Knotbooks is a very cool service that allows users to create, collaborate and share customized, self-guided physics lessons. The goal of the site is to" make all of physics accessible, understandable, interactive, and free".

The site is free to use and you can either create an account or login using a variety of other accounts, such as Facebook, OpenID, Myspace, WordPress, Google, Twitter, and many others.

You can create self-guided multimedia lessons, study guides, and other resources using a huge resource of knowledge and information from their partners. You can also modify existing Knotebooks for your own use and collaborate and get help on any topic in physics from the community and resources. Text, animations, videos, and much more are all a part of Knotebooks.

While it is only for Physics, I see this as a great model to use in all topics.

READ MORE - Knotebooks - create, collaborate, and share multimedia lessons in Physics

      

I learned about some very cool applets for math and physics from Dolores Gende the other day. These two pages and the applets were created by Walter Fendt.

An applet is an interactive animation (run with Java). These applets allow students to visualize and manipulate different things to explore and learn about the topics.

There are applets for arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, forces, Newton's Laws, momentum and collisions, circular motion, waves, and much, much more.

These are great resources for teachers and students to use to better understand and explore these topics.


Applets on Mathematics

Applets on Physics 

READ MORE - Math and Physics Applets help students learn

Newton's cradle is a toy.

Isaac Newton did not invent it, nor did he invent the Laws of Motion. They just are. He uncovered what always, as far as we know, existed.

If you use this in class, do not show the kids the various permutations--they will find them if you let them be. Do not tell them it models the Law of Conservation of Momentum.

And if they ask for an explanation, tell them that everything moving (which is everything) has a certain amount of oomph, depending on how much stuff it has, and which direction it's moving. If they ask for more, tell them that we have just so much oomph in the world, no less, no more, and that it can be passed along between things.

If they ask why, tell them no one knows why. If you tell them otherwise, you will confuse them. Mutatio motus just is.

Just let them play, touching and seeing and hearing the world as it is.

You can play with a computerized version here, using different numbers of balls. 

But why not just use the real thing?
Yes, I know Newton was reporting what others had already shown.... 

The cradle pictured is by Dominique Toussaint from Wikimedia.

READ MORE - Cheap tools for kindergarten (Part 4)

The Road Ahead is a resource from Discovery Education and General Motors Education that explores how electricity is generated and how it will change how we live.

There is a digital magazine that interactively teaches about electricity, energy sources and new ways to power vehicles. There are also a teacher's guide, worksheets, and a classroom poster you can print.

Materials and resources are divided up into two groups: Grades 3-5 and 6-8. There is a link to GM's education site with lessons for grades 9-12.

There is also a link for getting ideas and resources for teaching about the environment.

This is a great resource for science teachers and any teacher that is teaching about electricity, the environment, and more.

The General Motors Education site has a lot of other resources for teachers for all grade levels in a variety of subjects and topics. Check it out too.

READ MORE - The Road Ahead - resources on electricity generation from Discovery Education

APlusPhysics is a site with a plethora of resources for physics students and teachers. It includes an entire college prep physics course online, from tutorials to animations to integrated quizzes and solutions based on five+ years of standardized physics tests (question bank of close to 500 questions).  In addition, there’s a physics discussion forum, student and educator blogs, physics activities, review videos, etc.  


The courses are based on the Regents and AP Physics exams and material. There are projects, such as catapult and mousetrap cars, a physics news section, and a section for educators. 


This is a great resource for teachers to use with a class, or to send their students to for reinforcement and enrichment. 

READ MORE - Physics Resource - great for students and teachers

101 Science is an incredible site with a huge amount of resources for science.

The site has more resources than I could count, organized by topics such as "electronics", "chemistry", "biology", "physics", "math" and "photography." There are also resources for earth science, astronomy, robotics, ethics, java applets, and much more. Each main category has sub categories also.

Each topic has scores of links and resources, including articles, web sites, and videos. Some videos are from MIT, TED and more.

If you teach science, are a student of science, or just like science, this is a must see site.

Here's a look at the main Physics page:

Each link on this page has more links. Here is the page on Gravity:

(Some sub categories have much more than this even!)


This site is just tremendous with over 20,000 links and resources.

READ MORE - 101 Science - tons of science resources

The Question bank for ENGINEERING PHYSICS I for first years under Anna University.

