A series of intruction situations related to image formation by converging lenses which show the way teachers may unwillingly, help to strengthen students’ pre-scientific structural schemata are analyzed. Very often, teachers make use of simplified sketches, stereotyped diagrams, or a somewhat inaccurate language which, […]
An open questionnaire on various aspects of energy, including phenomena involving heat, was administred to 6 classes of Italian 15 to 18 year-old students having different curricular exprerience in physics, attending different upper secondary schools. In this paper we discuss the answers in depth against the well known conceptual difficulties of energy, […]
Our effort is to teach physics concepts to secondary school students through a laboratory approach, giving a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary view of the topics explained. This article illustrates a didactic project carried out in two third year classes. Starting from a familiar and concrete object such as the bicycle, […]
The splitting of the resonant frequencies of N oscillatory LC circuits interacting by the mutual induction between their coils is a classical analog for the formation of energy bands in the system of interacting atoms in a crystal lattice. This article describes how to carry out an experimental demonstration of this phenomenon. […]
The activities of a mechanics lab for secondary school pupils hosted by the Ducati motorcycle manufacturer are described. Under the guidance of tutors the participants can discover the basic laws of mechanics by performing hands-on experiments based on the concepts of linear and angular momentum as quantities which can be conserved or transferred. […]
I show how to create a chaotic sculpture starting from Brownian motion. […]
An experiment on constant velocity that involves a whole class is described. Some pupils walk along a straight line while other pupils time their positions at fixed distances. The activity is performed in a gym using daily life materials and devices and requires less than one hour total time. […]
A simple argument is given, showing that a revision of newtonian dynamics is necessarily required when you assume the principle of relativity as a general law of physics. The motion of a charged particle within a plane condenser (uniform electric field) is studied in two different reference frames, […]