Anno XXX - n.1 - gennaio/marzo 1997 The skills of freshmen mathematics majors, in interpreting graphs of basic mathematical functions, kinematical graphs and the language of motion were investigated by means of three multiple choice questionnaires with open comments. The unidimensional analyses of each student’s answers and their correlations show context-dependence of skills: in particular the malhematical abilities are not entirely transferred to the physics context. […]
Anno XXIV - n.1 - gennaio/marzo 1991 Some experiments with home-made HT superconductors are reported. […]
Anno XLV - n.1 - gennaio/marzo 2012 Reactions to the science of global warming have followed a similar course to those of other inconvenient truths from physics. […]
Anno XLVI - n.4 - ottobre/dicembre 2013 The concept of verticality is discussed with reference to its different meanings, e.g. the direction that points towards the zenith, the one which is parallel to the direction of free fall or is perpendicular to a level ground, etc. […]
Anno XLVIII - n.4 - ottobre/dicembre 2015 If you were on the moon and tried to shoot a gun, would the bullet fire? And if so, in absence of air could an appropriate bullet reach a speed fast enough to orbit the Moon? Making use of considerations about mechanics, […]
Anno XXVIII - n.3 - luglio/settembre 1995 We examine several “myths” of physics teaching that usually lead teachers in school to devote too much time to the treatment of inessential aspects to the detriment of more fundamental arguments. Among these we discuss the importance of numerical approximations, significant digits, […]
Anno XLIV - n.4 - ottobre/dicembre 2011 Introducing the physics of wind turbines in a vocational school: from prior knowledge through experimental work to educational results. […]
Anno LI - n.2 - aprile/giugno 2018 The law that expresses the energy stored in a charged capacitor is obtained by an elementary algebraic calculation related to a simple discrete mechanical model. This model can be used in education, in a secondary school, as an alternative to continuous models that use integral calculus. […]