Physics Textbooks Research Articles

Error in Handling Significant Figures in Polar Coordinates in University Physics Textbooks

Error in Handling Significant Figures in Polar Coordinates in University Physics Textbooks

Young’s Two-Slit Experiment Without a Laser

The Young’s two-slits experiment is arguably one of the most famous and beautiful experiments in physics. In introductory physics labs the experiment is almost exclusively carried out using a laser, and it is introduced this way in some introductory physics textbooks. In the case of laser illumination, light passes directly through the slits and spreads out by diffraction so that interference fringes can be viewed on a distant screen. Most students, in our experience, are unaware that the experiment can be carried out in any other way. But the laser approach depends on the remarkable light emitted by the laser: it is spatially coherent, meaning that the phase relationship between the light emitted from the slits is constant, and it is extremely bright, meaning that real interference fringes can be seen on the screen. When carried out with classical, incoherent light, a quasi-monochromatic source such a sodium lamp must first be rendered spatially coherent by focusing the light through a pinhole and then using this light to illuminate the two slits. Fringe patterns will certainly be formed, but they need to be observed by either viewing with an eyepiece or allowing them to fall directly on the photosensor of a camera. It is implied in other physics texts that the fringe pattern can be cast onto a screen and viewed, but this is not feasible because the fringes are just not bright enough. Here we report an arrangement where an extended incoherent source can be used and fringes made bright enough to be observed on a screen.

Evaluation of mathematical physics issues in the content of physics books for the preparatory stage according to the skills of inferential thinking

The current research aims to evaluate the exercises of physics textbooks for the preparatory stage according to the skills of reasoning thinking. To achieve the goal of the research, the researchers took the descriptive analytical approach and built a tool (content analysis) and then presented it in its initial form consisting of three skills (induction, deduction and representation) with indicators that pertain to each skill on a group of experts .After the researchers took the opinions of the experts and arbitrators into consideration, the researchers reached the final form of the tool. Then the researchers analyzed the exercises of physics textbooks for the preparatory stage established by the Ministry of Education for the academic year 2020-2021 in the light of the tool prepared by the researchers. This was done by selecting a sample of physics textbooks for the preparatory stage . The researchers adopted the unit of idea as a unit of his analysis, which consists of two types (explicit idea and implicit idea) and taking the unit of repetition as the unit of recording .Then the researchers made sure of the validity of the analysis, as well as calculating the stability of the analysis.. After completing these procedures, the researchers carried out the final analysis process by using of: Holstey equation, and statistical bag for social sciences (spss-24). Then the researchers evaluated the exercises of physics textbooks for the preparatory stage based on the model (Al-Rabi’i, 2020) and obtained the following results: -The percentage of inclusion in physics textbooks for the preparatory stage reached (89.92%) and is considered (high) when compared to the hypothetical spoken ratios adopted by the researchers. - Exercises of physics textbooks for the fifth and sixth grades (biological) are equal in including reasoning thinking skills, -The percentage of reasoning thinking skills varies in the exercises of physics textbooks for the preparatory stage. Based on these results, the researchers developed a number of recommendations and proposals. Keywords: evaluation, physical exercises, reasoning thinking skills.

Spontaneous breaking of a discrete time-translation symmetry

Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a ubiquitous concept and is well described in many textbooks of physics. However, direct observation of spontaneous symmetry breaking is lacking. Here we present the observation and analysis of a spontaneously broken discrete time-translation symmetry in our driven system. We experimentally find a 50-50 split between two stable and temporal-distinct solutions, indicative of the breaking of a ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ (Ising-like) time-translation symmetry. The experiment allows for further exploration of the symmetry breaking in our discrete time crystal and for engineering excitations in space and time in the quantum domain.

Thermal impedance

Starting from a brief review on the concepts of electrical resistance and impedance and the definition of thermal resistance, it is shown how thermal impedance can be defined from a simple situation of an ideal semi-infinite solid sample subjected to uniform sinusoidal heating at its surface. Using the thermal impedance definition, the non-stationary component of the temperature field perpendicular to the surface of the sample can be rewritten in a more compact form than as usual. It is shown that a dimensionless number dependent on thermal impedance can be defined for non-stationary phenomena to compare the efficiency between the different modes of heat transfer. The thermal impedance concept for the little-known for most people (but not least important) case of non-Fourier heat conduction is also discussed here. We show that the thermal impedance for diffusive Fourier heat transfer is a complex valued parameter with the same real and imaginary parts. However, this behavior is affected when approaching non-Fourier conditions, under which the imaginary component can become a pure imaginary parameter. These topics are not treated in heat transfer and physics textbooks. However, the subject can be of interest not only for students and teachers at undergraduate and graduate levels but also for scientists dealing with heat transfer in the presence of time-varying periodical heat sources.

