These are some of the papers and demonstrations I've presented. Click on linked titles to get more information.
|
|
| You
Teach Too Much: A List of Topics Considered Nonessential in California
(pdf) An examination of the adopted (yet "pre-publication") California Academic Standards in 9-12 Physics. (11/99) |
| A Different, Two-Year High
School Physics Program A Physics I-AP Physics II sequence developed for use at Rio Americano High School. (4/98) |
| Is the
Physics Classroom Any Place For Girls?. The Gender Imbalance in Physics Education: How It Came About and What Teachers Can Do About It. (4/97) |
| The Blowgun as a Teaching Tool. Use a length of PVC pipe to teach dramatic lessons in kinematics and dynamics. (11/95) See The Physics Teacher (February 1996, p. 99). |
| Understanding the Slide. Teach the fundamentals of electric circuits using the familiar playground ride. (4/95) |
| The Magic
Circle: A Mnemonic for Graphical Kinematics. The toughest problems in graphical kinematics made easy! (11/94) |
| The
Groovy CD Experiment. [LASE] Use a laser to find the groove spacing on a compact disc. (7/91) |
|
|
| The
Laser Beam Viewing Tank. Construction specifications and suggested demonstrations. (11/96) |
| Physics
is a Mind-Expanding Subject. When your students see your head inflating like a balloon, they'll believe! (4/96) |
| The
Photoacoustic Effect. Light can produce sound! You don't believe me. That's OK; neither did a physics-teaching colleague who paid up when he lost the bet on it. (11/95) |
| The
Paper Magnet. Breaking magnets to demonstrate the persistence of dipoles is fine if you've got money to throw around. Here's something for the rest of us. (4/94) |
| Aristotle's
Statement of Newton's First Law. As Dave Barry would say, "I swear this actually happened!" (11/93) |
| The
Newtonian Shot. Simultaneously fire a light "bullet" and a heavy "bullet" toward the ground. Guess which one hits first? (4/93) |
|
|
| The
Rules of The Universe If you think like a four-year old and keep asking why, you will eventually arrive at one of these rules. There are only about a dozen! (12/87) |
| Rotational
Mystery Batons Two batons with identical lengths and masses, yet one is "heavier" than the other. How can this be? (2/97) |
Back to Mr. Baird's Phyz Home Page.