Folder Notes: A few goodies for physics students and teachers.
Angular momentum is the cross product of the radius vector and momentum. A force with a twist is torque. When no torque acts on a system, the angular momentum of the system is conserved.
This ExploreLearning Gizmo allows the user to investigate the centre of mass (balance point) of an object or set of objects. The centre of mass shifts as blocks and other shapes are dragged and re-arranged on a two-dimensional surface. A grid is used to calculate the coordinates of the centre of mass. The resource includes an exploration guide and assessment questions.
CurioCity is an interactive, web-based meeting place where teens can connect with post-secondary students and science professionals to explore and discover the science, engineering and technology behind everyday life.
This ExploreLearning Gizmo allows the user to discover the meaning of density, buoyancy, and flotation. Large and small pieces of material are measured and placed in water to observe whether they sink or float. The simulation process reveals the relationships among density, mass, and volume. The resource includes an exploration guide and assessment questions.
This video discusses the importance of mathematics to physics. It also explores the importance of differentiation as a tool for calculating how one quantity changes in relation to another.
This ExploreLearning Gizmo allows the user to discover the density of objects via water displacement. The simulation features a graduated cylinder, a beaker of water, and several different objects. The density of each object can be determined based on the amount of water it displaces from the beaker. The resource includes an exploration guide and assessment questions.
The precise shape of the orbit of any heavenly body is fixed by the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum. The eccentricity, which determines the shape of an orbit, is intimately linked to both the energy and angular momentum of a heavenly body.
This video explores mass, momentum, and energy with respect to Albert Einstein's theories and Newton's laws.
This video explores Sadi Carnot's work with steam engines and his contribution to the contemporary understanding of thermodynamics.
This video illustrates the genius of Sadi Carnot and the second law of thermodynamics. The efficiency of Carnot's ideal engine depends on the ratio between high and low temperatures in the running cycle. Carnot's theory had profound implications for the behaviour of matter and the flow of time throughout the universe.
The Emmy Award-winning TV series, hosted by John Brenkus, uncovers sports' biggest myths and mysteries by using cutting-edge technology to measure momentum, friction and the laws of gravity.
This video explains the music and mathematics of nature in terms of physics. The restoring force and inertia of any stable mechanical system cause objects to execute simple harmonic motion, a phenomenon that repeats itself in perfect time.
This video provides an overview of the harmony of the spheres and the motion of the planets, including the ideas of Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton and Nicolaus Copernicus.
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This video explains the Copernican view that the earth spins on its axis and orbits around the sun. Using the law of inertia, Galileo Galilei explained why the Copernican view worked the way that it did.
Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz arrived at the conclusion that differentiation and integration are inverse processes.
Johannes Kepler's three laws described the motion of heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy. However, the planets still moved in paths traced by the ancient Greek mathematicians.
Solids, liquids, and gases are the basis of every substance in the physical world. This video explores the scientific quest for low temperatures. Scientists discovered that, under the right conditions, all elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.
This ExploreLearning Gizmo allows students to observe African animals on a virtual safari. Students can videotape the animals and then play back the videotape to measure and compare the animals’ speed of travel. The resource includes supplementary materials and assessment questions.
According to Plato, stars are heavenly beings that orbit Earth in perfect circles and at a constant speed. Even in this imperfect world, uniform circular motion makes perfect mathematical sense.
Voyages to other planets require enormous expenditures of energy. However, the amount of energy expended can be minimized using the same force that drives the planets around the solar system: the force of the Sun's gravitational field.
A refinement on Galileo's law of inertia, Newton's first law states that every body remains at rest or continues in uniform motion unless an unbalanced force acts on it. His second law, the most profound statement in classical mechanics, relates the causes to the changes of motion in every object in the cosmos. Newton's third law explains the seemingly extraordinary phenomenon of interactions: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
This ExploreLearning Gizmo allows the user to gain an understanding of how partial shadows are created. The simulation features multiple light sources and adjustable light spacing. The width of the shadow-casting block and light distance can also be changed and the resultant cast shadow observed. Screen shots may be taken to record data. The resource includes an exploration guide and assessment questions.