UNIT – 1 ULTRASONICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS
PART – A ( 2 Marks)
1. How are sound waves classified?
2. Mention the properties of ultrasonics.
3 . What is meant by Piezo electric effect?
4. What are the methods used for the detection of ultrasonics?
5 . What is meant by Cavitation?
6. What is acoustic grating?
7. Mention some of the industrial applications of ultrasonics?
8.. What is meant by SONAR?
9. State Doppler Effect.
10. Mention some of the medical applications of ultrasonics.
11 Name different scanning methods used in ultrasonics.
12. What is called Magnetostriction effect?
13 A quartz crystal of thickness 0.001m vibrates in its frequency.
Calculate its frequency of oscillation.
Given that E=7.9 X1010 N/m2 and =2650 kg/m3 for quartz crystal.
14. An ultrasonic interferometer is used to measure the velocity of
ultrasonic waves in sea water.
If the distance between two consecutive antinodes is 0.55 mm., then
Compute the velocity of the waves in the sea water.
The frequency of the crystal is 1.5 MHz.
15. Find the depth of a submerged submarine if an ultrasonic wave is
received after 0.33 sec from the time of transmission.
Given that the velocity of ultrasonic waves in sea water =1440 m/s
PART – B ( 16 Marks)
1. What is Magnetostriction effect ? Explain how it can be applied for the
production of ultrasonics using magnetostriction oscillator ( 4 + 12)
2. What is Inverse-Piezo electric effect? Explain with neat sketch, the
construction and production of ultrasonic waves using Piezo electric
oscillator. ( 4 + 12)
3 a) Explain the determination of velocity of ultrasonics using an acoustical
grating. (10 )
b) Explain in detail, how SONAR is employed to locate the object (6)
4 a) Draw a schematic diagram of a ultrasonic flaw detector and explain its
action (6)
b) Explain about three ultrasonic scanning methods with necessary display
diagrams. (10)


UNIT – II LASER AND ITS APPLICATIONS
PART – A ( 2 Marks)
1. What are the characteristics of laser?
2.. Distinguish between spontaneous and stimulated emission?
3. What is meant by population inversion?
4. What are different methods of pumping?
5. What are the conditions required for laser action?
6. Define active medium and active centre.
7. What is meant by an optical resonator?
8. What are the industrial applications of laser?
9. What are the differences between photography and holography?
10. What are the applications of laser in medical field?
11. What are the types of laser?
12. For InP laser diode, the wavelength of light emission is 1.55μm.
What is its band gap in eV?
13. Calculate the wavelength of emission of GaAs semiconductor laser whose
bandgap energy is 1.44 eV.
14. Calculate how many photons are emitted in a minute in a He-Ne laser
source, which emits light at a wavelength of 6328A0.The output power of this
source is 3mW.
15. What is the ratio of the stimulated emission to spontaneous emission at a
temperature of 280oC for sodium D-line?
PART – B ( 16 MARKS)
1. a) What is the principle of spontaneous and stimulated emission? (4)
b) Derive an expression for Einstein’s coefficient of stimulated and
spontaneous emission(8)
c) What is the principle of laser action? (4)
2. a) Explain about the different modes of vibrations in CO2 laser. (4)
b) Describe the construction and working of CO2 laser using energy level
diagram (12)
3. a) Discuss with theory, the construction and working of Homogeneous
semi conductor laser (8)
b) Describe the construction and reconstruction of a hologram (8)
4. a) Explain the construction and working of He-Ne Laser (8)
b) Describe the construction and working of Nd-YAG laser (8)

UNIT – III FIBRE OPTICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS
PART – A ( 2 Marks)
1. What is meant by Total Internal Reflection?
2. What are the conditions to be satisfied for total internal reflection?
3. Define acceptance angle and numerical aperture.
4. Distinguish between step index and graded index fibres.
5. What are the losses in optical fibres?
6. Mention any two fiber optic sources?
7. What is meant by photo detector?
8. What are the types of sensors used in the fiber optics?
9. What is called medical endoscope?
10. Mention the advantages of optical fiber communication over radio wave
communication.
11. Mention some of the medical applications of optical fibres.
12. Mention some of the engineering applications of optical fibres.
13. The refractive indices of core and cladding materials of an optical fibre are
1.54 and 1.5 respectively. Calculate the numerical aperture of the optical
fiber
14. Estimate NA when core refractive index is 1.48, relative refractive index
is 2 %. Also calculate the critical angle.
15. A fibre has a diameter of 6μm and its core refractive index is 1.47 and for
cladding it is 1.43.
How many modes can propagate into the fibre if the wavelength of the laser
source is 1.5 μm.
PART – B ( 16 MARKS)
1. a) Derive an expression for Numerical Aperture and angle of acceptance of a
fibre in terms of refractive indices of the core and cladding (10)
b) Describe the Crucible-Crucible technique for manufacturing an
optical fibre (6)
2. a) What are different types of optical fibres? (8)
b) Explain about losses in an optical fibre (8)
3. a) Explain with a neat block diagram of fibre optical communication system (8)
b) Explain about LED and Avalanche Photo diode used in fibre optics (8)
4. a) What are different types of optical sensors? Explain the working of any two
sensors (4+6)
b) Describe the construction and working of a fiber optic endoscope and give
its applications in medicine (6)

