features

A take-home physicsexperiment kit foron-campus andoff-campus students

by Joanna Turner and Alfio Parisi

Atake-home experiment kit has been developed to reinforce the concepts in a first year physicscourse that both on and off campus students from a variety of educational backgroundscan successfully use. The kit is inexpensive and is composed of easy to obtain items.The experiments conducted with the kit are directed experiments that require backgroundreading, setting up the experiment, measurement of the different variables and analysis ofthe given concept. The concepts covered by the experiment kit help to reinforce theoreticallearning of everyday physics by the students in their home environment, without the use ofa laboratory. At the same time, the process of conducting the experiments introduces basiclaboratory-style work practices and reporting skills. All experiments are designed to enablestudents to develop research, measurement and reporting skills and for some experiments,apply theoretical reasoning.

Introduction

More and more students in atertiary environment chooseto enrol in courses that

are available online or by distanceeducation. Students choose theseoptions to give themselves a flexibleenvironment in which to learn, aswell as to work and care for family.Laboratory work that is an essentialcomponent of some Physics coursescan be difficult to include in an onlineor distance education course. As aconsequence, students may be requiredto attend a compulsory residentialschool, where the laboratory workmay be covered in a short time frame,an arrangement that often causes'information overload'. Students mustalso pay for travel and accommodationand may have to take time off from workand family.

A study performed by Ruby (2006)investigated the differences betweenlearning, using an in-class experiment

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approach and an at-home 'hands-on' experiment approach. Rubyfound greater improvementsbetween knowledge tests for at-home experiments than for in-classexperiments. Students identified thattime constraints and peer pressure wereremoved from at-home experiments,allowing the students to work at theirown pace. Conversely, Ruby foundthat there was no significant differencebetween mean values for report scores,indicating there was no differencebetween student results due to learningenvironment. While Ruby points outthis may have been due to experimentdesign, it suggests that experimentscarried out at home can improve thecomfort ofthe student in how they learnthrough practical work. Smith (2006}suggests that most students learnt moreeffectively working as a part of a group.However, Smith (2006) also points outthat scores achieved were similar tostudents who worked alone. This resultindicates that students working alone on

experiments can learn just as effectivelyas students working in a group.

McAlexander (2003) produced a'Physics to Go' kit, that consistsof equipment that fits into a breadbox. This kit encompasses eighteensimple experiments, some of whichare observational experimentsonly. Murdoch University providesexperiment kits for students, but requireslocal assessment, while Edith CowanUniversity supplies a kit consisting ofthirty-one short experiments (CarrickInstitute, 2005). The MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) provide atake-home experiment kit in the course'Vibrations and Waves' but requireits return at the end of the teachingcourse (MIT 2007). Physics laboratorywork through distance education atthe University of Southern Queenslandhas proved successful. Students setup their own weather station at homeand access data over the Internet forthe first-year course 'Remote Sensing

Volume 54 | Number 2 | June 2008

and Meteorology' (Carrick Institute,2005).The third year course 'AdvancedTopics in Physics' uses online access todetectors set up at the University, whichthe students use to complete a variety ofpractical activities (Parisi, 2005).

The alms of this paper are to describe atake home experiment kit that has beendeveloped to reinforce the conceptsin a first year Physics course studiedby students that come from a varietyof educational backgrounds. The kitwas designed to be self contained withreadily available equipment at a lowcost for purchase by students and is notrequired to be returned to the University.The experiments in the kit are directedexperiments that require backgroundreading, setting up of the experiment,measurement of the different variablesand analysis of the data and the givenconcepts. The take home experiment kitprevents excessive costs to the student,allows more flexibility in their studyschedule and overcomes the challengesfaced by oniine and distance educationstudents, discussed above. Localstudents also benefit from this kit as theycan carry out the experiments in theirown time rather than at a fixed time-tabled class.

ExperimentsStudents taking the Physics Conceptscourse come from a variety ofdisciplines, with mandatoryparticipation by students fromClimatology and Physics majors andthe rest from the general sciences,education, engineering, nursing andbiomédical science disciplines.

The design of the experiment kit wasbased on the desire of the authors' toenable students to carry out a seriesof experiments that would requireresearch, measurement and reportingskills, rather than just carrying outobservational experiments. From thisbasis, the following was incorporatedinto each experiment:

• The experiments had to reinforceconcepts provided in the lectures

• Each experiment required thestudent to research the topic inquestion from the course text

• Each experiment required someform of data measurement

• Calculations were required fromthe data measurement, includingconstruction and analysis of graphs

• All the above information would beused to produce a written report asassessment.

Figure 1. Materiai provided in the experiment kit

With these features in mind, theexperiments were designed so thatall equipment in the kit would beinexpensive and easy to obtain (Figure1). Items that students were requiredto supply to carry out the experimentswere items that could be found in thehome.

The content of each experimentsatisfies each of the five criteria. The sixexperiments that were developed are:• the simple pendulum• refraction and reflection• electric circuits• the spring constant• fluids• speed of sound.