This course consists of lessons organized into eight modules: Momentum and Impulse; The Conservation of Momentum in Isolated Systems; Electrical Phenomena; Magnetic and Electric Fields in Nature and Technology; Wave Theory of Light; Wave-Particle Duality and Quantum Physics; Investigating the Nature of the Atom; and Nuclear Decay, Energy and the Standard Model of the Atom. Glossaries, assignments and self-check questions are included as well as links to videos, animations and simulations.
This course consists of lessons organized into eight modules: Momentum and Impulse; The Conservation of Momentum in Isolated Systems; Electrical Phenomena; Magnetic and Electric Fields in Nature and Technology; Wave Theory of Light; Wave-Particle Duality and Quantum Physics; Investigating the Nature of the Atom; and Nuclear Decay, Energy and the Standard Model of the Atom. Glossaries and assignments are included as well as links to videos, animations and simulations. The course is available in different technical formats and a Teacher’s Guide with answers and assessment information is also available.
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This resource contains the electronic version of the Physics 30 textbook Physics, published by Pearson Education Canada. The electronic textbook addresses the following units: Momentum and Impulse; Forces and Fields; Electromagnetic Radiation; and Atomic Physics.
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This ExploreLearning Gizmo allows the user to determine the porosity of different samples. In the simulation the user pours water on a variety of sediment samples to find out how much water can be absorbed by the sample (porosity) and how easily water flows through the sample (permeability). The resource includes an exploration guide and assessment questions.
As Galileo Galilei noted, the amplitude of swings of a pendulum grow with repeated, timed applications of a small force. When the frequency of an applied force matches the natural frequency of a system, large-amplitude oscillations result in the phenomenon of resonance.
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This resource assists teachers with planning for instruction. Topics addressed include: creating an effective mathematics environment; creating meaningful activities; understanding the progression of mathematical understanding; models in the mathematics classroom; developing algebraic reasoning; integrating problem solving; using technology in the mathematics classroom; and differentiating instruction. A list of recommended resources is also provided.
Heat, pressure, temperature measurement, and gas properties are explored in this video. The experiments on the nature of gases conducted by Robert Boyle and Jacques Charles are also mentioned.
Seeking an explanation for Kepler's theories, Newton discovered that gravity describes the force between any two particles in the universe. Newton's universal law of gravity reveals why an apple, but not the moon, falls to Earth.
Electricity changed from a curiosity to a central concern of science and technology in 1800, when Alessandro Volta invented the electric battery. Batteries make use of the internal properties of different metals to turn chemical energy directly into electric energy.
The task of deducing all three of Kepler's laws from Sir Isaac Newton's universal law of gravitation is known as the Kepler problem.
This video describes Galileo's law of falling bodies. It describes the experiments that Galileo Galilei devised in order to prove that all bodies fall with the same constant acceleration.
If the speed of light is the same for all observers, then the length of a metre stick, or the rate of a ticking clock, depends on who is measuring it. This concept, along with the work of physicist Hendrik Lorentz, is explored in this video.
This video reviews revolutionary ideas in physics, discusses key figures in the history of physics, and links the physics of the heavens and the earth.
This video introduces the history of electricity and magnetism, and moves on to the 20th century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics. The ideas of Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Benjamin Franklin, Alessandro Volta, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and the relationship between Einstein and Tullio Levi-Civita are explored.
The Physics Source is a collection of resources for introductory college level physics courses. It includes curriculum, curriculum support material, reference material, and pedagogical and physics education research inspired content.
This video reviews the history of physics and takes a glance into the future.
When a torque acts on a spinning object, the angular momentum changes, but the object only precesses. The object may be a child's toy, part of a navigation system, or Earth itself.
Albert Einstein was motivated to perfect the central ideas of physics. The result was a wholly new understanding of the meaning of space and time, including the transformation of velocities, time dilation, and the twin paradox.
With an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of genius, Sir Isaac Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.
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