Single slit diffraction and the thermal expansion of materials are common components of an undergraduate physics course, though these topics are often taught independently in both lectures and laboratory based courses. Higher levels of cognitive domains can be achieved by building on these established topics and combining them into a single…

The distinction between pressure in a liquid and in a gas is often treated in a cursory way, or not treated at all, even in university level textbooks. Most texts fail to point out the relation between pressure and density in a gas as compared to pressure in a--virtually incompressible--liquid. In many instances this also results in a dismissive…

We present a thermodynamics experiment suitable for first year undergraduate students employing Stirling Engines to create a demonstration of energy transformation and to measure the mechanical efficiency of such engines. Using an inexpensive transparent chambered Stirling Engine, students can connect concepts such as the theoretical…

This study has proposed a simple method to show the convective heat transfer. The object in this study is an air conditioner (AC) as a simple case of convection. In addition, AC is also easy to find in the class because most classrooms in Indonesia installed AC. Usually, a visualization needs special software (i.e. MatLab or others) and good…

In our technology driven world today, it is extremely important to increase the science literacy of our non-science majors. At Stockton University, this goal is attempted to be accomplished through our General Studies courses. This paper describes a lab-based course in the General Studies curriculum, 'The Science of Ice Cream'. At Stockton…

Using everyday life examples is proven didactically useful for teaching physics, as it presents effective applications of physical laws. Cooking and food, in particular, serve two useful purposes: on one side, they are able to engage students in the study of physics with familiar examples; on the other side, thanks to the wide range of physical…

The article focuses on the process of water warming from 0 °C in a glass. An experiment is performed that analyzes the temperature in the top and bottom layers of water during warming. The experimental equipment is very simple and can be easily set up using devices available in schools. The temperature curves obtained from the experiment help us…

A method to determine the temperature dependence of copper wire resistance is described in this paper.

In this paper, we present a low-cost method to study the Gay-Lussac's law. We use a heating wire wrapped around the test tube to heat the air inside and make use of a solid state pressure sensor which requires a previous calibration to measure the pressure in the test tube.

Thermal equilibrium is a basic concept in thermodynamics. In India, this concept is generally introduced at the first year of undergraduate education in physics and chemistry. In our earlier studies (Pathare and Pradhan 2011 "Proc. episteme-4 Int. Conf. to Review Research on Science Technology and Mathematics Education" pp 169-72) we…

This paper presents a comparative study of the thermal efficiencies of mechanical heat engines by using a graphical approach based on the pressure-volume ("P-V") diagram. Three types of idealized thermodynamic cycles--the Otto, the Diesel and the Brayton--are compared in pairs. Given the same temperature range within which the engines…

In this paper an experiment to study Planck's radiation law is presented. The spectra of a heated furnace and of a halogen lamp under various conditions were measured with a small USB grating spectrometer and fitted using Planck's law. The temperature determined from the fit was then compared with the results of comparative temperature…

Cooking is a tangible, familiar, and delicious tool for teaching physics, which is easy to implement in a university setting. Through our courses at Harvard and UCLA, each year we are engaging hundreds of undergraduate students, primarily non-science majors, in science concepts and the scientific research process. We find that weekly lectures by…

The paper describes a set of physics demonstration experiments where thermal sensitive foils are used for the detection of the two dimensional distribution of temperature. The method is used for the demonstration of thermal conductivity, temperature change in adiabatic processes, distribution of electromagnetic radiation in a microwave oven and…

A design exercise in chemical engineering is described which is concerned with thermocouples. Physics is the relevant discipline, a point that was made to the students doing the exercise, and accordingly an account of the exercise for the guidance of teachers and lecturers is presented as a contribution to "Physics Education."