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In this paper, we analyze the motion of a falling Slinky, starting from rest and initially suspended from one of its ends. It is well-known that under these conditions, the Slinky moves in an unusual way: its lower end remains at rest until the upper end collides with it - as if gravity were being challenged! We conducted a literature review and identified that the most widely disseminated explanation for this levitation phenomenon of the Slinky's base during the Slinky's fall relies on the concept of information (and does not seem to please many). We show that such a phenomenon can be explained - and reproduced through a computer simulation using a simple model - without the notion that "there is a finite time for the information that the Slinky was released at its top to reach its bottom". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce Schrödinger's operators in a naive and unpretentious way, but with some precision and didactics. The most studied periodic and random potential types are mentioned and, by numerical simulation, compare the eigenvalues of an operator's truncated matrix with a periodic potential and the same potential disturbed by an evenly distributed continuous random variable. We evaluated the magnitude of the random variable required to produce a significant difference between the eigenvalue sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have recently developed a software to simulate a given physical phenomenon, without the need of knowing its corresponding equation of motion. This procedure is actually intended to illustrate the behavior of dynamical variables of interest, such as position, velocity, acceleration and energy. In our work, we present analytical solutions for each case under consideration; numerical solutions carried out by means of the finite difference method are presented as well. The harmonic oscillator is a moving periodical system, with a well-defined equilibrium position. We shall here present an overview of the general problem to be solved and a number of special cases shall be worked out in details. As one of the purposes of this article is to encourage readers to use numerical approaches to inspect physical problems, we shall discuss in a simple and direct way the numerical solutions of a mechanical oscillator. We also contemplate the behavior of the energy function and point out under which particular situations it is conserved. To validate the numerical method implemented in our paper, we compare the analytical solutions we derive with the results obtained by numerical computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue about the use of modeling cycles from David Hestenes' framework as an alternative to guide actions combining computer-based simulations and experimental activities. From a strategy that challenges students to explore the domain of validity of theoretical models and to control a diversity of representation tools, we suggest that the methodology presented here has potential to promote a more coherent conception of Science, in which students perceive its developing as something typically human in which scientists attempt to construct representations of physical phenomena, with varying degree of accuracy and limited context. Finally, we present some possibilities to use the softwares Modellus and Tracker to explore the boundaries of the validity domain of the theoretical model known as simple pendulum during a modeling cycle. Applying with Brazilian students from a professional Master's Degree in Physics Education, the cycles were important to highlight the differences between the theoretical model studied and the empirical phenomena, helping to improve their understanding of the process of scientific modeling. Some practical issues about this proposal implementation and another involving Newton's law of cooling are also discussed in this paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how was implemented a computer simulation of an ionizing radiation detection system similar to those found in traditional modern Physics laboratories. The simulation models a system with a 'source' of photons of arbitrarily chosen energies, a 'detector' that behaves like a Geiger-Müller detector and the effect of different attenuating materials with variable thickness inserted between the source and the detector. Details of the calculation of the radiation attenuation using data from the United States National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) database are presented, and employed to explore characteristics of the radiation interaction with matter, from cross sections to statistical fluctuations. Examples and suggestions of exploratory activities are also presented. The simulation was used with two groups of about undergraduate students from a distance learning Physics course at UFSC in the beginning of 2011, along with the execution of the real experiment. Throughout the text, comments on the motivations and problems of using simulations in this context are discussed. Finally, it is discussed how this work relates to the main goals of introductory Physics laboratories, according to an American Physical Society Committee specifically created to evaluate that. [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]

In this paper, we present the theoretical and methodological basis of the preparation and production of teaching materials supported by computer resources such as animations, simulations, games and virtual labs, for use in teaching physics. The materials were built with hypermedia resources, joining the concepts of nonlinearity, hypertext and multimedia (animations, simulations, sound) in one language. The hypermedia concept adopted states it is a means to an end, a language and an audiovisual product enabling the association with the concept of learning object which allows the creation of digital materials with different granularities ranging from one activity to a full course. If the courseware is created with this concern, it can be used in different learning environments under different platforms, and provide a basis for the evaluation of its use in different teaching situations. The topics discussed (animations, simulations, games and virtual labs) are part of content in high school and in the disciplines of basic physics of higher education. The materials are available on an open page on the Internet (HTTP://www.fsc.ufsc.br/~tati/webfisica/index.html) and some of them can also be accessed from the MEC's database of educational objects [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a discussion on the postulates of Quantum Mechanics by means of a "translation" of the mathematical formalism to an "operational" language, which involves a conceptual and phenomenological discussion. The operational postulates are illustrated by focusing on a computer simulation of Mach-Zehnder's interferometer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results of an exploratory case study which the main objectives were to: evaluate the receptivity of the students regarding the Peer Instruction (PI) method and the use of computers of the UCA project (Brazilian version of the project One Laptop per Child); investigate if the discussion between colleagues promotes the convergence to the correct answer in concept tests, as it has been pointed in literature; and investigate the viability of using the UCA computers as a voting system to the methodology. The study was conducted in a class of 34 students in the third year of a Federal Public High School over an instructional sequence on topics of Electromagnetism. In this study we observed that the discussion among colleagues proved fruitful, allowing the participation of students and leading to the convergence to the correct answer. We conclude that this methodology can be successfully implemented in the context of a High School classroom using the UCAs as a voting system, given the conditions of infrastructure to use them for the duration of a lesson (e.g. charging of the batteries). It should be emphasized that the adoption of PI can be done in a complementary manner to the activities of problem solving, experimental work and/or computer simulation, aimed at teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low cost experiments represent an alternative to the lack of laboratories in schools, as well as being a way on with we can conduct the students to Science through the use of materials easily obtainable and available in their daily lives. The use of videos and simulations in support of the teaching-learning process in High School Physics courses, is also a useful tool for students to understand Science as a form of representation of natural phenomena. It is common to these students the idea that Science is purely abstract and detached from reality, because they are based on situations, almost always ideal, that arise in the exercises in Physics. The process of moving from concrete to abstract is often forgotten, as it is only presented to the student the abstract piece. This paper aims at analyzing the process of teaching and learning in a Physics class with the use of those resources in a bundle, addressing a theme often omitted from school textbooks: the dynamics of rotation. We present an experimental kit designed and produced by us, as well as a software, of our own, and make several suggestions for joint implementation of these two elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]