Science and engineering practices in the content of Greek middle school physics textbooks about forces and motion

It has been argued that students’ understanding of science ideas and concepts is based on their engagement in science and engineering practices. However, research studying science and engineering practices engaging in the content of school science textbooks is particularly limited. The aim of the present study is to develop a framework and investigate (through it) the level at which science and engineering practices engage in the content of Greek middle school Physics textbooks about forces and motion. The analysis was carried out on a total of 61 reports and activities on forces and motion that are included in school textbooks (student’s book and lab workbook) used for teaching Physics to 13-year-old middle school students in Greece. Reports and activities were analyzed using content analysis. An assessment rubric called “Science and Engineering Practices Analytic Rubric” (SEPAR), which evaluates the level at which science and engineering practices engage in the above reports and activities, was used throughout the analysis. The analysis demonstrated the low level at which science and engineering practices engage in the analyzed content of these school textbooks. The SEPAR can be used for analyzing science instructional material. The results mean that no opportunities are provided to the students through the content of these school textbooks so that the students could use science and engineering practices and become familiar with them in order to better understand ideas and concepts about forces and motion.

The true story of Newtonian gravity

Physics textbooks generally present the equation for universal gravitation as if it sprang fully formed from the head of Isaac Newton, which it most certainly did not. This analysis traces the development of Classical/Newtonian gravity as it evolved from Aristotle to Copernicus to Kepler, Horrocks, Roberval, Boulliau, Baliani, Borelli, Hooke, Halley, Wren, Newton, and Cavendish, and then finally on to C. V. Boys and J. H. Poynting. By focusing on the evolution of the underlying physics, we unfold a fascinating story that has never quite been told before, one we hope will provide insights useful in the classroom.

Pengembangan Buku Ajar Sejarah Fisika Berbasis Higher Order Thingking Skill (HOTS)

This study aims to develop and produce a physics history textbook based on higher order thinking skills (HOTS). This research was a development research which consists of four stages, namely: the determination stage, design, development, and dissemination. The success of the indicators of this research were seen from the feasibility of the developed textbooks. Physics history textbook based on higher order thinking skills was categorized as good and suitable for use, in terms of content, presentation, and language feasibility. Meanwhile, in terms of textbook effectiveness, it was measured by the impact of increasing students' higher order thinking skills as seen from the increase in N-gain. The student's high-order thinking skills had increased with N gain 0.4 (moderate category). This shows that the textbooks that have been developed are feasible and effective in terms of the ability to increase higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).

A dialogue on the ethics of science: Henri Poincaré and Pope Francis

To teach the ethics of science to science majors, I follow several teachers in the literature who recommend “persona” writing, or the student construction of dialogues between ethical thinkers of interest. To engage science majors in particular, and especially those new to academic philosophy, I recommend constructing persona dialogues from Henri Poincaré’s essay, “Ethics and Science” (1963/1913), and the non-theological third chapter of Pope Francis’s (2015) encyclical on the environment, Laudato si. This pairing of interlocutors offers two advantages. The first is that science students are likely to recognize both names, since Poincaré appears in undergraduate mathematics and physics textbooks, and because Francis is an environmentalist celebrity. Hence students (in my experience) show more interest in these figures than in other philosophers. The second advantage is that the third chapter of Laudato si reads like an implicit rebuttal of Poincaré’s essay in many respects, and so contriving a dialogue between those authors both facilitates classroom discussion, and deserves attention from professional ethicists in its own right. In this paper, I present my own contrived dialogue between Francis and Poincaré, not for assigning to students as a reading, but as a template for an effective assignment product, and as a crib sheet for educators to preview the richly antiparallel themes between the two works.

Ohmic and Diamagnetic Currents Contribution on the Electromagnetic Penetration Depth of a Conducting Surface

Due to its conducting electron, metal is a good reflector for electromagnetic wave. An electromagnetic wave penetrating a metallic surface has a finite penetrating depth. There are two limit that are well studied in the physics textbooks. They are high frequency electromagnetic wave penetrating a metal with small conductivity and a static (low frequency) field penetrating a superconductor (metal with infinitely large conductivity). In this article we study the intermediate regime between these two limits. By setting the electric current density as the total sum of both Ohmic and Diamagnetic currents, we derive the penetration depth in the intermediate regime., we show the transition between these two limits.

