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Sound refraction from temperature gradients (Sound refraction). 

Sound refraction from temperature gradients (Sound refraction). 

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We describe an extracurricular learning path on waves focused on energy transfer. The advantages of introducing mechanical waves by using the Shive wave machine and laboratory activities are presented. Laboratories are realized by inquiry, i.e. students explore waves behavior in qualitative way, guess what can happen and suddenly test their hypothe...

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The spring-mass system studied in undergraduate physics laboratories may exhibit complex dynamics due to the simultaneous action of gravitational and elastic forces in addition to air friction. In the first part of this paper, we describe a laboratory experiment aimed at beginner students which also gives those with a more advanced background an op...

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... Students must be intellectually engaged and actively involved in their learning, and traditional instruction is usually failing to provide this engagement. On the contrary, a well-designed laboratory can achieve active learning through exploring and inquiry-based activities (Montalbano 2014a). In the laboratory context, multimedia tools can play a relevant role by enhancing the comprehension of some topics (e.g. ...
... A very effective activity for understanding resonance (Montalbano 2014b) is the study of Chladni figures showed in figure 1. By using a speaker connected to a function generator, a resonant system can be obtained by placing a metal plate over it. ...
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A learning path is proposed starting from the characterization of a sound wave, showing how human beings emit articulate sounds in the language, introducing psychoacoustics, i.e. how the sound interacts with ears and it is transduced into an electrical signal for transmission to the brain. What is perceived as noise is presented and the concept is extended to physical measurements. The interdisciplinary teaching process is focused on active learning through activities at school and outside performed with an open source software which allows to record sounds and analyze spectral components.
... Which activities are useful in classroom practice? Some attempt of investigating these issues have been realized within the National Plan for Science Degree (Montalbano, 2012;Sassi, Chiefari, Lombardi & Testa, 2012) in a summer school of physics (Benedetti, Mariotti, Montalbano, & Porri, 2011;Montalbano & Mariotti, 2013) and with deepening laboratory with few interested students (Montalbano & Di Renzone, 2012). The pilot study was qualitative and involved small groups of students from high school (15 -18 years) in different times and situations. ...
... On the right, the end of the machine is fixed so it behaves as a wall that reflects the wave that overlapping to the incident one creating a standing wave. Shive machine is very effective for encouraging students in active learning (Montalbano & Di Renzone, 2012). ...
... On the left, a pulse from the left (top) and transmitted and reflected pulses (below); on the right a pulse from the right (top) and transmitted and reflected pulses. (Montalbano & Di Renzone, 2012). ...
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In order to describe natural phenomena, science develops sophisticated models that use mathematical and formal languages which seem, and often are, very far from common experience. When a phenomenon is not accessible to our senses, its description is indirect and understanding can be difficult for those who are not trained to understand the consequences of formal languages used by scientists. When one succeed to obtain a direct visualization of a phenomenon inaccessible to senses, it is possible to get a deeper understanding since a very effective channel of learning is involved. A wider and more profound result in learning process can be obtained if the physical system utilized for visualization enables direct interaction with the phenomenon. From the infrared vision to cosmic rays, from the magnetic field to the flow of energy, many phenomena can be suitable for building systems that allow capturing a greater awareness of the physical world. Some examples of such systems are given for relevant topics in physics and for mathematical tools. They were designed for a summer school for students in the last years of high school or for deepening laboratories addressed to talented students in secondary school, but with some attention it is possible to adapt them to other cases like high school classes or undergraduate students.
... The more relevant feature of the summer school was the implementation of active and cooperative learning paths (Benedetti, Mariotti, Montalbano, & Porri, 2011). Other activities were designed in order to be proposed to small groups of talented students from high school (age 15-18) in optional deepining laboratories perfomed in Physics Department (Montalbano & Di Renzone, 2012). ...
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Since 2006, forty students from high school are selected to attend a full immersion summer school of physics in the Pigelleto Natural Reserve, on the south east side of Mount Amiata in the province of Siena. Topics are chosen so that students are involved in activities rarely pursued in high school, aspects and relationship with society are underlined and discussed. Our purpose is offering to really motivated students an opportunity of testing the scientific method, the laboratory experience in a stimulating context, by deepening an interesting and relevant topic in order to orienting them towards physics. Students are encouraged in cooperating in small groups in order to present and share the achieved results. Starting from the third edition of the school, the school became a training opportunity for younger teachers which are involved in programming and realization of selected activities. The laboratory activities with students are usually supervised by a young and an expert teacher in order to fix the correct methodology. Recently, young teachers enrolled in a master in Physics Education tested in the summer school some activity designed in their courses.
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