PhET Blog

This Guide of Concept Questions is from Trish Loeblein, PhET K-12 Specialist and Evergreen High School physics & chemistry teacher. It includes all the physics clicker questions that she uses at Evergreen High in her PhET activities and she updates this activity as she adds questions. So if you’re looking for some great inquiry-based concept questions, this is a great way to find some!

From Trish Loeblein, PhET K-12 Specialist and Evergreen High School physics & chemistry teacher, this Reaction and Rates Guide include a variety of tools, including teacher tips, insights into student use and thinking, learning goals, lesson plans, demo slides, student activities, and clicker questions. Applicable to a wide range of levels, you can pick and choose the activities that are appropriate for your class.

Wendy Adams, a professor at UNC, recently used the Moving Man Lab in her algebra-based physics course alongside a physical lab with motion detectors. Here’s what she said:

“It was amazing to see the difference. When they used Moving Man there was a lot of very productive physics talk. When using the motion detectors, there was some good talk but it came with long breaks of trying to make sure they accomplished the given movement, printed and labeled their graphs, etc… I was amazed at how effective and efficiently the activity worked with Moving Man. So were the other faculty.”

Do you have a good story? If so, e-mail us at [email protected].

Physics Teachers – Getting ready for the new year?

See how Trish Loeblein, PhET K-12 Specialist and Evergreen High School physics & chemistry teacher, uses sims during these first semester activities on kinematics. The lessons include how to use PhET for demos, in-class labs, homeworks, and concept questions.

(The activities are appropriate for many levels and can easily be adapted for your particular needs.)

This multi-level lesson will help students understand basic pendulum relationships. Use it as a homework or in-class activity. Students will experiment and learn how length, mass, starting height and gravity affect the motion of a pendulum.
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/contributions/view/3118

Now you can create your own CD or DVD for the full PhET installation (with or without teaching activities) on computers that don’t have internet access. To create your installer disks, you’ll need a computer equipped with a CD/DVD writer, a blank disk and an internet connection. Remember to periodically check for updated versions of the PhET simulations to keep your sims most up to date.

We’re busy revamping our “For Teachers” page. And, we’d love to hear what you like (or don’t like) and what features you’d like to see there. Your feedback will make the “For Teachers” an even more useful resource for every PhET user! Please send feedback to [email protected].

Check out our podcast at http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/phet-interactive-simulation/id432333491.
Are there ideas that you’d like to see in podcasts? Let us know.

For Grades 9-12, this homework assignment lets students explore how the mass of an object is determined using spring balances. Next they use the spring balance to determine the mass of an unknown object, and then find the gravity on Planet X.
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/contributions/view/2817

Here’s a great lesson on reaction rates from Ms. Emily Firchau at Arapahoe High School. Thanks Emily!
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/contributions/view/3147