Leonhard Euler\u2019s Letters to a German Princess: A Milestone in the History of Physics Textbooks and More

Leonhard Euler\u2019s Letters to a German Princess: A Milestone in the History of Physics Textbooks and More

Comparison of nature of science representations in five Chinese high school physics textbooks

ABSTRACT Formal understanding of the nature of science (NOS) has been considered to be a major contributor to nurturing students’ scientific literacy. In China, this view has been endorsed in the new standard for high school physics curriculum, which has guided the development of the new generation physics textbooks. Following the analytical framework established in the recent literature, this study evaluates the NOS representations in five textbooks approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education regarding the extent, the manner (explicit vs. implicit), the accuracy and completeness (from naïve to informed), and the overall consistency of different aspects of NOS. The results show that the representations of NOS in all five physics textbooks are far from satisfactory. The aspects of NOS are fully represented by only three textbooks. For all textbooks, the NOS representations are distributed unevenly throughout the contents, most of which are presented in a few pages of the preface and postscript chapters. Meanwhile, more than half of the aspects are represented implicitly, and the scientific method is poorly or inconsistently represented in three of the five textbooks. It is suggested that NOS needs to be represented explicitly and distributed evenly throughout a textbook in future revisions of the textbooks.

The representation of laboratory activities in Indonesian physics textbooks: a content analysis

ABSTRACT Background Physics textbooks are a learning resource for students to acquire knowledge and information. The findings of previous studies on physics textbooks analysis have mostly focused on representations of gender, the nature of science, and scientific literacy. This study, therefore, extends the critical content analysis of physics textbooks to examine the levels of laboratory activities as empirical evidence among domination of previous studies in analysing physics textbooks. Purpose To investigate the representation of the laboratory activities in Indonesian physics textbooks and teachers’ perspectives on the use of the textbooks in facilitating laboratory activities. Method Content analysis was used to elicit data on laboratory activities and the semi-structured interview was used to reveal teachers’ perspectives on the use of the textbooks. The Inquiry Level Index and Laboratory Assessment Inventory were used as the main analytical framework for distinguishing levels of these activities. In addition, thematic analysis was adopted to analyse teachers’ perspectives on the use of textbooks in the classroom. Results A dominant type of laboratory activity was Level One, which presents questions and methods as a guide for conducting laboratory activities, whereby students have to find solutions to problems. Concerning teachers’ perspectives, the use of physics textbooks was found to not align with curriculum needs, which emphasise open laboratory activities. Conclusion The representation of laboratory activities in textbooks encourages students to develop a low level of inquiry. Textbooks do not facilitate students in developing their understanding through hands-on activities. This is supported by the role of teachers who use laboratory activities only to verify concepts learned in the classroom. Consequently, several changes are required to underpin the implementation of open laboratory activities, such as the role of teachers in designing these activities and the assessments used.

Representations of Nature of Science in High School Physics Textbooks

Nature of science (NOS) is a vital component of scientific literacy that refers to the science's epistemology. Students must possess the NOS conception to address socio-scientific issues using the reasoning and justification patterns like scientists. This qualitative research assessed the representation of NOS quantitatively and qualitatively in the grade XII senior high school physics textbooks. The quantitative representation of NOS was described by the percentage of appearance of each element of NOS, while the delivery approach was used to describe NOS qualitatively. The analysis was conducted on two textbooks focused on electromagnetic radiation, special relativity theory, and quantum phenomena chapters. The NOS framework instrument has been conceptually and empirically valid. The results show that the empirical and scientific theories were addressed with the highest percentage of appearance, while the social and cultural embeddedness of science and scientific methods were poorly addressed. All elements of NOS were represented implicitly. The empirical findings of this study are expected to be able to stimulate the improvement of the representation of NOS in science textbooks in Indonesia.

Using interactive images in physics teaching

Studyng images in physics textbooks is important because illustrations are considered relevant to understand physics contents. In fact, images have a fundamental role in textbooks, and facilitate students to enhance physics theory visualization. Silva & Martins (2008) assume that images carry information that can be classified as having a motivating, informative, explanatory or redundant function. We found 223 images in the kinematics units’ analysis of three collections recommended by the last edition of the Brazilian Textbook Program (PNLD 2018). The images were classified according to their function, observing, in percentages, that 52% of images have an informative function, 40% an explanatory function, while the redundant and motivating functions total less than 9%. Moving interactive images have been created from informative function figures using the Illustrator software. This program allows us to create an illusion of movement in the image when moving a page with vertical lines, facilitating the student’s visualization and understanding. These images were presented to the students through a questionnaire. We verified a better performance in their answers with the interactive images, that allows us to infer that moving images can facilitate students’ learning.

