Gordon Aubrecht

108 Journal Topics and Homework

Remember to put your personal email address, to which I should send the reply, at the top of your journal entry!

Please do not submit the journal the week before it is due, even if it is visible here. Please wait until the end of that week.

Journals are due Saturday by midnight unless specifically told otherwise. Email journals to aubrecht@physics.osu.edu

Homeworks are due Wednesdays by the start of class unless you are specifically told otherwise.

Please remember to check the homework for the week the day after our last class for the week for any changes that might be made. Remember that an answer without an explanation is not really an answer.

Week 1
Journal Entry 1

Hi, we’re glad you signed up for Physics by Inquiry. We would like to get acquainted. For your first journal entry we’d like to know:

• Before beginning this course (or starting a previous physics by inquiry course), what did you believe it meant to be a “teacher”? How does a teacher act, what does a teacher do? Lecture? Demonstrate? Whatever else, not listed here? Explain your reasons for thinking as you did about teaching.
• What is your major? Or what major would you like to be in the future? Why did you choose that major?
• In your opinion, is learning science important? How will a knowledge of science concepts related to your future occupation? To the rest of your life?
• Why are you taking this course? Had you heard about this course (tell us what, either good or bad)? Did your advisor suggest you take it? Do you expect to get something from the course that you can use in the future?
• How would you describe your attitude toward physics?

Homework 1: LO-I 1.1, 1.2, p. 259.

Also, each group member should do at least one sunplot involving as much of the day as possible, assuring yourself (as much as feasible) that the board remains in the same porition. Each group member will also observe the moon following the method of Astronomy 2.1, and enter the result on the moon data sheet. If possible, it would be nice if group members gathered sun and moon data on different days. Most important is that each person have her/his own data.

journal 1 due 24 September 2011

homework 1 due 28 September 2011

Week 2
Journal Entry 2

• This course is different in many ways from other courses, and we’d like to take this opportunity to ask you how the course is going for you so far.
• Group Work: Have you had any experience in working in groups in your other classes? Is the group work in this class any different from the group work in other classes? Does your group help you to learn, or not? What do you like best about your group? What would you change about the group work? Given a choice, would you rather work with your present group, a different group, a smaller group, or alone? Feel free to write what you think. Have you talked about this with your group?
• Predicting: In this class, you’re often asked to make predictions before actually doing an experiment. Why do you think you’re asked to predict things? Do you think it’s useful? Why or why not? What is the role you see for predictions in this class?
• This week in Physics 108 you learned about how light travels. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching (assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer)?

Homework 2: LO-I 2.2, 2.4, p. 260-261 and the following:

A. It is a foggy morning and Dana walks out along his long driveway (which is at right angles to the road) toward the street to get his paper. While he’s still quite far from the road, a car drives by with its headlights on. Can Dana see the beams of light from the car’s headlights? Explain your reasoning clearly.

Sunplots and moon data sheets: Make at least one sunplot this week; try to arrange with your group to do different days if possible. Fill in one moon data sheet (three days’ worth) each.

journal 2 due 1 October 2011

homework 2 due 5 October 2011

Week 3

Journal Entry 3

By the end of this week, you will have finished three weeks of Physics by Inquiry. We’d like to get an idea of what you’ve learned so far, and how you’ve learned it.

• In sections 2.4 and 2.5 you learned the important concept of the relationship of similar triangles.
• Explain how you learned this concept. What did you do first to understand the concept? How did discussing the question with your group change your understanding? Of the things you did to understand the concept, such as drawing a diagram on graph paper, experimenting with the bulb and screen, thinking about the question as a math problem of ratios, thinking about the question as a practical problem of the shadow of a street lamp, which approaches were helpful? Were any not helpful?
• Can you think of an example from everyday life that uses the concept you discussed above?
• We are interested in how you use the textbook in this course. Is it the same way as you use your books in other courses? Do you prefer this sort of course textbook to the more "usual" kind, or is the other sort more comfortable?
• Quiz: The first quiz may have been very different from the types of quizzes that you have taken before. What was different about it? Why do you think we request you explain things in words? Why do you think the course and the quiz are put together as they are?
• I want you to make up a very specific question in your own words that you could use as a teacher to see whether your students had learned this week’s material. What is it about the question you wrote that would help you be sure that student understanding had occurred?
  An example of such a specific question: A student says “I think that the length of the sun’s shadow is different depending on where I measure it. For example, it should be longer at the top of a high platform than at the bottom.” Do you agree or disagree?
  Your discussion about this question and its value to you as a diagnostic could have read something like--This tests whether the student realizes that the sun is so far away the rays from it in Earth’s direction are parallel. I can see whather the students understand that and that the angle should be the same at the top and bottom of the platform.]

