An experiment with a mechanical black box containing unknown masses is presented. The experiment involves the determination of these masses and their locations by performing some nondestructive tests. The setups are inexpensive and easy to fabricate. They are very useful to gain an understanding of some well-known principles of mechanics.
Thermal equilibrium is a basic concept in thermodynamics. In India, this concept is generally introduced at the first year of undergraduate education in physics and chemistry. In our earlier studies (Pathare and Pradhan 2011 Proc. episteme-4 Int. Conf. to Review Research on Science Technology and Mathematics Education pp 169-72) we found that students in India have a rather unsatisfactory understanding of thermal equilibrium. We have designed and developed a module of five activities, which are presented in succession to the students. These activities address the students' alternative conceptions that underlie their lack of understanding of thermal equilibrium and aim at enhancing their understanding of the concept.
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