American Association of Physics Teachers
Chesapeake Section

Friday, April 19
4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Scribble, scribble, scribble.
Ronald Lane Reese,Washington and Lee University, reeser@wlu.edu

You are invited to participate in this workshop to meet the author and discuss his introductory textbook. Included will be: what motivated the book, what is new and different about it, and what is involved in writing such a book. Come discuss your ideas about how to improve textbooks. Participants will each receive a copy of University Physics with the compliments of Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Saturday, April 20

Astrobiology and Its Place in Astronomy Education
Harold Geller, George Mason University, hgeller@physics.gmu.edu
co-authors: Michael Summers, John Evans, George Taylor, and John Wallin, George Mason University

Astrobiology can be defined as the study of the origins, development, distribution and search for life in the universe. A unique vehicle for teaching the integrated nature of the sciences. We examine the feasibility of developing a full year (two semester) integrated science course in astrobiology for non-science majors. We present experiences teaching two one-semester astrobiology courses. One part of the General Education Honors Program, the other a physics special topics course. We address lecture and lab materials developed, and how they might be adapted. Non-science majors will learn that knowledge of all science disciplines is critical to understand the origins of life on Earth and its relationships to the universe. Astrobiology courses may be used as non-science major courses, preserving introductory astronomy for science majors. Keeping first-year science courses for the science majors may help prevent the loss of the non-science majors during the semester.

An Honors Course in Structural Engineering
Deonna Woolard, Randolph-Macon College, dwoolard@rmc.edu

The Randolph-Macon College Honors Program is an opportunity for faculty members to offer a stimulating and unique intellectual experience to students in a small classroom setting. This semester I have been actively conducting an Honors Course entitled, "Science of Structures." The objective of this course is to provide a conceptual understanding of mechanical engineering and environmental forces on structures. The layout of the course is three-fold - materials and why structures stand up, flaw detection and the impact of flaws on structural integrity, and why structures fall down. The challenges of creating and implementing this course are numerous. This talk will focus on some of these obstacles and the creative measures that are being undertaken to make this class operate successfully.

Teaching an Environmental Issues Course in Discussion Format
Robert Ehrlich,George Mason University, rehrlich@gmu.edu

In the Spring 2002 semester I team-taught an environmental issues course with a colleague in biology. My half of the course covered the issue of climate change, and it was conducted entirely in discussion format based on readings from a wide variety of perspectives. The benefits and problems of conducting a course in this manner will be discussed.

Physics First in the "First State"
Mary Ann Wells, University of Delaware, mawells@udel.edu
co-author: Barbara Duch, University of Delaware

The Delaware Science Coalition (a group of science education stakeholders from business and industry, higher education, school districts, and the Department of Education) has developed a Physics First unit for ninth-graders in the state of Delaware. Curricular materials were drawn from Active Physics, CPU (Constructing Physics Understanding), and Thrill Ride. An overview of the unit will be presented along with observations from the 2000-01 professional development program and classroom pilot.

Conceptual Understanding and Problem-Solving Scores in an AP Physics C Course
Robert Morse, St. Albans School, robert_morse@cathedral.org

There is continuing concern among some physics teachers that emphasis on conceptual understanding, as measured by the Force Concept Inventory and other such tests, must come at the cost of diminished success in traditional problem solving as measured by tests such as the AP Physics C test. Relatively little data has been presented on AP Physics performance. The author will consider this concern and present relevant test data from his own AP Physics C class.

A Survey with Chandra and HST of X-Ray Jets in Active Galactic Nuclei
Jessica Gambill, George Mason University, jessica@physics.gmu.edu
co-author: Rita Sambruna (advisor), George Mason University

How relativistic jets form and evolve in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is of fundamental astrophysical importance to ultimately understand the physical processes near the central black hole, whereby energy is extracted and channeled into highly collimated structures. Essential constraints on the physical parameters of the jet plasma are provided by multiwavelength observations. We recently carried out a survey of a sample of 16 radio jets at X-ray and optical wavelengths using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Our survey discovered many new X-ray and optical jets, and established that the X-rays are energetically very important to understand these structures as a large fraction of their total luminosity is emitted at high energies. Modelling the morphologies and spectral energy distributions of the jets, we find that the most plausible interpretation of their X-ray emission is inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background photons, and we derive the physical parameters of the jets. We will also present the X-ray spectra of the cores of the quasars and discuss the implications for accretion models.