Homework 3: LO-I 2.5, 2.8, 2.9, and 2.12, p. 262-266.

journal 3 due 8 October 2011

homework 3 due 12 October 2011

Week 4

Journal Entry 4

Because I forgot to post this Friday, the due date for both journal and homework will be Friday, 21 October 2011.

In this class, various methods are used to get input and feedback from you. Some of them, such as homework, quizzes and exams, are used in many courses. Others, such as diagnostics and journals, are less frequently used. We find information from all of these useful for improving the course. However, we would like to know if these help you to learn better in any way. We would appreciate your sharing your opinions with us.

Consider homework, quizzes, exams, diagnostics, and journals. Which of these help you to understand physics concepts better? Although not all the journal items have been directly related to physics concepts, have they played any role in helping you with what we study in this class? How about the diagnostics? Do you see any advantage of having diagnostics at the start of every section? You have a quiz or exam every other week, in addition to your pretests. Do you think there are too many tests, too few tests, or just the right number of tests? Please tell us why.

Sometimes you’re asked to come up with your own experiments for testing an idea. Why do you think you’re asked to do that? Do you think designing your own experiments is useful? Why or why not?

In Physics 108 this week, you learned about the camera obscura and the pinhole camera and how they are similar and different. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching? (Assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer.)

Make up a very specific question question in your own words that you could use as a teacher to see whether your students had learned this week’s material. What is it about the question you wrote that would help you be sure that student understanding had occurred? (see Week 3 above for an example)

Homework 4: LO-I 2.11, page 265, and LO-I 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3, p. 267, and the following:

B. Dan has a different long filament bulb and he measures the filament to be 4.6 cm long. At home, he makes a pinhole in a mask and turns on the long filament bulb. The light shines through the pinhole in a mask onto a screen (the mask and screen are parallel). The height of the bright region made by the bulb on the screen is 15.0 cm. Dan’s mask is set up to be 12.0 cm from the screen.
a. How far is Dan’s bulb from his mask? Explain your reasoning.
b. Dan replaces the mask with one having a square hole of side 1.1 cm. If Dan arranges the hole’s center to be exactly where the pinhole’s center was, what is the difference between what he would see on the screen in the two cases? Explain your reasoning fully and carefully.

Sunplots and moon data sheets: Make at least one sunplot this week; try to arrange with your group to do different days if possible. Fill in one moon data sheet (three days’ worth) each.

journal 4 due by 21 October 2011

homework 4 due on 21 October 2011

Week 5

Journal Entry 5

In Physics 108 this week you learned about shadows. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching? (Assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer.)

Make up a very specific question question in your own words that you could use as a teacher to see whether your students had learned this week’s material. What is it about the question you wrote that would help you be sure that student understanding had occurred? (see Week 4 above for an example)

One of our goals is to give you the tools and confidence needed to teach some physics. To do this you’ll not only have to learn the content, but also think about how to adapt what we’re doing to a different situation. If you plan to teach at the elementary or middle school level, for example, there will probably be one teacher to 30 students, as opposed to the teacher to student ration in our class. What else would be different?

For the following questions, imagine you are an elementary or middle school teacher.

• What physics concepts taught so far in this class could be taught in your classroom? Would you teach the concepts the same way you learned them or modify their presentation depending on the age of the students? If you modify, how would you do that?
• How would you adapt the structure of the material to work in a time period of about 45 minutes each day?
• Would you use the same inquiry method of teaching as the instructors are doing right now? Why or why not? Would it be necessary to modify the teaching method also?
• How would you keep elementary or middle school students on track in a group effort? How would you determine whether the group is functioning, and how strict you should be with students who are disrupting the group and/or falling behind?

Homework 5: LO-I 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4 (p. 269-270).

Sunplots and moon data sheets: Make at least one sunplot this week; try to arrange with your group to do different days if possible. Fill in one moon data sheet (three days’ worth) each.

journal 5 due 22 October 2011

homework 5 due 26 October 2011

Week 6

Journal Entry 6

In Physics 108 this week, we learned how to bisect the angle on our sunplots to find the shortest sun shadow. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching? (Assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer.)

