Physics Education

The Standard Model of particle physics is one of the most successful theories in physics and describes the fundamental interactions between elementary particles. It is encoded in a compact description, the so-called 'Lagrangian', which even fits on t-shirts and coffee mugs. This mathematical formulation, however, is complex and only rarely makes it into the physics classroom. Therefore, to support high school teachers in their challenging endeavour of introducing particle physics in the classroom, we provide a qualitative explanation of the terms of the Lagrangian and discuss their interpretation based on associated Feynman diagrams.

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Changing acceleration and forces are part of the excitement of a roller coaster ride. According to Newton's second law, $\mathbf{F} = m\mathbf{a}$, every part of our body must be exposed to a force to accelerate. Since our bodies are not symmetric, the direction of the force matters, and must be accounted for by ride designers. An additional complication is that not all parts of the body accelerate in the same way when the acceleration is changing, i.e. when there is jerk. Softer parts of the body provide varying levels of damping, and different parts of the body have different frequency responses and different resonance frequencies that should be avoided or reduced by the roller coaster designer. This paper discusses the effect of acceleration, jerk, snap and vibration on the experience and safety of roller coaster rides, using authentic data from a dive coaster as an example.

Many people assume that the orbits of the planets are far more elliptical than they actually are. However, the orbits of all the planets with the exception of Mercury and Mars are nearly perfect circles. If the orbits of the planets are modeled as 26 inch bicycle wheels, the deviation from a perfect circle is less than one millimeter. The Earth's orbit around the Sun is normally depicted as being highly elliptical in order to teach students about Kepler's laws. This has been identified as a possible source of the misconception that it is warmer in summer than winter because the Earth is closer to the Sun. A possible way forward is to first teach students that the orbit of the Earth is essentially circular, like a bicycle wheel, and that seasons are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation, and then switch to exaggerated elliptical orbits to teach Kepler's laws.

With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), its potential implications for higher education have become a focal point of interest. This study delves into the capabilities of AI in physics education and offers actionable AI policy recommendations. Using openAI's flagship gpt-3.5-turbo large language model (LLM), we assessed its ability to answer 1337 physics exam questions spanning general certificate of secondary education (GCSE), A-Level, and introductory university curricula. We employed various AI prompting techniques: Zero Shot, in context learning, and confirmatory checking, which merges chain of thought reasoning with reflection. The proficiency of gpt-3.5-turbo varied across academic levels: it scored an average of 83.4% on GCSE, 63.8% on A-Level, and 37.4% on university-level questions, with an overall average of 59.9% using the most effective prompting technique. In a separate test, the LLM's accuracy on 5000 mathematical operations was found to be 45.2%. When evaluated as a marking tool, the LLM's concordance with human markers averaged at 50.8%, with notable inaccuracies in marking straightforward questions, like multiple-choice. Given these results, our recommendations underscore caution: while current LLMs can consistently perform well on physics questions at earlier educational stages, their efficacy diminishes with advanced content and complex calculations. LLM outputs often showcase novel methods not in the syllabus, excessive verbosity, and miscalculations in basic arithmetic. This suggests that at university, there's no substantial threat from LLMs for non-invigilated physics questions. However, given the LLMs' considerable proficiency in writing physics essays and coding abilities, non-invigilated examinations of these skills in physics are highly vulnerable to automated completion by LLMs. This vulnerability also extends to pysics questions pitched at lower academic levels. It is thus recommended that educators be transparent about LLM capabilities with their students, while emphasizing caution against overreliance on their output due to its tendency to sound plausible but be incorrect.

This article outlines a simplified approach to approximating the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarf stars at a level appropriate for advanced high school students, beginning undergraduate students, and high school teachers. Using a combination of introductory quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of special relativity, the electron degeneracy pressure is calculated in the non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic limits. By combining the electron degeneracy energy with the gravitational energy for a constant density star, an approximation to the Chandrasekhar mass is derived.

We present a case study of a conversation between ourselves and an artificial intelligence-based chatbot ChatGPT. We asked the chatbot to respond to a basic physics question that will be familiar to most physics teachers: 'A teddy bear is thrown into the air. What is its acceleration in the highest point?' The chatbot's responses, while linguistically quite advanced, were unreliable in their correctness and often full of contradictions. We then attempted to engage in Socratic dialogue with the chatbot to resolve the errors and contradictions, but with little success. We found that ChatGPT is not yet good enough to be used as a cheating tool for physics students or as a physics tutor. However, we found it quite reliable in generating incorrect responses on which physics teachers could train assessment of student responses.

