Students use a compass and a permanent magnet to trace the magnetic field lines produced by the magnet. By positioning the compass in enough spots around the magnet, the overall magnet field will be evident from the collection of arrows representing the direction of the compass needle. In activities 3 and 4 of this unit, students will use this information to design a way to solve the grand challenge of separating metal for a recycling company.

This class is an introduction to the dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Topics include kinematics; force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion; work-energy concepts; virtual displacements and virtual work; Lagrange's equations for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion; linearization of equations of motion; linear stability analysis of mechanical systems; free and forced vibration of linear multi-degree of freedom models of mechanical systems; and matrix eigenvalue problems. The class includes an introduction to numerical methods and using MATLABĺ¨ to solve dynamics and vibrations problems.

This web page features a collection of Easy Java Simulations developed by secondary teachers for use in introductory high school physics courses. Topics include astronomy, momentum and collision, projectile motion, Gauss's Law and electric field, special relativity, and more. Each simulation is accompanied by a standards-based lesson plan and printable student guides. Users may run the simulations as a Java applet or may directly download a jar file version. The materials in this collection were created with Easy Java Simulations (EJS), a modeling tool that allows users without formal programming experience to generate computer models and simulations. To modify or customize the model, See Related Materials for detailed instructions on installing and running the EJS Modeling and Authoring Tool. This resource is part of Project ITOP (Improving the Teaching of Physics), a graduate program offered at University of Massachusetts-Boston. The archived computer models are hosted and maintained as part of the BU Physics Simulation collection.

The Early Universe provides an introduction to modern cosmology. The first part of the course deals with the classical cosmology, and later part with modern particle physics and its recent impact on cosmology.

To gain an understanding of mixtures and the concept of separation of mixtures, students use strong magnets to find the element of iron in iron-fortified breakfast cereal flakes. Through this activity, they see how the iron component of this heterogeneous mixture (cereal) retains its properties and can thus be separated by physical means.

How many calories are in your favorite foods? How much exercise would you have to do to burn off these calories? What is the relationship between calories and weight? Explore these issues by choosing diet and exercise and keeping an eye on your weight.

In this activity related to magnetism and electricity, learners discover that a magnet falls more slowly through a metallic tube than it does through a nonmetallic tube. Use this activity to illustrate how eddy currents in an electrical conductor create a magnetic field that exerts an opposing force on the falling magnet, which makes it fall at a slower rate. This activity guide also includes demonstration instructions involving two thick, flat pieces of aluminum to illustrate the same principle.

Egg parachutes with the theme of Futurama. Without mentioning the word 'Parachute' to students need to think in more inventive and creative ways.

This course covers the role of physics and physicists during the 20th century, focusing on Einstein, Oppenheimer, and Feynman. Beyond just covering the scientific developments, institutional, cultural, and political contexts will also be examined.

Play ball! Add charges to the Field of Dreams and see how they react to the electric field. Turn on a background electric field and adjust the direction and magnitude. (Kevin Costner not included).

In this activity about electricity, learners explore how static electricity can make electric "fleas" jump up and down. Learners use a piece of wool cloth or fur to charge a sheet of acrylic plastic. Then, they observe as tiny bits of Styrofoam, spices, ceiling glitter, or rice (aka "fleas") jump up to the plastic and then back down.

" This class discusses the origin of electrical, magnetic and optical properties of materials, with a focus on the acquisition of quantum mechanical tools. It begins with an analysis of the properties of materials, presentation of the postulates of quantum mechanics, and close examination of the hydrogen atom, simple molecules and bonds, and the behavior of electrons in solids and energy bands. Introducing the variation principle as a method for the calculation of wavefunctions, the course continues with investigation of how and why materials respond to different electrical, magnetic and electromagnetic fields and probes and study of the conductivity, dielectric function, and magnetic permeability in metals, semiconductors, and insulators. A survey of common devices such as transistors, magnetic storage media, optical fibers concludes the semester. Note: The Magnetics unit was taught by co-instructor David Paul; that material is not available at this time."

This freshman-level course is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism The subject is taught using the TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) format which utilizes small group interaction and current technology. The TEAL/Studio Project at MIT is a new approach to physics education designed to help students develop much better intuition about, and conceptual models of, physical phenomena.

"This course examines electric and magnetic quasistatic forms of Maxwell's equations applied to dielectric, conduction, and magnetization boundary value problems. Topics covered include: electromagnetic forces, force densities, and stress tensors, including magnetization and polarization; thermodynamics of electromagnetic fields, equations of motion, and energy conservation; applications to synchronous, induction, and commutator machines; sensors and transducers; microelectromechanical systems; propagation and stability of electromechanical waves; and charge transport phenomena. Acknowledgments The instructor would like to thank Thomas Larsen and Matthew Pegler for transcribing into LaTeX the homework problems, homework solutions, and exam solutions."

"Published in 1989 by Prentice-Hall, this book is a useful resource for educators and self-learners alike. The text is aimed at those who have seen Maxwell's equations in integral and differential form and who have been exposed to some integral theorems and differential operators. A hypertext version of this textbook can be found here. An accompanying set of video demonstrations is available below. These video demonstrations convey electromagnetism concepts. The demonstrations are related to topics covered in the textbook. They were prepared by Markus Zahn, James R. Melcher, and Manuel L. Silva and were produced by the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The purpose of these demonstrations is to make mathematical analysis of electromagnetism take on physical meaning. Based on relatively simple configurations and arrangements of equipment, they make a direct connection between what has been analytically derived and what is observed. They permit the student to observe physically what has been described symbolically. Often presented with a plot of theoretical predictions that are compared to measured data, these demonstrations give the opportunity to test the range of validity of the theory and present a quantitative approach to dealing with the physical world. The short form of these videos contains the demonstrations only. The long form also presents theory, diagrams, and calculations in support of the demonstrations. These videos are used in the courses 6.013J/ESD.013J and 6.641. Technical Requirements:Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .mp4, .rm."

Basic principles of electromagnetism: experimental basis, electrostatics, magnetic fields of steady currents, motional e.m.f. and electromagnetic induction, Maxwell's equations, propagation and radiation of electromagnetic waves, electric and magnetic properties of matter, and conservation laws. This is a graduate level subject which uses appropriate mathematics but whose emphasis is on physical phenomena and principles.

This is a multi-day research project for Introductory Physics or Physical science students that allows them to research about Electromagnetic Waves and the electromagnetic spectrum. This intends for students to 'dive deep' into one wave type and then present their research to their class through a Ted Talk style presentation.

Survey of basic electromagnetic phenomena: electrostatics, magnetostatics; electromagnetic properties of matter. Time-dependent electromagnetic fields and Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic waves, emission, absorption, and scattering of radiation. Relativistic electrodynamics and mechanics.

This activity from the Exploratorium provides instructions to build an electroscope, a device that detects electrical charge. Common, inexpensive materials including film canisters, 3-M Scotch Magic™ Tape, and a plastic comb are used to show the attractions and repulsions between positively and negatively charged objects. The site also provides an explanation of the results and suggestions for extension activities.

The simulation illustrates the situation of a person in an elevator. The elevator takes the person from one floor to the next floor up.
For this situation, try sketching three free-body diagrams, one for the person, another for the elevator, and a third for the person-elevator system.
First, draw the diagrams for when the system remains at rest. Then, predict whether the free-body diagrams will change (and, if so, how) when the elevator is accelerating up, moving up at constant velocity, and moving up but slowing down (acceleration is down).

The simulation draws the diagrams for all these cases, but make sure you try drawing your own before looking at the simulation's diagrams.