Abstract of paper to be presented at the International Conference Hands-on Experiments in Physics Education, Duisburg, Germany, 2328 August, 1998.
HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTS IN ADVANCED MECHANICS COURSES
Jonte Bernhard
Dep of Physics, Högskolan Dalarna, S-781 88 Borlänge, Sweden
Advanced and intermediate mechanics courses are traditionally (at least in Sweden) theoretical with no student laboratory experiments. However many students have problems making the connection between theory and the real world phenomena described by the theory. This hampers student comprehension. We are now developing "simple" hands-on experiments which have been included in our advanced mechanics course since the 1997/98 academic year and we will present our implementation. By using computer interfacing equipment (we are using PASCO Science Workshop interface and software) advanced analysis, like FFT-analysis, can be performed on simple equipment. We strongly believe that is of outmost importance, even for "advanced" students, to perform experiments in which they can see, touch and feel. By using simultaneously using computers and a hands-on approach advanced concepts and student comprehension are reinforced.
This work is supported by the Council for Renewal of Undergraduate Education within the Swedish National Board of Higher Education.
Link to Full Paper (pdf-format)