A simple and intuitive model of the functioning of mirrors and lenses is proposed. This model could profitably integrate the traditional way of teaching this topic. The purpose is to make it more effective by giving students a physical interpretation of the way these devices affect light beams. […]
Body energy transfers while walking and cycling are analysed and compared, showing why riding a bicycle is energetically more efficient than walking. […]
The shape of some astronomical bodies of different size is taken into consideration and qualitatively explained on a gravitational-electromagnetic interaction ground. […]
Small low intensity doses con be produced by some watches made in the period 1950-1960 by the presence of Ra-226 in the hands and some parts of the dials. The exent of the possible effects on the wearer of such watches is evaluated in this article, […]
A fronte della necessità di un maggiore sforzo per sviluppare le attitudini critiche negli alunni e negli studenti, questa nota si concentra su uno dei pregiudizi cognitivi che spesso sono di ostacolo in questa materia. Nella sua forma più tipica, questo pregiudizio consiste nella propensione a validare un᾽argomentazione perché si presume che la sua conclusione sia corretta. […]
The purpose of this article is to get the student acquainted with simple mathematical techniques allowing her (him) to investigate some basic properties of keplerian motion. […]
An educational path on optical spectroscopy was elaborated as a bridge between classical and modern physics and centered on the interpretation of optical spectra in laboratory mode for upper secondary school students. The proposal was developed as part of a PhD research in physics education in the theoretical framework of the Model of Educational Reconstruction (MER) and employing Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology which implies an iterative revision of the implemented intervention modules experimented in classroom. […]
Reasoning on what happens when connecting two charged capacitors suggests a general procedure for evaluating the energy associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves. […]
We test experimentally the free electron gas model for electric conduction in metals by means of measurements of the Hall coefficient. Full details for the construction of the experimental apparatus are given. […]
In recent years the knowledge levels in science of freshmen dropped constantly in Italy and in other countries. This might be because the excess of information in today?s secondary school textbooks makes identifying and mastering the important concepts difficult. Results found by different groups that examined pre-university textbooks in a number of different countries are reported. […]
This article deals how to represent the experimental data with their absolute error with Lotus 123 […]