The latest AI language modules can produce original, high quality full short-form (300-word) Physics essays within seconds. These technologies such as ChatGPT and davinci-003 are freely available to anyone with an internet connection. In this work, we present evidence of AI generated short-form essays achieving First-Class grades on an essay writing assessment from an accredited, current university Physics module. The assessment requires students answer five open-ended questions with a short, 300-word essay each. Fifty AI answers were generated to create ten submissions that were independently marked by five separate markers. The AI generated submissions achieved an average mark of $71 \pm 2\%$, in strong agreement with the current module average of $71 \pm 5\%$. A typical AI submission would therefore most-likely be awarded a First Class, the highest classification available at UK universities. Plagiarism detection software returned a plagiarism score between $2 \pm 1$% (Grammarly) and $7 \pm 2$% (TurnitIn). We argue that these results indicate that current natural language processing AI represent a significant threat to the fidelity of short-form essays as an assessment method in Physics courses.

Commercial disco balls provide a safe, effective and instructive way of observing the Sun. We explore the optics of solar projections with disco balls, and find that while sunspot observations are challenging, the solar disk and its changes during eclipses are easy and fun to observe. We explore the disco ball's potential for observing the moon and other bright astronomical phenomena.

The explanation of material properties starts at a young age identifying materials using words such as strong or brittle, but it is not until higher education that we teach how and why materials break along with what brittle really means. It is an important concept to understand, as a material that could be thought strong can be made to appear weak with the addition of a very small crack. As force is applied, these cracks, introduced through dents, scratches or even from the manufacturing process, can rapidly grow, leading to catastrophic failure. To help educators explain this concept in class without the need for specialised equipment or teaching complex theory, we present a set of accessible experiments on the fracture strength of paper strips. We show how the complexity of the experiment can be modified for various age groups, ranging from an engaging session for younger students pulling paper strips to a more involved extended practical using analytical solutions and fitting to determine the fracture strength of paper. These experiments have been delivered successfully to students of various ages and have led to stimulating discussions on the subject of materials science and engineering.

Debunking conspiracy theories is a never-ending battle. These theories often suggest that the condensation trails left by jet aircraft are, in fact, chemical or biological agents intentionally dispersed for various purposes. Although any discussion with supporters of conspiracy theories is pointless, this paper outlines several potential strategies for incorporating this theory into physics education. Specifically, the concept of 'chemtrails' can be leveraged to introduce basic principles of thermodynamics, facilitate the construction of atmospheric models, analyze readily available data, and, importantly, underscore the significance of critical and scientific thinking, which is so important for students these days.

This paper describes a nearly zero-cost device, manufactured using DIY techniques, intended to reveal the weak magnetic force between two parallel current carrying wires. The device is easily portable to the classroom, requiring a unique auxiliary instrument: a DC power source capable of supplying a few amperes. By changing the electrical connections it is possible to switch quickly between the modes of parallel and antiparallel currents. The device has already been successfully used in the classroom, with first-year undergraduate and final-year secondary school students.

This study reports a novel method to measure and teach the specific heat by means of ordinary non-isolating containers and Arduino microprocessors. The measurements are managed by simply placing cold substances in hot water and by monitoring the instant temperature variation via the Arduino UNO microprocessor. This method is original in the sense that it employs ordinary non-isolating containers and obvious heat loss from the container is determined by mathematically modelling the temperature decrease as a function of time. The specific heat measurements are managed based on the heat energy exchange between the hot water and the cold substance by extracting the heat loss to the environment. Proposed method is specifically employed for the substances of aluminium and copper and the measurements revealed that the relative errors of the measurements are 6.50% for copper and 1.38% for aluminium. This novel approach is very easy to implement, inexpensive and can effectively be employed on teaching physics, science and engineering. The novel method can also be employed on basic research activities and industrial applications.

The so-called artificial ices are easily found on the market nowadays. They are commercialized with the promise of freezing drinks in general. The advantage over traditional ice is that they do not dilute drinks during the cooling process. These artificial ices come in a variety of forms, including plastic, gel, stone, and metal. In this study, we investigate theoretically and experimentally the effectiveness of these objects in comparison to traditional water ice (ordinary ice). Our findings suggest that artificial ice produced without water provides a less significant cooling effect when compared to those made with water and traditional water ice. Additionally, we observed that the material used to coat the ice has a significant impact on the cooling process and can be selected based on its specific application. We also suggest an experimental parameter that can be used to verify the effectiveness of these objects. Finally, our results are supported by thermodynamic laws.

An inductor in series or parallel with a capacitor is a well known electrical circuit that allows the voltage and current to oscillate sinusoidally with time. If a diode is inserted in parallel with the inductor, then the current in the inductor will remain approximately constant with time.

This study reports a novel method to measure and teach the specific heat by means of ordinary non-isolating containers and Arduino microprocessors. The measurements are managed by simply placing cold substances in hot water and by monitoring the instant temperature variation via the Arduino UNO microprocessor. This method is original in the sense that it employs ordinary non-isolating containers and obvious heat loss from the container is determined by mathematically modelling the temperature decrease as a function of time. The specific heat measurements are managed based on the heat energy exchange between the hot water and the cold substance by extracting the heat loss to the environment. Proposed method is specifically employed for the substances of aluminium and copper and the measurements revealed that the relative errors of the measurements are 6.50% for copper and 1.38% for aluminium. This novel approach is very easy to implement, inexpensive and can effectively be employed on teaching physics, science and engineering. The novel method can also be employed on basic research activities and industrial applications.

