Science Education – Page 8 – Science Teaching tips from Lee Trampleasure

June 9, 2010

Error analysis in volume measurements

I use the attached worksheet to walk my high school physics students through the process of determining the percent error in a calculated measurement. After these calculations, students then determine the range of their final results (± x cm3). Finally, they look at the range and discover that use of the “sig figs” rules gives them about the same value...

Physics/Science Education Comments: 0

December 7, 2009

Hayward’s “D Street” fault creep, curb offset evidence erased

Sadly, improvements in city streets can wipe out geologic evidence. D Street has been a great field trip stop to see earthquake fault creep, and appears in many guidebooks and web sites. But in 1997, Hayward repaved the road, including the sidewalks (they all needed it). When they repaved it, they straightened all the curb lines, thereby erasing the evidence...

Geology/Earth Science Comment: 1

October 23, 2009

Handout for using the TI 83 / 84 calculator in a science classroom.

I have updated my Analyzing data using your TI-83 or TI-84 calculator handout. New features include: Using the Table features to have the calculator solve for variables. Using Draw to calculate the slope of the tangent to a curved line. Standard letter size (8.5×11 inches) for easier printing. You can download a copy here: TI-graphing-calculator-tips-for-science.pdf. It is in PDF which...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 2

October 14, 2009

Loma Prieta 20 year anniversary

This Saturday (October 17, 2009) marks the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. Everyone who was in the Santa Cruz/SF Bay Area has their story of where they were, and KQED’s Forum call-in program had a great hour yesterday. It’s been long enough ago that for my students (juniors and seniors in high school) the earthquake is now only...

General/Science Education Comments: 2

September 30, 2009

Generic science class data table

In my physic classes, we do a lot of labs. Students are encouraged to create their own data tables, but many aren’t so “linearly” inclined, and have difficulty creating neat tables. I created a generic data table they can use on any lab. Design of the data table Most of our labs require three measurements of ten different settings of...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0

September 12, 2009

“Progressive” thermostats to save energy

Sitting in my cold, air-conditioned classroom the last week, while it was 85-95ºF outside, a design for a new thermostat came to me. Currently, thermostats cool (or heat) a building to a desired temperature. My new design would create a floating target temperature, that moves up and down as the outside temperature changes. The goal would be to target a...

Science Education/Weather Comments: 2

August 6, 2009

A concept map for the Modeling cycle

At the AAPT meeting in Ann Arbor, I presented a poster on concept mapping in physics classes. An idea that arose there was the creation of a concept map of the ASU Modeling Cycle, so I created one. Take a look and let me know what you think. I’ll probably make adjustments to it when I get suggestions. Modeling cycle...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 5

July 29, 2009

Concept Mapping in the High School Physics Classroom

Below is the content of my poster presentation from the American Association of Physics Teachers national meeting in Ann Arbor, MI. (I’ll be adding graphs from surveys shortly.) Concept Mapping in Physics AAPT Summer Meeting; July 28, 2009 Lee Trampleasure Carondelet High School Concord, CA Concept Mapping in Physics Concept mapping is the creation of a diagram that represents the...

Science Education Comment: 1

July 21, 2009

Target shoot: Ball on ramp, conservation of energy

Many physics teachers do a “target shoot” lab for conservation of energy. The basics of the lab is that students roll a ball down a curved ramp and predict where it will land. By calculating the change in gravitational energy from the top to the bottom of the ramp (“Phase A” in the sketch), students can use this as the...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comment: 1

July 17, 2009

Metric conversion and proportional reasoning

Background A teacher presented the following question on the Physical Science email list of the National Science Teachers Association: I’ve run into a roadblock and hope someone can assist. This year we will be teaching conversions in the metric system for our physical science classes. We kind of skipped over that in other years. Anyhow, I’m not sure how to...

Physics/Science Education Comments: 5

Category: Science Education