UNIT – IV : QUANTUM PHYSICS
PART – A ( 2 Marks)
1. What is a black body?
2. What are the postulates of planks quantum theory?
3. What is meant by matter waves?
4. What is called Compton shift?
5. What is the physical significance of a wave function?
6. Define magnifying power.
7. Define resolving power of a microscope.
8. What is wave function?
9. Mention the applications of electron microscope.
10. Write down the one dimensional schroedinger time independent wave
equation.
11. An electron at rest is accelerated through a potential of 5000 V. Calculate the
de-Broglie wavelength of matter waves associated with it.
12. Find the change in wavelength of an X-ray photon when it is scattered
through an angle of 1350 by a free electron.
13. Calculate the minimum energy of an electron can possess in an infinitely
deep potential well of width 4nm.
14. What is meant by degenerate and non-degenerate states?
15. Differentiate between optical microscope and electron microscope.
PART – B ( 16 MARKS)
1. a) What is meant by black body radiation ? (2)
b) Using quantum theory derive an expression for the average energy emitted
by the black body and deduce Wien’s displacement law and Rayleigh –
Jeans law (10 +4)
2. a) Define Compton Effect? (2)
b) Derive an expression for the wavelength of the scattered photon
(Compton Shift) (14)
3. a) Derive time independent Schroedinger wave equation (8)
b) Solve Schroedinger wave equation for a particle in a one dimensional box
and energy eigen value. (8)
4. a) Derive the equation for Schroedinger time – dependent wave equation (6)
b) Explain about Electron Microscope with a neat diagram (10)

UNIT – V : CRYSTAL PHYSICS
PART – A ( 2 Marks)
1. What are the differences between crystalline and non-crystalline materials?
2. Define unit cell.
3. Define space lattice.
4. Give the relation between the density of the crystal and lattice constant.
5. What are Bravais lattices?
6. Define atomic packing factor.
7. What are Miller indices?
8. What are lattice parameters?
9. Sketch (110) plane and (111) plane for a cubic crystal.
10. Calculate the lattice constant of Fe. Given: density of iron 7.86 kg/cm3,
atomic weight 55.85 and Avagadro’s number 6.023 x 1023 atoms /mol
11. Calculate the inter planar distance for (321) plane in simple cubic lattice with
inter atomic spacing equal to 4.12 A0
PART – B ( 16 MARKS)
1. Determine the atomic radius, coordination number and packing factor for BCC
and FCC structures (8+8)
2. a) Describe the structure of HCP Crystal (8)
b) Calculate the axial ratio (c/a) and atomic packing factor for HCP structure.
(8)
3. a) What are Miller Indices? (4)
b) Show that for a cubic lattice, the distance between two successive planes is
given by a
d hkl = --------------------
( h2 +k2 +l2 )1/2

READ MORE - Question Bank -Engineering Physics-I

The protocol is an appraoch to problem solving for Physics that was taught to me by my mentor. It works for most word problems in general. 

10 steps

1. read the problem

2. create a meanful diagram

3. determine the variables

4. assign values to variables (what you are given and what you know, and what you are looking for)
5. Determine what you are looking for

6. choose equation (UPDATE: or physics principle that applies to situation)

7. do your algebra (to solve for the variable you are looking for)

8. substitue values into equation

9. complete the math

10 check sig figs and box or circle answer

Units are important and do count! You can use units and dimensional analysis to check your work also.

UPDATE:

Here are some more resources that help students solve problems.

Physics Study Tips

http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/dstyer/SolvingProblems.html

http://www.physics.hmc.edu/howto/problemsolving.html

READ MORE - "Protocol" for solving Physics Problems!

PhET is an awesome resource from the University of Colorado at Boulder. The site has interactive simulations for physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and math that teachers and students can use.

The simulations can be run on the site or downloaded. The simulations are accurate and real and can help students learn concepts in more depth. They are easy and fun to use, and really do demonstrate the concepts well. In the physics ones I use, a big benefit is that students can quickly and easily change variables and conditions and then see what happens. This is very hard and time consuming in many hands on labs.

The simulations are also a great alternative to live labs if you don't have the resources available. Some of the simulations are better than any hands on lab because the students can truly see and understand what is happening.

You can search by topic, grade level, or just see the newest ones added. There are teacher resources for many of the simulations. Teachers who use the simulations post lesson plans and resources to the site for others to use also.

I use the Physics simulations in my classroom and they work great. This is one of those sites that every science and math teacher needs to check out.

Here's a list of some of the new simulations they have:

READ MORE - PhET - free online science and math simulations

In my physics classes, when we study work, energy and energy conversions, I relate it to amusement park rides such as roller coasters. The students can all relate to these things and they are great examples of work being done to give an object (the roller coaster) potential energy which then gets converted to kinetic energy and so one. We are also able to bring in forces, friction, and other topics. The students love it, it keeps their interest, and they learn!