An inductor in series or parallel with a capacitor is a well known electrical circuit that allows the voltage and current to oscillate sinusoidally with time. If a diode is inserted in parallel with the inductor, then the current in the inductor will remain approximately constant with time.

The force acting at the bottom of a vertically bouncing ball does no work on the ball since the bottom of the ball remains at rest. However, it is the total work that is zero. Work is done to change the kinetic energy of the ball, and an equal and opposite amount of work is done to change the elastic energy stored in the ball.

Quantum teleportation is a concept that fascinates and confuses many people, in particular, given that it combines quantum physics and the concept of teleportation. With quantum teleportation likely to play a key role in several communication technologies and the quantum internet in the future, it is imperative to create learning tools and approaches that can accurately and effectively communicate the concept. Recent research has indicated the importance of teachers enthusing students about the topic of quantum physics. Therefore, educators at both high school and early university level need to find engaging and perhaps unorthodox ways of teaching complex, yet interesting topics such as quantum teleportation. In this paper, we present a paradigm to teach the concept of quantum teleportation using the Christmas gift-bringer Santa Claus. Using the example of Santa Claus, we use an unusual context to explore the key aspects of quantum teleportation, and all without being overly abstract. In addition, we outline a worksheet designed for use in the classroom setting which is based on common naive conceptions from quantum physics. This worksheet will be evaluated as a classroom resource to teach quantum teleportation in a subsequent study.

An essential goal of teaching experimental physics is to engage students in exploring the validity of models and refining them. To comprehend, test, and revise scientific models, students need well-designed learning activities that enable them to practice the necessary skills. In this paper, we critically review the prevalent assumption in contemporary literature that the coefficient of kinetic friction can be treated as a constant for a certain surface pair. Further, we introduce a novel approach for calculating gravitational acceleration by measuring accelerations on inclined planes. The study indicates that kinetic friction changes with different inclinations of the plane and cannot be assumed to be constant even with typical classroom laboratory equipment. Measuring the gravitational acceleration (g) via inclined planes can result in significant deviations if varying kinetic friction is not considered. This paper proposes a lab activity to investigate the validity of a naïve friction model, by measuring the well-defined gravitational acceleration (g) with controlled precision, in an upper secondary classroom setting.

It is commonly assumed that static friction does no work. However, if a ball is incident obliquely without spin on a horizontal surface, then the ball bounces with topspin. Work is therefore done by the friction force at the bottom of the ball to increase the rotational kinetic energy of the ball, even if the force is due to static friction.

In physics classes and general education classes, teaching the concept of fluorescence can be challenging, and it may seem too theoretical for some students. A short YouTube video titled 'Seeing Photosynthesis from Space' displays a global map of photosynthesis, and this is an excellent, attention-getting way to visually introduce fluorescence to students and also to address climate change. Therefore, three hands-on activities were designed using spinach chlorophyll ethanol extract and olive oil to observe the fluorescence emission; in addition, a smartphone spectrophotometer was employed to observe the spectrum of the emission. The class also addressed the issue of global warming because the absorption of CO₂ by plants and algae is decreasing, which may cause serious climate change.

The orbital data for the Moon was inadvertently omitted from table 1. A supplementary Excel file has also been added which shows the original data in table 1 and how the equivalent 26 inch bike wheel tolerances were calculated.

The explanation of material properties starts at a young age identifying materials using words such as strong or brittle, but it is not until higher education that we teach how and why materials break along with what brittle really means. It is an important concept to understand, as a material that could be thought strong can be made to appear weak with the addition of a very small crack. As force is applied, these cracks, introduced through dents, scratches or even from the manufacturing process, can rapidly grow, leading to catastrophic failure. To help educators explain this concept in class without the need for specialised equipment or teaching complex theory, we present a set of accessible experiments on the fracture strength of paper strips. We show how the complexity of the experiment can be modified for various age groups, ranging from an engaging session for younger students pulling paper strips to a more involved extended practical using analytical solutions and fitting to determine the fracture strength of paper. These experiments have been delivered successfully to students of various ages and have led to stimulating discussions on the subject of materials science and engineering.

The wave model of light in general, and the phenomenon of light polarisation in particular, are difficult topics for secondary school students. Prior research has indicated that a model-free phenomenological teaching approach may be fruitful in helping students overcome some of the widespread learning obstacles. These phenomenological approaches are characterised by their departure from abstract and mechanistic models of light, opting instead to prioritise students' observations throughout the exploration of phenomena and experiments, unburdened by mathematical formalism or theoretical models. In this paper, we present a three-lessons phenomenological teaching-learning sequence on light polarisation. We evaluated of the teaching concept in classroom practise and analysed ways of thinking about light polarisation among N = 110 students (aged 12–14 years) who participated in the intervention using qualitative content analysis of free-text responses. The results provide preliminary empirical evidence that the presented instructional approach can contribute to the development of a qualitative understanding of polarisation among learners in introductory optics.