At least the first four of these finalexperiments are classic designs wherethe action of the experiment is themain focus of the concept explored.These four experiments were adaptedfrom commonly-known experiments,except for the CD spectroscope(Wakabayashi etal., 1998) includedas a part of refraction and reflection.The fluids experiment is a multiple taskexperiment, comprising an adaptationof a laboratory experiment by Daniel(1998) and an experiment originallycarried out in the laboratory at theUniversity of Southern Queensland.The speed of sound experiment wasdeveloped by Da Silva etal., (2005) andprovides a challenging measurementexercise for students.

Figure 2. Example photograph in theexperiment kit manual: calculating thedensity of a fluid in the experiment'Fluids'

To assist students with any foreseeableproblems and to minimise confusion,instructions for report writing, markingschemes and some photos of theexperiments (for example, Figures 2 and3) were supplied with the experimentkit manual to provide a comprehensiveguide.

Figure 3. Exampie photograph in theexperiment kit manual: Using themultimeter in 'Electric circuits'

ResultsTable 1 shows the aims of eachexperiment and the equipment used foreach experiment in the kit. This tablelists separately the equipment that isprovided in the kit and the material thatthe students provide. A photograph ofthe materiai in the experiment kit, alongwith the packing box is shown in Figure1.

The outcome of each experiment wasdesigned so that students will gain abasic knowledge and understanding ofthe relevant physics concepts. For the

Volume 54 | Number 2 | )une 2008 teachingscience

Table 1. Contente of the take-home experiment kit

Experiment . . c • * i ^ • i,-. Equipment supplied^ Aims Equipment supplied in kit h <tt dent

Ttie simpiependulum:

calculating theacceleration due to

gravity

Fluids

Refraction andreflection

Electric circuits

Spring constant

Speed of sound(da Silva et al.

2005)

To observe the motion of a simple pendulum.To use the lengths and periods of a pendulumto calculate the value of the acceleration dueto gravity.To observe that mass does not affect theperiod of a pendulum.

To observe Archimedes Principle -adaptedfrom Daniel (1998)To calculate the density of a fluid.To estimate the density of an object floating ina fluid.To construct and understand the principles ofoperation of a Cartesian Diver.

To measure the refractive index of atransparent substance using Snell's Law.To construct a CD spectroscope (Wakabayashietal. 1998)

To verify Ohm's Law for an ohmic resistor.

To determine the spring constant of a springusing Hooke's Law.

To determine the speed of sound in air, usingthe concept of standing waves.To understand the concept of standing waves.

Length ofString/fishing line2 X Sinker (different masses)

Plastic coat hanger with hooksTwo plastic cupsFishing line/stringWooden blocksSyringe with graduatedmarkings10cm test tube

PerspexProtractorCDTemplate

Cork boardLengths of wireResistorsThumb tacksMultimeterResistor colour code

SpringPlastic cup with string tied totop (as constructed in fluidsexperiment)

Length of PVC pipeAudio.wav files :

Tape measure orRulerStop watchCapped penHeavy booksGraph paper

CoinsWaterPenIce cube2L plastic milk bottlewith top cut offClear plastic bottleRuler

Graph paperTorchCardboardScissors/Stanley knifeSticky tapeThin cardboard sheetor cardboard from alarge cereal box

4 X Batteries (eitherAA, C or D)Blu-Tack

Small pliers (orsimilar).CoinsRulerTack/map pin/nailHammerBlu-Tack/ sticky tapeCardboardscissors

Bucket/ containerAccess to a computerRuler/ tape measureGraph paper

Total cost of experiment kit per student | $44.80 AUD (including tax)

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simple pendulum, the final outcomeinvolves using the force of gravity on apendulum consisting of a lead sinker onstring to calculate the acceleration dueto gravity, and introducing the studentto the work of Galileo Galilei. Forrefraction and reflection, the outcomerequires understanding Snell's Law,dispersion of light and light paths,including recording light paths. Forelectric circuits, the student will gaina basic knowledge of Ohm's law,voltages, currents, resistors and the useof a multimeter. The spring constantintroduces Hooke's law and showshow stress, strain and elasticity affecta spring. In fluids, the student will gaina better understanding of buoyancyand Archimedes Principle, be able tocalculate the density of fluids and thedensity of objects in fluids and use theconcept of hydrostatic pressure withRiscal's Principle. The speed of sound inair experiment is the most challenging,using standing waves and resonanceto measure the speed of sound. Mostexperiments require graphing skills, andall experiments require the setting upof the equipment, data measurementand analysis. Through extensionquestions, students are required toextend the analysis process by using theinformation they have learnt to answer atheoretical question.

The experiment kit was included as apart of the Physics Concepts coursein semester one 2007, that is studiedby both on-campus and off-campusstudents, to replace the laboratory basedexperiments. Before the final inclusionof the kit as course assessment, weasked a student to trial and evaluate theexperiments and associated instructionsin the instructions manual for potentialproblems. The student's responseto the experiment kit was positive,allowing fine tuning of the Instructionsin the manual that accompanies theexperiment kit.

