This paper presents an experimental activity based on the absorption of light colours by pigments. The activity is constructed using a stepwise design and offers an opportunity for students and teachers to compare and generalize the interactions between light and pigment colours. The light colours composing an artificial rainbow produced in the classroom are subtracted using a set-up of refractive solutions containing pigments. Symbolic, diagrammatic and realistic representations are provided to explain and compare the findings from seven steps in the activity.
A rainbow reveals the colors of sunlight in a breathtaking way, but the formation of this natural event cannot be controlled by human beings. Transforming this out-of-class experience into a teaching activity is a challenge for science educators. This paper outlines two activities for rainbow formation in the science classroom in cases of good sunlight availability and artificial light.
Rotational motion is ubiquitous in nature, from astronomical systems to household devices in everyday life to elementary models of atoms. Unlike the tangential velocity vector that represents the instantaneous linear velocity (magnitude and direction), an angular velocity vector is conceptually more challenging for students to grasp. In physics classrooms, the direction of an angular velocity vector is taught by the right-hand rule, a mnemonic tool intended to aid memory. A setup constructed for instructional purposes may provide students with a more easily understood and concrete method to observe the direction of the angular velocity. This article attempts to demonstrate the angular velocity vector using the observable motion of a screw mounted to a remotely operated toy car.
In this study, university students’ experiences with conventional and novel applications for the surfaces of biconvex and biconcave lenses were examined. This work used practical tools to depict refraction and reflection processes that occur on lens surfaces. In the main activity, the surfaces of each lens were used by the students to examine a single image created by refracted light rays and then two images created by reflected light rays. When the students compared the properties of virtual and real images, they discovered that viewing both real and virtual images at the same time is more beneficial and simulating than viewing each image type separately.
In this study, an easy and enjoyable activity to determine the type of electric charge is presented, using a readymade electronic test screw. A four-way usage of the tester is explained with an electroscope. In the activity, ebonite and glass rods are negatively and positively charged by rubbing with paper sheets, respectively.
This experimental activity aims to visualize the variations in the tension force on a rope with a mass attached to it in horizontal and vertical circular motion. The results facilitate comprehension of the effect of the direction of the radial force in changing the magnitude of the tension force.
Sky appears to our students as a vast volume surrounding the Earth. The most striking astronomical events that they can witness in the sky are lunar phases and eclipses. However, eclipses do not occur as often as full and new phases of the Moon. This difference is due to the fact that the orbital planes of the Moon and the Earth do not overlap. The purpose of this study is to describe and actualize a method to estimate the value of the inclination angle of the orbital plane of the Moon to the ecliptic plane. Essential steps of the estimation method and a geometrical construct are given to assist the visualization and calculation of the inclination angle. Measurements required for such an estimate are the arc lengths of the lunar and solar directions from the zenith direction of an observer. The estimation method was actualized at the full Moon date that occurred about three months after the full lunar eclipse in 2015. This study also provides students with the chance to realize the existence of orbital planes in the sky.
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