Meter Stick Torque Kit

 @pascoscientific  meter Stick Torque kit arrived from @scichemed. Now to start some experiments with this. I found the kit to be really sensitive. Started using it straightaway with some rotational mechanics. #iteachphysics #Physics

:Line Emission spectra of Helium

 #iteachphysics Using the @pascoscientific spectrometer from @scichemedu to have a look at the line emission spectrum of Helium. Using the fibre optic addon we can capture this easily. So much better than using the handheld spectrometers, as the students see what is going on. #Physics

Safe as it get Radioactivity

 #iteachphysics Looking at alpha radiation of a Thorium welding rod and Beta radiation of Lo-Salt using the @pascoscientific geiger counter from @SciChemEdu The student could not see this at school because it was considered too dangerous by his teacher #Physics This is as safe as it gets. Both Lo-Salt - salt high in KCl rather than NaCl is considered safe to eat and by many considered to be a healthier eating habit. The thorium rods are used in welding and easily available in welding shops. No need to worry about radiation on the health warnings - yet as soon as I get the geiger counter out many teachers panic about the danger to the children - I assume its the geiger counter that is so dangerous.

These sources are safe and only just above background.

Measuring Gravity Spot on

 Tried out my new picket fence from @pascoscientific supplied by @SciChemEdu Got 9.8ms2 on the first attempt. I like it when it just works as it should. #iteachphysics #physics Dropping the picket fence through the light gate worked straight out

of the box and there aren't many experiments like that. The Pasco lightgate was set up with the picket fence so all the parameters were know in Capstone.

Creating a resonance driver.

 Creating a resonance driver. The speaker has its note changed. This pulls on the cord which is attached to a spring with a weight. At the right note the spring starts to vibrate wildly.- the resonance frequency #iteachphysics #physics

Going Green

 New video Podcast on Going Green Starting on Earth Day we celebrate your conscious decision to make a better world.

Old tech ticker tape timer and a Pasco Dynamics Cart

 #iteachphysics old tech. A ticker tape timer and a @pascoscientific dynamics trolley producing great ticker tape graphs to stick in a students book. Although I have the new technology you can't beat this way of really getting to grips with acceleration.

Earthday 2021

 A very easy thing to do on #EarthDay2021 plant some wild flowers. Help restore the natural flora and help the insects as well.

Earth Day 22nd April Looking at alternative energy and finite resources

With #EarthDay2021 a couple of days away, I have been looking at renewable energy and the finite resources the Earth has left with some of my students.

In the science syllabus there are chapters on the Earths finite resources, but this doesn't seem to mean much to the students. Yea they understand that many of the metals are fast running out and won't be available in just a few years but the thought hasn't stuck home yet.

The students coming to my home are still surprised to see solar panels on the roof - are they any good, do they save any money.

Yes I do have cameras and computers on working from home but I am generating all my own electricity during the daytime.

I heat my water with solar thermal and make electricity using solar panels. My bills are lower

But it still doesn't mean anything to the students.

They all still need to have the latest phone and won't recycle the old one. They use more and more energy and although they worry about climate change it's up to someone else to do something.

Friction and Forces

 

#GCSE #Physics Looking at forces. A box is filled with some mass to make it heavy and then pulled across a surface. What happens if we put more elastic bands on, does it get easier or harder to pull. What happens if we spill oil or water on the table does it get easier to pull? #iteachphysics

New Tension Protractors

Two @pascoscientific tension protractors arrived today from @SciChemEdu I was a little surprised when they came unexpectedly. Been trying them out. Hopefully this will make forces and moments easier for my students to visualise and understand. #iteachphysics 

Amylase + Starch

 #GCSE #science looking at the reaction of Amylase with Starch. Every 10 seconds we took a sample.

By 30 seconds most of the Starch had gone in within a minute all of it had turned to Maltose. Shows how fast enzymes are. Even better to do this in a spectrometer #biology

A fish fossil under the microscope

 Looking at a fossil fish under the microscope.. A few million years old but the fish hasn't really changed much. The student used a stereo microscope to view the fossil. #FossilFriday #fossil #Science

Ideal Gas Equation

 Working out PV=nRT the ideal Gas Equation in #alevels #Physics from @pascoscientific supplied by @SciChemEdu The Capstone software shows the results quickly and easily so we do these experiments in a few minutes to remind the students before their tests. #iteachphysics

New Spectometer form Pasco

 @pascoscientific just announced their new UV-vis spectrometer. I am still a bit behind with my wired colorimeter supplied by @SciChemEdu a few years ago. Works well and does great expts. Looks like I will need to save up some more pennies.

The announcement of the new UV-Vis spectrometer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14JYAK8Pndo&t=1530s  

I find that for many of these new toys and inventions altjhough the students use them a bit, I get more out of them than the students. 

Diffraction Grating

 #alevel #Physics revision Looking at a laser passing through a diffraction grating to determine the wavelength of the laser light. Measuring the angles between the dots, gives an accurate measurement of the wavelength. #iteachphysics

Pinhole Camera

 The bright sunshine is an excellent opportunity to try out the pinhole camera. Many students are amazed to see images with such a simple device. Many thought photographs could only be taken an a several hundred pound smart phone. #iteachphysics

Parallel Springs

 All the students know about Hookes Law and weights on a spring, but much weirder things happen when there are springs in parallel. It is down to the A level students to work this out.