How does the length of a piece of string or rope vary with the number of knots tied in it? I came across this question a few months ago and decided to try it out as an investigative activity to help A-level Physics students revise some basic practical skills. I’ve since seen other Physics teachers, like Frank Noschese, tweet about using it in class. What’s the relationship between the number of knots and the length of the rope? Great #modphys graphing lab I learned from @hbarphysics! pic.twitter.com/jPlA1xdp1o — Frank Noschese… Read more A knotty problem →
I’ve just started teaching my second lot of year 12 students the new (AQA) Physics A-level. I believe the move from coursework / assessed practicals in the form of EMPAs etc. is… Read more Introductory A-level Physics Practical? →
A few years ago, I helped make a bunch of films intended for use in GCSE Science lessons. I was reminded of their existence when a friend of mine stumbled across them on the internet. Below is one about Nuclear Fission which I particularly like (although I’d probably have made it, and the others, differently if I had had editorial control). You can see the whole collection here.
Sorry for the awful title to this post – but I have been inspired by “John Travoltage”, the most fun Physics interactive I have ever encountered. I should warn you… Read more Simulate to Stimulate →
This link came through on one of the physics teaching mailing lists I’m subscribed to (thank you, Helen Reynolds – your description of it is perfect). It’s a chromoscope that… Read more “Pretty and Useful” →
“Conservation of Momentum” is one of those laws we ask our students to believe in. Sure, we try to demonstrate it using air tracks and stuff, but the numbers never really add up. This video shows space tourist Richard Garriott trying to demonstrate conservation of momentum aboard the ISS – it’s not entirely convincing, because there are no measurements / data, but it looks much more impressive than an air track and he adds a little explanation of how the law applies to the practicalities of life aboard the space… Read more Conservation of Momentum on the ISS →
This is one you really should do for yourself. The video is way too long, but I like the fact that he uses such a big can and it serves to illustrate one of the problems with this demo – you just don”t know when the thing is going to go…
I’ve been hunting for a good short film about the big bang but have yet to find one. I was hoping this film might be the one, but it doesn’t quite do the job as it doesn’t go into enough detail for me. However, it does (very briefly) explain some of the more interesting ideas Physicists have about the universe. It’s a good one to use for discussing the “true” nature of the universe…and the fact that nobody really knows. In case you’re interested, the scientist in the film is… Read more The Big Bang, Briefly →
This classic film is a work of art that just happens to lend itself quite nicely to a bit of KS4 Physics. “The film starts with a sleeping man at a picnic and every ten seconds, the camera moves ten times further away, measured in meters. When we get to the edge of the known universe, the journey reverses and we get ten times closer with each image. We enter the sleeping man’s hand and go deeper and deeper until we finally reach the level of a quark”. Below is… Read more Powers of 10 / Our Place in the Universe →