In response to a discussion about assessment on the IOP Sputnik email forum for Scottish Physics teachers, I posted some thoughts on what the SQA could do differently. Some replies to the post suggested I should share these ideas further. It's a bit 'sassy' in places, as one of the replies put it, but here's...
Perimeter Institute - EinsteinPlus 2016 - Day 3
Day three began (after breakfast) with a session on Quantum Mechanics. The session was based around the 'Investigating the Nature of the Electron' activity from the Perimeter Institute's materials on 'The Challenge of Quantum Reality'. The first task, 'Classical Particle Behaviour', uses very simple apparatus - sand and a paper coffee cup, to model the...
Perimeter Institute - EinsteinPlus 2016 - Day 2
Day 2 of EinsteinPlus 2016 saw the group formally welcomed to the spectacular Perimeter Institute building after an equally spectacular breakfast. (There are two excellent bistros at PI, which provided the group with a fabulous range of meals over the week long visit. I'd say more, but there'd be a real danger of this becoming...
Newton's G-ball
'Newton's G-ball', marketed by Swedish company Mollic, is a simple electronic timing device which can be used to measure the freefall time from its point of release to impact on a surface below. It is available from a number of third party suppliers, including djb microtech, Better Equipped and TIMSTAR in the UK and Arbor Scientific in the US. The...
Cloud chambers
Thanks to Dr Aidan Robson from Glasgow University I was able to borrow a set of cloud chamber kits which I have used with my Higher physics classes this week. This facility is now available to any physics teachers in the central belt, via an on line booking facility, with kits available from both Glasgow and...
Home-Made Eclipse Viewer
Next Friday, 20th March 2015, the best eclipse in over 50 years will reach between 90-95% of totality in the skies over Scotland. The online physics communities have been awash with chat and links on how to view the event, and what useful physics can be done with classes. Hoping to do something with my...
Newton's Rings
I've been trying to show my AH pupils all of the experimental work for Unit 3 during this week, as it's the last week of the course before their NAB next week. Having gone over much of the theory before Easter and encouraging them to cover the theory on Scholar, I set up a few...
All Hands to the Pumps
On Wed 29th Feb, with our senior school out on exam leave for their prelims, and a clear desk (not sure how that happened, but it did) I dipped into my twitter stream and saw this tweet from Glen Gilchrist - Glen's post on PLNs and peer collaboration, details how he and Alexavier Fareheed made...
WiiMotes for Physics Experiments
I've been trying to get to grips with WiiMote Physics in the last week or so. It is a piece of free software which utilises Bluetooth connectivity on your PC to receive data from a Wii gaming controller. A WiiMote has three accelerometers and an infra red camera inside. Using these it takes 100 measurements from each detector...
Physics Summer School - Day 2
Friday morning saw us leave Erskine early for a visit to the Physics Department University of Strathclyde. Here we were shown around the first-year labs, seeing experimental set ups used by students for finding - speed of sound in air using tuning forks and resonant air columns wave speed for wave on a string, using...
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