Make up a very specific question question in your own words that you could use as a teacher to see whether your students had learned this week’s material. What is it about the question you wrote that would help you be sure that student understanding had occurred? (see Week 4 above for an example)

In the process of studying Physics by Inquiry, some of you have tried experiments that weren’t in the manual. If you have tried an experiment that wasn’t in the manual, describe the experiment and discuss the results. If you haven’t tried and experiment that wasn’t in the manual, discuss an experiment you would like to try, or discuss the results of an experiment in the manual that surprised you.

Imagine that you were explaining to your friend Diana, a student just like you (with the same ability and intelligence) who is thinking of taking Physics 108, exactly what was expected and how to understand what is happening in class. She wants you to tell her what to do and how to study for the class in order to be able to learn best. Diana really wants to understand physics and does not care about her grade (as long as she can pass).

Homework 6: Ast 1.2, 2.2, p. 373-374 and the following:

B. A Physics 108 student made the following statement:

       “The sun is directly overhead at noon.”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? If you disagree, what is wrong with the statement? Explain your reasoning, giving evidence from your experiments.

C. You have a 3 centimeter gnomon that casts a 5 centimeter shadow at a particular instant in time. Using the method of Astronomy 1.6 d, page 330, and a protractor, find the height (altitude) of the sun at that time.

Sunplots and moon data sheets: Make at least one sunplot this week; try to arrange with your group to do different days if possible. Fill in one moon data sheet (three days’ worth) each.

journal 6 due 29 October 2011

homework 6 due 2 November 2011

Week 7

Because there is only one class this week, there will be no journal due. You may make up missed journals this week, however. Have a good Veteran’s Day holiday.

Homework 7: Please do Problems D, F, and G.

D. You and a friend, Demeter, want to repeat (with differences) Eratosthenes’ experiments to measure the diameter of Earth. Assume that your friend, who lives in Tallahassie, Florida, is directly south of you 1600 kilometers. On a certain day, you and Demeter set up a 1.00 meter high gnomon in your gardens and then get on the phone to one another.
Demeter says at a certain time that she can see no shadow (you both have been expecting this to happen). Immediately, you use your trusty meter stick to measure the length of the shadow and find that it is 24.9 cm long and makes an angle of 14.4 ° (14.4 degrees) to the vertical stick. Explain how you would set up the results to give you the circumference of Earth, and find how big that is.
Note: This lack of shadow in Tallahassie could not actually occur, but assume it does for the purposes of this problem.

F. What do you know about Gordon? List 10 things. Which of these are from direct evidence? Which are from indirect evidence? Explain.

G. In the diagram on page 342, explain how the triangles drawn might be useful in answering Ex. 3.5 (if there are any that are useful) and explain why they are useful. (You would not have to have done Ex. 3.5 to be able to answer this question, but it does not hurt that you have.)

Sunplots and moon data sheets: Make at least one sunplot this week; try to arrange with your group to do different days if possible. Fill in one moon data sheet (three days’ worth) each.

homework 7 and this week's sunplots and moon data sheets are due 9 November 2011

Week 8

Journal Entry 7

This week’s journal is an open topic journal. You may write on any topic relevant to the course you wish in addition to giving the answer to the following question.

Now, having answered the question above giving advice to Diana about the course as fully as you could, consider a separate question. If you were to say something to Diana about formulas as used in class, which of the following would you choose--and why?

a. Since formulas are not really what’s tested, they’re not very important, worth under 5% of his study time.
b. Formulas are a little important, but not nearly as important as certain other things such as the problem-solving techniques or the qualitative concepts. They are worth between 5% and 10% of his study time.
c. Being very familiar with the formulas is fairly important, worth 10% to 20% of his study time.
d. Being very familiar with the formulas is quite important, worth 20% to 30% of his study time.
e. Being very familiar with the formulas is very important, worth 30% to 40% of his study time.
f. Being very familiar with the formulas is essential, worth over 40% of his study time. In Physics 108 this week, you learned about motion of the Sun (altitude and azimuth) as seen from Ohio. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching (assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer)?

Make up a very specific question question in your own words that you could use as a teacher to see whether your students had learned this week’s material. What is it about the question you wrote that would help you be sure that student understanding had occurred? (see above for an example)

Homework 8: Problems Astronomy 4.1 and 4.2, pp. 375-376 and I, J, and K below:

I. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a beloved poem about shadows. Here is is:

Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850--1894).
A Child’s Garden of Verses, Underwoods, London, 1913.