Women in Physics, 2001
Rachel Ivie, American Institute of Physics, rivie@aip.org
co-author: Katie Stowe, American Institute of Physics

During the 1990s, the numbers of U.S. women taking high school physics and earning physics degrees steadily increased. Nevertheless, women still earn relatively small percentages of the physics degrees awarded in the U.S., even at a time when women earn more than half of all U.S. bachelor's degrees. For example, in 1998, women earned less than one-fifth of bachelor's degrees in physics and only one-eighth of Ph.D.s in physics. At that time, women made up just 8% of the physics faculty and were more concentrated in the lower academic ranks and at departments that do not grant graduate physics degrees. Women's representation in physics was lower in the middle of the 20th century than it was at the beginning, and began a steady increase in the late 1970s. Physics is attracting women much more slowly than other fields, including the life sciences, chemistry, and engineering.

Research on Intervention Programs to Promote Young Women in Physics
Katherine Phillips, Science Education Consultant, kathyphysics@hotmail.com
co-authors: Meera Chandrasekhar, Lloyd H. Barrow, University of Missouri-Columbia; Becky Litherland, Columbia (MO) Public Schools

To address the underrepresentation of women in the physical sciences and engineering, a set of programs has been developed targeting students in grades 5 through 12 and their teachers and parents. These programs include an after school female-only physics program for elementary students, a coeducational Saturday career program for junior high school students, and a female-only, residential summer camp for high school students. Teachers participated in professional development courses on gender equity in science education and hands-on, relevant physics instruction. Parents are involved with their middle school students in a hands-on, evening program focused on technology. Evaluation of the student programs indicate increased confidence in physics problem solving among elementary students, a greater awareness of physics-related careers in junior high and changes in level of interest in physics-related careers after the high school program. Other results and implications for developing similar intervention programs will be presented.
www.missouri.edu/~wwwepic
Supported by NSF grant #NSF-HRD-96-19140

Physics Fun with Tethers and Catenaries
William Ingham, James Madison University, inghamwh@jmu.edu

This presentation will examine some of the physics and mathematics involved in analyzing the problem of a tethered kite or balloon in a steady breeze.

Web-Based Interactive Circuit Simulator for Introductory Physics
George Watson, University of Delaware, ghw@udel.edu
co-author: Becky Kinney, University of Delaware

When hands-on experiences in a physical laboratory are not available, computer simulations are often the next best option. For some topics, computer simulations can provide an environment for active learning than is just as rewarding as the traditional laboratory. JavaScript and Java applets are often employed to implement computer simulations for learning that can be accessed over the web. Often overlooked are other software solutions that run from suitably configured web browsers -- Macromedia Flash is one such approach. We present a simple circuit simulator written in Flash that provides an interactive experience for introductory students of electricity. The current version provides a prototyping workspace, drag-and-drop selection of resistors and batteries, multimeters that can be configured to display current and/or voltage for each circuit element, and wire cutters and wire to complete and reconfigure circuits to carry out simulated experiments.

Galileo's and Kepler's Telescopes
James O'Connell, Frederick Community College, JSOConnell@aol.com

Galileo Galilei constructed a two-lens telescope with a magnification fo 20X in 1609 and used it to view moons, planets, and stars. He published his findings in a book called Sidereus Nuncius. Galilieo's telescope had a convex objective lens and a concave eye piece. This combination gave a narrow field of view (15 arc-minutes) which made it difficult to keep the image steady. Johannes Kepler designed a convex eyepiece which gave a larger field of view at the same magnification. Models of these two telescopes can be constructed by astronomy students as a laboratory exercise for ~$10 using modern materials. They can then attempt to duplicate Galileo's discoveries.

Trying Out PASCO, Team Labs, and Vernier Interfaces: What We Found
Larry Weaver, Towson University, lweaver@towson.edu

Thanks to a grant obtained by Professor Schaefer, Towson University will be totally revamping one of its' introductory physics labs with all new computers and equipment this summer in preparation for a new Workshop Physics style course he will be introducing this fall. One big decision that has to be made is which computer based data collection system (hardware-software package) to purchase for this lab. Armed with the grant and that the department hopes to replace the system it currently uses in another lab a year from now we were able to obtain loaner equipment to try out. The three systems we have looked at are PASCO's ScienceWorkshop 750 (hardware) and DataStudio (software), Team Labs' ThinkStation (hardware) and Excelerator (software), and Vernier's LabPro (hardware) and LoggerPro (software). We will go over what we see as the pros and cons of these systems, including of course coasts, features, speed, and so on; but we will also discuss our subjective impressions and hope to get input from those attending (a decision has not yet been made).

"http://www.udel.edu/physics/csaapt/Spring2002/abstracts.html" Last updated April 15, 2002.