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Physlets: Teaching Physics with Interactive Curricular Material
Wolfgang Christian, Davidson College
Mario Belloni, Davidson College

ISBN-10: 0130293415
ISBN-13: 9780130293411

Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Copyright: 2001
Format: Paper Bound w/CD-ROM; 304 pp
Published: 09/26/2000

Suggested retail price: $40.00
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An instructor's supplement for Physics courses.

This manual/CD package shows physics instructors—both web novices and Java savvy programmers alike—how to author their own interactive curricular material using Physlets. Java physlets are applets written for physics pedagogy that can be embedded directly into html documents and that can interact with the user. This guide demonstrates the use of Physlets in conjunction with JavaScript to deliver a wide variety of web-based interactive physics activities, and provides examples of Physlets created for classroom demonstrations, traditional and Just-in-Time Teaching homework problems, pre- and post-laboratory exercises, and Interactive Engagement activities. More than just a technical how-to book, the manual gives instructors some ideas about the new possibilities that Physlets offer, and is designed to make the transition to using Physlets quick and easy.

  • An overview of the pedagogy and the technology ( Part I )—Explains the new pedagogy/technology and its place in the teaching of physics today; shows how to install Physlets locally on a desktop PC or web server; discusses the core technology of Java and JavaScript; and features a tutorial on how to script three of the most used Physlets, Animator, Efield and DataGraph.
  • Examples of curricular material ( Part II )—Useful for in-class exercises and homework problems in introductory and advanced physics courses. Includes 100 in-text examples and an additional 80 problems available on individual html pages on the accompanying CD. The Additional Resources portion of the CD contains even more examples of curricular material from other institutions.
  • Additional Resources ( Part III )—Includes a detailed description of the methods for version 4 Physlets: Animator, Bar, BField, Circuits, DataGraph, DataTable, Efield, EnergyEigenvalue, Faraday, Hydrogenic, Molecular, Optics, Poisson, and SurfacePlotter.

    • Provides information for instructors who are interested in modifying preexisting Physlet problems (from the text or CD) for use in a new context or scripting beyond the tutorial in Part I. Ex.___

  • Companion Websites—Many of the Physlet Problems provided in Part II are included on Prentice Hall's Companion Website for Douglas Giancoli's two physics texts, Physics: Principles and Applications 5/e and Physics for Scientists and Engineers 3/e. The site is located at http://www.prenhall.com/giancoli. These resources are also available on Prentice Hall's Companion Websites for College Physics 4/e by Jerry Wilson and Tony Buffa. At http://www.prenhall.com/wilson. Also available with Walker, Physics CW at www.prenhall.com/walkerphysics.



Foreword.

I. PEDAGOGY AND TECHNOLOGY.

1. Pedagogy and Physlets.

What Is a Physlet? A New Teaching Paradigm. Interactive Engagement. Media Focused Problems. Appropriate Technology. Video, Interactive Physics, and Physlets.

2. JITT and Physlets.

What Is JITT? WarmUps and Puzzles. Puzzles. Physlet-Based WarmUp Questions: A Look at What They Offer. JITT in Review.

3. PER and Physlets.

Effectiveness of Animation. Comparison of Students' Problem Solving. Think-Aloud Interviews of Students Solving Physlet Problems. Physlet-Based FCI. Conclusions from PER.

4. A Tour of Physlets.

Examples. Installing Physlets.

5. Technology Overview.

A History of Java. Java Language. Class Files. Embedding. Parameter Tags and User Interfaces. Scripting Overview.

6. Scripting Tutorial.

Authoring Tools. Animator. Efield. Datagraph. Data Connections. Scripting Tips.

II. CURRICULAR MATERIAL.

7. In-class Activities.

Mechanics. Electromagnetism. Advanced.

8. Mechanics, Waves, and Thermodynamics Problems.

Kinematics. Newton's Laws. Work and Energy. Gravity. Momentum. Rotational Dynamics. Simple Harmonic Motion. Statics. Waves. Sound. Fluids. Thermodynamics.

9. Electromagnetism and Optics Problems.

Electrostatics. Gauss's Law. Electric Potentials. Capacitors. Circuits. Magnetic Fields. Faraday's Law. Electromagnetic Waves. Optics.

10. Modern Physics Problems.

Special Relativity. Hydrogenic Wavefunctions. Square Wells and the Schrödinger Equation.

III. REFERENCE.

11. Resources.

Available Physlets. JavaDoc Output.

12. Inherited Methods.

Clock Methods. Data Connections. Miscellaneous Methods.

13. Naming Conventions.

Common Methods. AddObject Method.

14. Animator.

Embedding. Data Sources. Methods.

15. Efield.

Embedding. Data Sources. Methods.

16. Datagraph.

Embedding. Data Sources and Listeners. Methods.

17. Datatable.

Embedding. Data Sources and Listeners. Methods.

18. Version Four Physlets.

Bar. Bfield. Circuits. Eigenvalues and QM Wavefunctions. Faraday. Hydrogenic. Molecular. Optics. Poisson. Surface Plotter.

Bibliography.

Appendix A: Glossary of HTML and Java Terminology.

Appendix B: Copyright and Conditions of Use.

Index.

"You hold in your hand more than just another book about computational physics. Physlets are a tool enviornment—a method that will allow you to integrate the computer into your classroom in a way that is easy and powerful for both you and your students. Even better, it's a tool that can help us together build a community of physics instructors using computer tools and working together to improve physics teaching throughout the world."—From the foreword by Joe Redish, University of Maryland

"The first problem I wrote for the Superposition Physlet was one on traveling waves. As I watch individual students interact with the animation, I was able to pinpoint where they were having difficulty in understanding the conditions for standing wave formation. In 23 years of teaching, this is the best tool I've found to help students comprehend wave superposition."—Loren Winters, NC School of Science and Math

"I have found that the Physlet problems are a great tool to help students to understand the physics concepts. The Physlet problems help to develop student's ability to visualize concepts."—Mark Hardies, St. Petersburg Junior College

"The physics community should tank the authors for developing the concept of scriptable Java applets that can be easily integrated into our courses. Their approach is very promising and this book will make it easier for us to use this approach in our curriculum development work."—Harvey Gould, Clark University and Jan Tobochnick, Kalamazoo College

"Physlet-based problems are an invaluable tool in challenging students to learn how to solve physics problems and in helping them develop problem-solving strategies. Physlets force students to move beyond their initial novice approach of "plug and chug" as they must decide what "data" they need from the Physlet to work a problem."—Anne Cox, Eckerd College

"We have found Physlets to be an excellent way to deliver pre-lab information and quizzes in our introductory physics courses. The students are presented with virtual equipment and experiences similar to those they will have in the laboratory. They are asked to make measurements and perform calculations exactly like those that will eventually be required in the laboratory. Physlets have become an important tool at Gustavus to ensure that students arrive prepared to get the maximum benefit from their two-hour physics labs, allowing them plenty of time for analysis and discussion of their results."—Chuck Niederriter, Gustavus Adolphus College

"Although there isn't a single pedagogic magic bullet toe motivate and excite all physics students, the interactive and web-based Physlets bullet will certainly capture the imaginations of a great deal of today's students who have grown up on and thrive on multimedia exploration. It is a laboratory the students will visit again and again."—Edward Deveney, Bridgewater State College

"Physlets are an amazing tool for learning physics concepts. They're fun, they're free, but even better than that, they enable students to learn ideas quickly. The visual impact allows a quick, intuitive grasp of physics, enabling students to have a better feel for the theories. The associated numerical data invites quantitative analysis. It is active, involved investigation at its best."—Bill Junkin, Erskin College

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