs and markets, a similar device is available from Arbor Scientific. Covers: • RGB and white light • Colour addition • Sets a limit for the response time of the cones in the eye Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 7

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Three Bones in your Ear 11 -13 Equipment and suppliers: You’ll need a boom box and a copy of ‘Three Lions’ by Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds. Listen to this, listen to this, hey listen, this is how you hear Our Physics Teacher wrote this song so that we could sing along then we’d know blow by blow what’s happening when the air oscillates and your ear drum vibrates and that stimulates your hearing organ three bones in your ear hammer, anvil, stirrup then your cochlea whose hair like cells deliver… Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 8

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Sound bug Target: Any Equipment and suppliers: www. gadget. co. uk £ 24. 99 and lots of other places, you also need a sound source with a 3. 5 mm jack socket Turn any surface into a loudspeaker! Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 9

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Popcorn! Target: 16 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Popcorn, oil, gas supply, ICT with sound recording facility, metre rules, tin lids, safety glasses. Measure the force exerted by a piece of popcorn as it pops! A great way to liven up a 6 th form lesson. Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 10

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Salt water Target: 14 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Salt, water, foil, trays, ammeters, cells Investigating the factors that affect the current passing through salt water. • Area of plates • Distance apart of plates • Salt solution concentration • Size of obstruction • Temperature • Potential difference Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 11

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Electroluminescent sheet 14 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Available from www. mindsetsonline. co. uk (formerly mutr. co. uk) Sig. Gen. , transformer, electroluminescent sheet. Floppy plastic sheet that gives out light when connected to an alternating current. Brightness changes with frequency and the sheet appears to behave just like a parallel plate capacitor. Can be bent or cut. Comes in a variety of colours. Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 12

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Eclipsing binaries Title: Target: 16 -18 Equipment and suppliers: LDR, ICT, multimeter, darkness Use a simple piece of software like MS Word to simulate eclipsing binary stars. You can change the separation, size, colour and edge effects. This website also has a good applet http: //instruct 1. cit. cornell. edu/cou rses/astro 101/java/eclipse/eclips e. htm Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 13

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Film canister torches 11(or less) -13 Equipment and suppliers: Camera pots can be obtained from your local photo developer, use flat cells and red LED’s are cheapest This is a really simple torch and easy to make and the cells last for ages, even when they’re old ones. Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 14

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Cake cup loudspeakers 14 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Cake cups (muffin ones are bigger), thin enamelled wire, magnet, glue or tape, compass’s, crocodile clips, scissors and a sound system with an output. • Cut a hole in the cover of an exercise book slightly small than the size of the cake cup. • Fasten cake cup over hole with glue or tape. • Make coil of wire and attach to cake cup. • Attach electrical input to coil • Bring up a magnet • Listen! Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 15

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Terminal block kit Title: Target: 11 -16 Screw your circuits together – cheap and robust! Equipment and suppliers: Terminal block and components from Rapid Electronics, RS etc Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 16

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Thermochromic sheet Any Equipment and suppliers: Available from www. mindsetsonline. co. uk (formerly mutr. co. uk) See also www. sep. org. uk for detailed resources • Explain the seasons • Find infra red transmitting materials • Test conductors and insulators Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 17

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Wave changer Target: Any Equipment and suppliers: Marker pen, stick, wallpaper or A 3 sheets taped together, old wire reel, clamp stand Sound is a longitudinal wave so why do we show images of transverse waves and say they’re sound? Show pupils how longitudinal waves are represented by transverse waves with this simple gadget. Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 18

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Target: Curved Light 14 -18 • A tank filled with salt water of varying density and hence refractive index. The light travels in a curved path. • We pretend we have purchased this small black hole and this is why the light bends. It’s also useful for GCSE to explain how the earthquake waves change direction. Equipment and suppliers: Transparent tank, laser, salt, funnel, pipe, water (hot and cold) Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 19

Promoting physics, supporting physicists Title: Eggs Target: 14 -18 Equipment and suppliers: Eggs supplied by chickens! Half a dozen from local supermarket. Using crème eggs is less messy! A variation on the bucket of water trick. Use a tray for boiling eggs and a length of rope. Make sure the folding handle is securely in place. Whirl round in circular fashion without breakages - but stopping is the difficult bit! Son of New Ideas? Io. P Teachers Network 20