One activity I had them complete right before the Thanksgiving break is to play an online game. Yes, I said it, a game. The game is Roller Coaster Creator. I found the site by doing a Google search and played it myself first. It is a lot of fun, but I wasn't sure how educational it was. So, I tried it out on my students. They loved it. They all tried to get the highest scores and the best designs. But, more importantly was the conversations they were having while using it. They were talking like physicists and engineers. "We have to increase this hill so there is more potential energy". "There is too much friction." "That loop will create too much g-force for the passengers." "In order to have the car jump that gap, we need a different angle and more velocity."

The conversations were great! I was so happy to see them learning and applying the concepts that they had learned while having fun!!

Now, I just have to keep this fun level going and get some more great activities for them.

Share your educational games (or games you've used in education) with us.

READ MORE - Roller Coaster Game as Learning Tool in Physics

The Physics Behind "Unstoppable" is a great piece I found on Open Culture's website. The article starts with the plot of the movie and a trailer for it and then has a video from Emory physics professor Sidney Perkowitz explaining the physics part of this. Professor Perkowitz has also authored books and articles on physics and science in movies. 


Applying science to popular culture, whether movies, music, sports, or the like is a great way to connect with your students, engage them, and show them how what they are learning is important and applies in "real life".


Open Culture is a great site with a lot of resources on education. 

READ MORE - The Physics Behind "Unstoppable"

Today I just read an article on video games as learning tools on Edudemic. I have always thought that games made an excellent learning tool when done right, with the right support by the teacher. Many video games teach students actual content knowledge, but most of them teach critical thinking and problem solving techniques. 


Research has shown that video games are effective as learning tools and many companies are working on educational video games. But, other video games can be used educationally also. 


I just downloaded Angry Birds for my Palm Pre+ last night and loved it. The premise is simple. A bunch of pigs steal eggs from the birds. The birds then go after the pigs. The birds get launched using a slingshot and try to knock down the pigs structures. 


As I was playing, I realized that there was physics at play here, and since I teach physics, I was very excited. Projectile Motion, structures, stability, materials, and dynamics all come into play. If you understand those concepts, you'll do better at the game. If you don't know those concepts, you will learn them while playing. 


There is nothing really bad about the game. It is extremely popular and received high praise from reviewers. My only problem is that I need it in a Windows version for my classroom! 


The game is available for Palm webOS phones (Pre and Pixi), Nokia phones, and iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad.


" Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 150 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy. " 


As an educator, I am always looking for new, engaging ways to teach my students. Using video games is a great way to do this.


Share video games that you use for education!


Note: Edudemic is a great resource site for educators. In their own words, Edudemic is a website devoted to these ‘geeky’ things with an education slant. We focus on what’s happening in the tech world and how it applies to higher education. We’re not trying to be the next Gizmodo, we’re trying to help educators get the most out of their students and vice versa.

READ MORE - Video Games as learning tools (Angry Birds)

Science Online is a site that contains lesson plans, interactive activities, worksheets and links for K-8 science. The resources are sorted by grade level and topics, such as Force and Motion, Energy, Living Things, Cells, and many more.

The site can also be used by 9-12 teachers for inspiration, other resources, and remedial work. It is also a good place to get work for students having trouble with different concepts.

Thanks to my wife, Cori, a high school biology teacher, for this resource.

READ MORE - Science Online

Engineering Interact is a great site with interactive lessons for 9-11 year olds that help them explore and learn science and engineering concepts.

The activities fall under the following topics: Light, Sound, Forces and Motion, Earth and Beyond, and Electricity.

The activities are in game form and are well done. I played with two of them and had fun myself.

There is also information about how engineers use the science of that particular topic which is a great way to show them why the topic is important.

I was very impressed with these games and I can actually see them being used for older students up to freshman in high school as a fun way to learn or review the topics.

It was created and is supported by the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering.

The games and activities require FLASH, so you won't be able to use these on an iPad or iPod Touch.

READ MORE - Interactive Engineering for 9-11 year olds

PHYSICS!

Physics Resources

Physics Central is a great resource for physics teachers and students from the American Physical Society. There are lesson plans, free resources, physics in action, profiles of people using physics, and much more. It is definitely one of the first places a teacher should go looking for physics resources.

The Physics Classroom - this is a great site for students. The site was actually created by students and is still maintained. The site has topics in lesson format, with descriptions, examples, demos, animations, videos, links, example problems, and practice problems, with solutions. I use it with my students as a study resource for them. There are also teacher lesson planning resources available.

PhysicsMedic - this is my web site (I teach physics and I am a paramedic). I have a lot of resources and links for my physics students on the site, including study guides, help guides, and physics and math help web sites.

Some other physics resources:

Practical Physics

AP Physics Review site (with videos)

READ MORE - Physics Resources