Professor, you must keep up with the smartphones!

Today, I spent about 10 minutes (that's a lot of time in the lab!) explaining how to correctly use a protractor.  

Students listened carefully and, when I finished, did that:

The person who learned today was me. Here is the lesson: Drop the protractor, and keep up with the modern world!

All the Hard Work!

 All these crossed lines, repeated measurements, and corrected notes! This is a true learning here.  No "ready-made" answers, all of what students learn, they discover themselves.  I prefer the workbook in which I see the process of discovery rather than a nice note copied from somewhere.  Nowadays, you can easily find an answer to any question, just by opening your favorite browser... That, however, is not learning.  That is copying answers from the Internet.  Sometimes I am under the impression that copying without understanding.  

I propose something different: a hard-copy workbook in which you must write yourself, correct, re-do... Yes, I like the workbook which shows the process, not the final product.  

General Physics I Lab Workbook

I am happy to begin this semester with my new Lab Workbook published by KendallHunt.

 

This is what "study" means to my students

 

Physics Definition

 

  I am a physicist and I find this extremely funny. 
Why? Because it is so true!

A Nice Surprise

I like to think that I know all the time who is doing what in the lab.  Today, however, I did not notice who surprised me with a little gift.  When students left, I found it on my bag:

The first thought was, "How come?"  How come I did not notice?  Anyway, whether I noticed it or not, this is a very, very nice surprise.  Thank you, Student!  This balancing toy bird, supported at its beak, will serve as a cool example of the center of mass and torque equilibrium.

Thanks a million!

I’m not sure what’s going on...

Student: Professor, I’m not sure what’s going on but the image distance continues to increase while the focal length is the same.

Instructor: I think I know what is going on.  You just learned something about spherical mirrors!

Textbook Story

- Professor, do you need the textbook?

- No, I do not. Whether YOU need a textbook, that is a different question.

Metaphysics Applied to Students' Life

 - Professor! This is the last lab this semester.  Do you still want us to come? 

Well, I am thinking about what to answer.   

Dear Student, not really. For me, you do not have to come to class.  In fact, you do not need to get up off a couch if you do it for me. 

What you can do for me, is to think about your life, which begins with your education, and figure out how much you want to benefit (or not) from attending this course.  When you know that, make an informed decision about coming or not coming to class.

Lecture vs Lab

Student:     Professor, there is something wrong with this lens.  I cannot find the image.

Instructor:     Is it a converging or diverging lens?

Student:     Diverging.

Instructor:     So, should you see the image formed on the screen?

Student:     I dunno...

Instructor:     Well, it was shown in my presentation 5 minutes ago.

Student:     I saw it, but I didn't think it was for real!

Here You Go

"Professor, I am such a scientist!"

Thank You Note

Kirchhoff Was Right!

- Any conclusions after today's lab exercise?

- Yes, yeah... Kirchhoff was right!

To Do or Not To Do

- Hey, Professor! When you were saying that there was homework, did you mean that we had to do it?

I needed a moment to comprehend that question.  

Dear Student, I designed and posted the HW assignment just because I like to post something from time to time and apparently I did not have anything better to do yesterday.  

An end-of-semester message

No kidding!

Relativity of Time

Where physics meets philosophy... There is another view on the relativity of time: 

Growing older is mandatory.  

Growing up is optional.

Just a thought dedicated to my students.

Physics I. Help me!

The most interesting interpretations of an image construction diagram

One needs just two rays to find an image of an object formed by a diverging lens.  Below, there are the most interesting interpretations of constructing the diagram. I admire creativity expressed in these works.

On Kinematics

After a review on kinematics, I ask my students:

- Do you have any questions?
...

Silence.

- NO questions? Well, next week...

- Wait, I have a question. Why there are so many letters on the board?

😂😄