Students of the 2007 class werealso asked to complete a surveyafter handing in final reports for theexperiment kits. Responses indicatedthat the majority of the students foundthe experiment kit as an interestingexercise, but wanted a reduction ofthe amount of time required to writethe reports for the assessment. Onestudent had difficulty completing thespeed of sound experiment, due tothe frequencies used affecting theirhealth. This problem is overcome bythe students taking regular breaks asinstructed during the experiment. Noother students reported this problem.Examination of the assessment reportssubmitted suggest students had a good

grasp of what was expected of them.

Changes to next year's assessment willInclude reducing the total number ofreports to be submitted to two, andthe remaining experiments to have aresults sheet submitted in place of areport. While this will have reduced thetotal time required for students to writeup the assessment, it will not reducethe learning time for students, as theresults sheet requires analysis of theexperimental data and understandingof the relevant concepts in order toundertake this correctly. A secondchange is that students will submit eachreport and results sheet progressivelythroughout the semester rather thanat the end of the semester, therebyallowing students to receive feedbackearly in the semester and reducing themarking workload for the examiner atthe end ot' the semester.

Discussion and conclusionsA take-home experiment kit has beendescribed that has been developed toreinforce the concepts in a first-yearphysics course studied by students thatcome from a variety of educationalbackgrounds. An initial maximum ofAUD$80.00 was allocated to the costof the kit. The final cost price of theexperiment kit is AUD$44.80, includingtax, which meets the aim of producinga low-cost kit. The experiment kit is soldthrough the university bookshop andthe price includes the overheads of thebookshop. This price is less than half thecost of some textbooks.

Two pieces of equipment that studentsare required to supply themselves atethe stopwatch for the simple pendulumand known masses for the springconstant. The authors found that ¡fstudents did not have these items,replacements could be found. TheInternet has software timing devicesavailable for free use, while the knownmasses were replaced with coins. Asmass sets can be expensive, the use ofcoins was a simple alternative, as themass of a given coin is supplied on anational government website (RoyalAustralian Mint 20Ü6). Students can thenapproach a bank and exchange notes forcoins to carry out the experiment. Oncethe experiment is finished, the studentcan take the coins back to the bank.This means that students do not have topurchase a set of scales, nor do knownmasses have to be included in the kits.

The use of simple apparatus that isreadily available for the experiment kits,reinforces the concept that physics isan integral part of our everyday lives.The experiments supply additional

reinforcement of the concepts studied bythe students in their home environment,without the use of a laboratory.Additionally, the experiments wereopen ended without having to fit into ascheduled class timetable of when theywere to be performed and the amountof time to devote to them. This allowsstudents the flexibility of working at theirown pace and repeating experimentsif required, or exploring other possibleavenues, while at the same time usingtime management to ensure that thefinal deadline is met.

AcknowledgementsThe authors thank Graham F^oímes andOliver Kinder for their assistance withthe kits and the University of SouthernQueensland for providing a Learningand Teaching grant.

ReferencesCarrick Institute (2OU5). Snapshots: Goodlearning and teaching in phyaics in Australianuniversities, The Carrick Institute tor Learningand Teaching in Higher Education, MonashUniversity, Victoria.

Daniel, TB (1998). Archimedes' principlewithout the king's crown. The Physics Teacher,36(1), 557.

Da Silva, W P, Precker, ) W, de Silvj, D D P S,de Silva, C D P S (2005). The speed of soundin air; an at home experiment, 7/)e PhysicsTeacher, 43(4), 2^9-22^.

McAlexander, A (200.Î). Physics to go. ThePhysics Tencher. 41 ¡41, 214-218.

MIT - Massachusetts institute of Physics (2007).8.03 Vibrations and Waves, http://web,fnit,edu/8.03/www/exp.html. Accessed 10 April2007

Parisi, A V (2005). Physics concepts of solarultraviolet radiation by distance education,European tournai of Physics, 26, 313-320.

Royal Australian Mint (2006). How coin designsare selected. Royal Australian Mint, Australia.www.ramint.gov.au/making coins/coin designs.cfm Accessed 20 June 2006.

Ruby, G. C. (2006). An instructional design foronline college physics laboratories, CapellaUniversity, http://www.gauruby.com/GAII.RUBY Dissertation Final.pdf Accessed 23 May,2007.

Smith, J (2006). Effects of group size on studentperformance in the physics laboratory. TeachingScience—ihe lournal ol the Australian ScienceTeachers Association. 52(4), 34-37.

Wakabayashi, F, Hamada, K and Sone, K[19981. CD-ROM spectroscope: A simple andInexpensive tool for classroom demonstrationson chemical spectroscopy, lournal of ChemicalEducation, 75, 1569-1570.119

About the authors:

Joanna Turner and Alfio Rarisi, Facultyof Sciences, University of SouthernQueensland.

Vo/imif 5'i I Number 2 \ ¡une 2008 teachingscience