TPT May 2022 cover image

The Physics Teacher

May 2022
Volume 60 Issue 5

Fermi Questions: James Webb Space Telescope

This Month’s Cover... reflects vividly some of the peculiar symmetry of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), not to mention the suspense felt by those waiting to examine its images and the drama associated with its controversial name. Larry Weinstein offers two Fermi Questions about the JWST, as well as a nostalgic look back on this thought-provoking and entertaining column, in celebration of 15 wonderful years of his contributions to TPT. (Credit: NASA)

Columns

And the Survey Says..., Astronotes, Figuring Physics, For the New Teacher, Just Physics, iPhysicsLabs, Little Gems, Physics Challenge for Teachers and Students, Fermi Questions, Talkin' Physics, Technology In The Classroom, Tricks of the Trade, Visual Physics,  and Websights.

EDITORIAL

Call for papers on environment, sustainability, and climate change. DOI: 10.1119/10.0010392

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Note on acrobat energies by Joshua Grossman. DOI: 10.1119/5.0081876

Nonintuitive flows through holes by Said Shakerin. DOI: 10.1119/5.0084582

PAPERS

Vertical Launch of a Grappling Hook by Carl E. Mungan and Trevor C. Lipscombe. DOI: 10.1119/5.0030313

Promoting Problem Solving Through Interactive Video-Enhanced Tutorials by Kathleen Koenig, Alexandru Maries, Robert Teese and Michelle Chabot. DOI: 10.1119/5.0050673

It’s Good to Be Popular in High School: A Look at Disparities in STEM AP Offerings in Northern California Public High Schools by David Marasco and Bree Barnett Dreyfuss. DOI: /10.1119/5.0037254

Visualizing Double-Slit Interference on a Shoestring by Beth Parks and Hans Benze. DOI: 10.1119/5.0050803

Putting Potential at the Core of Teaching Electric by Jan-Philipp Burde, Thomas Sean Weatherby and Thomas Wilhelm. DOI: 10.1119/5.0046298

A Practical Approach to Physics for Non-Scientists by Gordon Ramsey. DOI: 10.1119/5.0043083

Reflection from a Potential Well and from a Potential Barrier by Mark Denny. DOI: 10.1119/5.0031325

Acceleration Measurement Using Arduino and a Smartphone for the Motion of Objects on an Inclined Plane by Huai-Yi Chen, Hwa-Ming Nieh and Shih-Wei Ko. DOI: 10.1119/5.0038831

Linear Algebra Notation in Introductory Physics? by Ethan A.-N. Deneault. DOI: 10.1119/5.0036510

A Fresh Look at the Young-Laplace Equation and Its Many Applications in Hydrostatics by Fred Behroozi. DOI: 10.1119/5.0045605

Building an Astrophysics/Astrochemistry Laboratory from Scratch by Douglas W. White. DOI: 10.1119/10.0010394

The Shape of Earth: An Early Test of Newtonian Physics by George Greenstein. DOI: 10.1119/5.0035142

An Intuitive Approach to Earth’s Centrifugal Bulge by George Greenstein. DOI: 10.1119/5.0030646

Introductory Physics Labs: A Tale of Two Transformations by Steven Frederick Wolf and Mark W. Sprague. DOI: 10.1119/5.0032370

The Thomson Jumping Ring Experiment and Ideal Transformer by Chiu-king Ng. DOI: 10.1119/5.0036490

Inexpensive Single and Double Slits Using a Fine-Toothed Comb by Alan DeWeerd. DOI: 10.1119/5.0042491

Poisson Distribution: Derivation and a Computer Simulation by J. P. Sharpe. DOI: 10.1119/5.0040756

A Gauss’s Law Computer Simulation in GlowScript by Anthony Danese. DOI: 10.1119/10.0010396

 

Race and Physics Teaching Collection Resource
Race and Physics Teaching Continued May 2020-January 2021

DNA Science TPT Element

DNA Science Lesson & Digi-Kit

Inspired by an article from The Physics Teacher, this multidisciplinary lesson and digital resource collection is based on How Rosalind Franklin Discovered the Helical Structure of DNA: Experiments in Diffraction (Braun, Tierney, & Schmitzer, 2011). Click the image to access this resource.