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This paper describes the development of an automated equipment of Geometric Optics covering demonstrations of convergence and divergence of light rays by lenses and mirrors. The equipment was developed for the Museum of Science and Technology of Londrina (MCTL), standing under the informal education in designed environments. The work is part of a broader project of installation of interactive experiments in Optics as well as research on teaching this content in basic education in MCTL. The equipment, easy to construct, could also be used for classroom demonstrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper lays out a practical example of metacognitive activities and their contribution to the education of reflective and critical-minded Physics teachers, supported by a methodology based on research. The experiment was done by undergraduate and graduate students with Elementary and High School pupils. It shows the participants increasing awareness of the complexities of the mediation process in teaching and their perception in face of the teacher's multiple intervention alternatives in the teaching and learning process and also in face of the obstacles for overcoming classic educational models. Possible causes for those difficulties have been pointed out and suggestions have been made to improve Physics Teachers Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents, initially, different frameworks about the interface Technology and Science into the educational context, followed by the report of three independent experiences related to the study of the use of computer modelling in Science teaching. These experiences, focusing on knowledge, not on technology, happened in a specific moment when the striking advance of computer technology brought computers into classrooms. Subsequently, it is presented a report about the development of a research program about the infusion of computer environments in Physics teaching based on the use of quantitative, semi-quantitative and qualitative computer modelling environment into the Brazilian context [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Physics education incites increasing interest, either by their actual use in formal educational, or by the growing in research activities in the field. The critical use of ICT can corroborate more effective learning and, in addition, enhance opportunities for educational processes that focus on empowerment and autonomy by combining academic quality and free technologies. In this regard, we point out the importance of developing significant laboratory experiments for Physics courses that combine free technologies, quality, flexibility, and low cost so that they are compatible with Brazilian educational reality. This paper presents the software Tracker, which allows students to easily use video analysis to film experiments, and treat experimental data. Video analysis allows students to become active agents in performing experimental activities, and it is useful for the development of unstructured lab activities in Physics education, such as Predict-Observe-Explain (POE). Another of Tracker's important features is that, as it is maintained by the free software community, it opens up the possibility for its users to interact with the software so as to produce modifications and adaptations in order to suit their educational needs. This important feature unbinds teachers and students of "black boxes" and of proprietary Physics experiments kits. The experimental activities described herein, parabolic motion and Newton's second law, validate Tracker as a useful ICT in Physics education for it is compatible with typical laboratory classes. It also presents good potential for students to unfold skills and abilities that are important in the treatment of experimental data and in the description of physical phenomena. The authors' experience in using Tracker indicates that even novice users can quickly learn how to use the software; moreover, it promotes learning improvement, motivation and critical thinking among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Resolution number 3 of the Câmara de Educação Básica (CEB)/Conselho Nacional de Educação (CNE), published in 1998, June 26 (BRASIL, 1998), which established the National Curriculum Guidelines for High School Education, emphasizes the interdisciplinarity, in its 8th Article. However, almost fourteen years later, the reality in most of our schools is the adoption of a merely disciplinary methodology, vis-à-vis the difficulty related to educational planning activities of this kind. In this paper, we present a proposal of an interdisciplinary experimental activity that addresses the concept of surface tension, connecting physicists and chemists. The idea is that students determine the alcohol content of "cachaça" and discuss the concepts of surface tension forces between equal molecules, similar and different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound production on musical instruments is a fundamental referent for the acoustics teaching in secondary and higher education. One main feature found amid established models for approaching acoustical phenomena in Physics is linearity. Indeed, researches in the field of musical acoustics indicates that most musical instruments involve fundamentally nonlinear processes without which one can not understand the operation of these instruments. In this paper, we contribute to the discussion of acoustical phenomena in teaching Physics, approaching the limits of the hypothesis of linearity in musical acoustics from a specific instrument: the transverse flute. We discuss the acoustic wave equation (the equation that governs the propagation of sound waves in fluids such as air), highlighting the assumptions that underpin this equation and its validity. In fact, the validity of acoustic wave equation is closely related to the question of linearity on acoustical phenomena. Finally, we discuss the technique of excitation of the transverse flute (embouchure) to find it an essential nonlinearity involved in producing sound with this instrument. We believe that this discussion is a contribution to the refinement of the established models in approaching acoustical phenomena in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we present an analysis on the types of question from the first ten tests of the Brazilian Olympics of Astronomy and Astronautics (OBA). This paper examines the formulation of unique answer questions in the Astronomy issues, trying to point out elements for the elaboration of questions based on the rationalization of the answers, i.e. the linking of knowledge and not the simple placement of data to be substituted in previously memorized equations. The questions were classified according to closed problems or unique answer questions criteria, which are the basic skills necessary for students to use the time to resolve them. The ways to get the right result, the questions were classified as: direct knowledge (type 1), calculation (type 2), reasoning and knowledge (type 3), understanding (type 4) and questions of Science technology and society (type 5). It is observed through the editions of OBA that the types of questions tend to appear in all level tests. In each level the type 3 and type 4 questions, claims the same percentage, however, there is a percentage reduction on type 1. The number of questions that use the simple memorization of responses in High School has decreased over time as well. For example, in the I OBA questions of simple memorization there was a 32.4% and 53.3% in II OBA, but in the test of the IX OBA the percentage was 10% and there is still a reduction of 2.9% from the IX to the X OBA. The classification and the detailed of the results are presented showing that the questions of OBA, wherever possible, have converged to more questions of the 3 and 4 types and less on questions of type 1. In the initial series of tests, the percentage of simple memorization questions, or type 1 decreased from 77.8% in VII OBA to 35.7% in the X OBA. The largest difference in percentage occurred in the 5th to 8th series (eight years scheme) or 6th to 9th series (9 years scheme) of Elementary School, where the percentage reduced from 35.7% to 5.6%, since the VII to the X OBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]