My Shadow

I HAVE a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--          5
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.           & nbsp;   10
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,                15
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

What (if anything) is right about Stevenson’s notion of shadows as we have discovered in Physics 108? What (if anything) was incorrect? Justify your answers in terms of your knowledge from your observations and reasoning.

J. Three students are arguing about the seasons.

Student 1 says (while drawing the picture below): No, it is summer because of the tilt of Earth. Marion spends more time in daylight in summer because the rotation axis of Earth is tilted at 23°. So the northern part of Earth has longer days, and that’s why it’s warmer in summer.

Student 2 says: No, it is summer because of the change in the rotation rate of Earth about its axis. It rotates slower at some times of the year than at others. Earth rotates most slowly in summer.

Student 3 says: The seasons are caused by the Sun coming closer to Earth in summer and getting farther from Earth in winter.

Discuss these students’ responses and bring to bear any evidence you can to support or refute the statements.

K. The Two Physics 108 students measure the moon’s altitude simultaneously. Helen is atop the Empire State Building in New York City on a visit and measures the moon’s altitude from her horizon, while her boyfriend Tony has missed the elevator and measures the altitude from his horizon at street level. Both obtain the same altitude. What does this say about the moon’s distance from Earth?

Sunplots and moon data sheets: Make at least one sunplot this week; try to arrange with your group to do different days if possible. Fill in one moon data sheet (three days’ worth) each.

journal 7 due 19 November 2011

homework 8 due 16 November 2011

Week 9

Journal Entry 8

In Physics by Inquiry, the midterms and quizzes are probably different from those in your other courses. How do you find them different, if they are? What changes would you make in the quizzes and midterms if you were in charge? Explain.

In Physics by Inquiry, the instructor behaved differently and interacted with you differently from those in your other courses. What do you think about the checkpoints? How do you find the differences useful, if they are? What changes would you make if you were in charge? Explain.

Has there been a question on a quiz or midterm that you consider unfair? If so, what question on a midterm or test has been unfair, and why? If you thought all of them were fair, what would make a question unfair, and why?

What has surprised you most about how you personally have reacted to this course? Were there any surprises about other aspects of the course, such as

• interactions with others (groupmates, teachers, other Physics 108 students)?
• the experiments you did?
• the ways of understanding demanded in this course as contrasted to those in the other courses you take?

In Physics 108 this week, you learned about reflection from mirrors. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching (assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer)?

Homework 9: LO-II 1.1, 1.2, and 1.4, p. 619-621, and the following:

A. Shandra is given a box that is illuminated inside and has two small holes in the front as shown below. In the box are several cylinders of different height and diameters, with differently-shaped tops. No mirrors or partitions are to be found in the box. Shandra closes one eye and looks through each hole. After each turn, she draws what she sees (views 1 and 2).
a. Explain as best you are able how objects A and B could switch places between the views.
b. How can object C not be visible through hole 1? Explain your reasoning.

journal 8 due by Monday, 28 November 2011 due to Thanksgiving

homework 9 due 23 November 2011; if class is missed, it should be scanned and emailed to Carol (bowman.79@osu.edu) before Friday.

Week 10

Journal Entry 9

This is the last journal entry. Please make sure all your journal entries you have sent to Gordon have been received. Check the door.

In Physics 108 this week, you learned about parallax. How did you learn it? What techniques for teaching/learning helped you learn? Why/how do you believe what you learned is the correct description of the way nature works? (be specific) How could you use these techniques in your own teaching (assume you are or will be a teacher for purposes of your answer)?

• How would you define inquiry-based instruction?
• What is your general opinion of the course? Would you recommend that others take it? If you had known at the beginning what this course was really like, would you have taken it yourself.
• How would you compare your attitude toward physics before and after this class?
• What do you like most about this course?
• What do you dislike most about this course?
• Do you think you’ve learned new ways of learning that will be of use in other contexts? Please explain how, or why not.
• Every week we have asked you what you learned and how you learned it, asking you to be specific. Do you think that your having to reflect on the ways we are teaching has influenced your assessment of what this class is about? How might we have asked the question more effectively?
• Could you teach this course to other college students such as yourself? Would you like to teach this course in the future, particularly if you were to receive education or science credit in doing so?
• Is there anything else you would like to mention?

homework 10: LO-II 1.3, 2.1, and 2.2, pp. 619-620.

journal 9 due 3 December 2011

homework 10 due Friday, 2 December 2011

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By clicking the highlighted text, you can send me email directly: aubrecht@physics.osu.edu