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The Drop Tower at Portland State University allows investigations of the behavior of physics demonstrations when the acceleration due to gravity goes to zero for 2.1 seconds. Does this cause a chaotic pendulum to transition into non-chaotic behavior or does chaos survive this short transition into weightlessness due to being in a non-inertial frame of reference from free fall? This question will be answered by viewing one of the many demonstrations in the Drop Tower Physics YouTube Channel, and the theoretical reason for this behavior will be discussed.

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Chaotic Pendulum in Free Fall

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chaotic pendulum

free fall

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This meeting is a great opportunity to explore sessions and workshops designed with your professional development in mind. Present your research and exchange ideas on the latest in teaching and pedagogy. Participate in a wide range of events, activities, plenaries, and so much more, connecting you with peers and colleagues who share your commitment to excellence in physics education.

A new active-learning pedagogy is presented that includes computation as a central theme. The approach starts with the "marble game", a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of diffusion. Students first learn how to play the game by hand and then implement it in Excel to discover that Fick's law of diffusion can be explained by random jumping between two boxes. In a guided-inquiry environment, students apply the same techniques to drug elimination, radioactive decay, osmosis, ligand binding, enzyme kinetics, and ion channel permeation. Students discover for themselves the consequences and significance of model assumptions by reading and interpreting graphs, and by comparing model predictions with real data using linear regression and non-linear least-squares fits. The pedagogical objective is for students to discover for themselves that science is an evidence-based endeavor with testable hypotheses that are supported by experiment.

Biophysics in the Undergraduate Curriculum

In the Paradigms in Physics curriculum at Oregon State University, we teach a series of spins-first quantum mechanics courses that incorporate various types of active-engagement pedagogies. In this talk, I will highlight the kinesthetic activities used in our junior-level Quantum Fundamentals course and their role in the broader context of our quantum mechanics courses. These kinesthetic activities include the Arms Activities where pairs of students use their left arms to embody quantum mechanical spin states and the Quantum Measurement Skit where the class acts out the measurement of quantum states. In addition to presenting the activities, I will discuss results from interviews with students about their understanding and experience with Arms.

Waving Arms and Skits in Quantum Mechanics

Currently, the majority of undergraduate education and workforce training in quantum information science and technology (QIST) is occurring at doctoral-granting institutions. To meet the anticipated quantum workforce needs and to ensure the workforce is demographically representative and inclusive to all communities, the United States must expand on these efforts and incorporate QIST into the curriculum at the nation’s predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs). In June 2021 roughly 90 faculty from PUIs participated in a workshop aimed at facilitating this expansion. After panels describing industry needs, current education efforts, and best practices, workshop participants identified challenges they would face when incorporating QIST into curriculum at their institutions. Discussions then focused on strategies and solutions for these challenges. This talk will summarize these discussions including programmatic approaches, gaining institutional support, course content and design, and inclusive practices. I will also discuss ongoing efforts to bring QIST into the curriculum at predominantly undergraduate institutions.

Bringing Quantum Information Science to Students at Predominately Undergraduate Institutions

We developed a board game that incorporates the rules of quantum mechanics into the game play, Quantum Party!. The goal was to create a fun and effective pedagogical instrument that could be used at the high-school or introductory college level, or even sold to the general public. We now have a professional-looking game that can be purchased online by anyone. It comes with multiple tools (dice, spinner) that replicate the science behind 4 classic quantum mechanics experiments/observations, a well as a manual that teaches both the game rules and the science behind the game, and of course, cats! Since its creation, we have run workshops with high-school teachers to brainstorm on how this can be used in the classroom. In this talk, I will give a summary of this process and where we see this going in the future.

Quantum Party! Incorporating quantum mechanics rules into a board game

Machine Learning is becoming ubiquitous in the realms of science, business, law enforcement, and even the arts. Many people don’t realize how rooted in “physics thinking” the foundations of machine learning algorithms are, but physics teachers are well positioned to teach students to use these tools and how to understand their limitations. I have developed a three-week general education course on machine learning for non-scientists, and I adapted several activities for an introductory laboratory sequence in a course on Galaxies and Cosmology. I will report on the successes and challenges of these endeavors and make recommendations on how students can be prepared at multiple educational levels to engage with the opportunities and dangers these tools represent.

Physics Teachers Should Teach Machine Learning

During the pandemic, the format of class instruction changed from in-person to entirely remote. What does a group that provides physics demonstrations to lecturers to supplement instruction do to continue to offer the same level of access to our catalog? We digitize! Working with instructors to identify their needs, we provided short videos of demonstrations performed in various ways. By using multiple cameras, professional editing software, strategic planning, and youtube we have compiled a physics demo video library accessible to the world. Here is what we learned on our journey.

Physics Demonstrations - From the classroom to the remote landscape

Quantum computing is traditionally taught with a mathematical approach, featuring linear algebra and an emphasis on proofs, two subjects not prominent in K-12 education. In this talk, we present our approach of taking QIS key concepts such as superposition, entanglement, measurement, and decoherence, and applying them to familiar situations such as tasting jelly bellies, guessing what card was flipped, and playing Connect 4. Our goal is to understand how young learners conceptualize these concepts in real-world settings, how those conceptions align and do not align with their application to quantum computing, and design instruction that both builds on their existing knowledge and bridges to quantum computing. The end goal is to delay math as much as possible in order to allow early introductions of the concepts.

Building Quantum Computing Intuition through Visuals, Activities, and Games

We present a very simple derivation of the commonly used approximate formula [1]: D = A * sin ((d/365.25) * 2*PI), where D is solar declination, A = 23.44 deg is Earth's axial tilt (obliquity of the ecliptic), and d is the number of days after Equinox. We used the heliocentric cartesian frame of reference with XY plane coplanar to the ecliptic. We analytically calculated the scalar product of the unit vector pointing from the Sun to the Earth and the other unit vector pointing from the Earth to Polaris. This product is equal to the cosine of the angle complementary to the solar declination D. We also demonstrated how we can find the geographic latitude using hands-on observation of the shadow of a yardstick at local geographic noon. The geographic latitude is found with the accuracy of about 1.5 degree (or 100 nautical miles along meridian). Reference: 1.https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-of-sunlight/declination-angle

The Approximate Formula for Solar Declination and Its Experimental Validation

Space exploration is a naturally interesting topic to many people. With the advances in spacecraft propulsion methods, it is possible for humans to study distant celestial bodies. Students can investigate the benefits and challenges of both human and non-human travel to space through different means. In this study, we investigated ways to help students understand space exploration. Two activities, Migration to Mars and Solar Sails, were designed for an undergraduate astronomy course taught online during the COVID pandemic. Students completed the activities in groups of four. One activity per group was submitted to the course management software followed by a quiz that students answered individually. Quiz responses were coded to check students’ understanding of the activities and the extent to which they were able to describe information relevant to space exploration. Students generally understood the value of uncrewed missions and the fact that solar sails use sustainable energy.

Students’ Understanding of Factors Related to Space Exploration

Investigating the physics of music is a reliable way to engage many of your students. A sonometer is a traditional device for learning about the physics of string instruments. The new PASCO sonometer adds new features to this classic experimental apparatus. These features make it quick and easy for students to gather the data they need to answer questions about wave properties, resonance, and standing waves in strings. The PASCO sonometer can be used with modern sound sensors and FFT analysis to measure frequency or "old school" with tuning forks. This presentation will introduce the new PASCO sonometer features, explain how to use it to collect data, and describe several experiments that can be performed with it. Student handouts and teacher guides will be provided.

Chaotic Pendulum in Free Fall

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