Picturing the thermodynamic universe with Frida Kahlo

Bringing arts to the science classes remains as a challenging idea. The illustration of a concept with an original painting would bring unexpected advantages. Here we present the use of a painting of Frida Kahlo to illustrate the concept of the thermodynamic universe the surroundings. Such concept is not deeply treated in most textbooks, and it is essential now of analysis of a thermodynamic system. Because of the use of this visual aid, our students were able to distinguish several possible thermodynamic universes, depending on the objective of their study, gaining a more insightful approach than that usually obtained with classical pictographic representations in physical chemistry textbooks.

A deformable wireframe in a uniform magnetic field

The net force and net torque exerted by a uniform magnetic field on a rigid current-carrying loop are discussed in all introductory physics textbooks. A notable omission, however, is the discussion of the equilibrium of a deformable current-carrying loop in a uniform magnetic field. In the article, we present such an analysis for the simplest case of a quadrilateral current-carrying wireframe placed in a uniform magnetic field. We discuss the area-maximizing effect of the field on the frame and use the conditions of translational and rotational equilibrium to establish the ‘cyclicity’ of the latter as well as the uniformity of the magnitude of the contact forces acting at its joints.

Can CP Be Less Than CV ?

Can CP be less than CV? This is a fundamental question in physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. This question hangs in the minds of many students, instructors, and researchers. The first instinct is to answer “Yes, for water between 0 and 4 °C” if one knows that water expands as temperature decreases in this temperature range. The same question is asked in several Physical Chemistry and Physics textbooks. Students are supposed to answer that water contracts when heated at below 4 °C in an isobaric process. Because work is done to the contracting water, less heat is required to increase the water temperature in an isobaric process than in an isochoric process. Therefore, CP is less than CV. However, this answer is fundamentally flawed because it assumes, implicitly and incorrectly, that the internal energy change of water depends solely on its temperature change. Neglecting the variation of the internal energy with volume (internal pressure) will invalidate the Clausius inequality and violate the second law of thermodynamics. Once the internal pressure is properly taken into account, it becomes clear that CP cannot be less than CV for any substance at any temperature regardless of the sign of the thermal expansion coefficient of the substance.

Prezentarea terminologiei din domeniul fizicii în manualele școlare (clasele a VI-a – a IX-a)

In high school, in the Physics textbooks, the terms are repeated from one class to another, presented in sections, in special columns. The number of terms studied in each topic is not large, so that their acquisition is not difficult. In order to reveal the terms in the text, so that to be easy to identify and memorize them, it's resorted to word’s processing in bold. In the text, they are defined, explained. In this way, it would go towards achieving inter- and transdisciplinarity, towards emphasising the complex profile of the student, who is aware of the usefulness, variety, importance of the acquired knowledge. The teacher has a very important mission of terms teaching, because, with the help of the textbook and the explanatory dictionary, he could contribute both to the training of students in the physics area and to the enrichment of their vocabulary.

Considerações sobre a disponibilidade dos tópicos de Astronomia em livros didáticos de Física do PNLD 2018

O presente trabalho relata as análises realizadas nos livros didáticos de Física do Ensino Médio, aprovados e ofertados pelo Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD), para o triênio2018-2020, acerca da abordagem dos conhecimentos sobre Astronomia. A pesquisa bibliográfica também consultou o PCN + de Ciências Naturais para o Ensino Médio, que possui como um dos seus temas estruturadores o “Universo, Terra e Vida”, para o diagnóstico da relação entre os conteúdos e temas abordados nesse com os contemplados dentro da estrutura dos livros didáticos analisados. A pesquisa é considerada de natureza quantitativa, embasada em revisão bibliográfica de obras que versam tanto sobre o Ensino de Física quanto da Astronomia, além de apresentar referências e orientações oficiais sobre as propostas curriculares para o trabalho pedagógico das ciências naturais no Ensino Médio, última etapa da Educação Básica. Na análise das informações coletados em cada obra, como também na comparação entre as coleções que foram objetos de estudo deste trabalho de pesquisa, constata-se que as obras disponibilizadas pelo PNLD 2018 não são consonantes em relação à quantidade de assuntos astronômicos abordados, considerando como referencia as orientações específicas do PCN + de Ciências Naturais para o Ensino Médio.