A Physics teacher writes about...stuff.
As I have written before, many students struggle with unit conversions. The Porter Method helps students understanding by making the process explicit. As of the time of writing, GCSE Science (2015 specification) students are expected to know the SI unit Continue reading
Lenz's Law can be stated easily enough: 'An induced current will flow in a direction so that it opposes the change producing it.' However, it can be hard for students to learn how to apply it. What follows is my suggested explanatory sequence. Continue reading
What is the worst circuit in the world? Many teachers think it is the one below. This is the circuit that AQA (2018: 47) strongly suggest should be used to capture the data for plotting IV characteristics (aka current against Continue reading
What does the worst circuit that's ever been designed in the history of humankind or before look like? Without further ado, here it is . . . Continue reading
Charged particles which are stationary within a magnetic field do not experience a magnetic force; however, charged particles which are moving within a magnetic field most definitely do. And, what is more, this magnetic force or Lorentz force always makes Continue reading
It may seem incredible to us, but over a millennium before the invention of the telescope, some of our resourceful ancestors had not only measured the radius of the Earth, but also the distance from the Earth to the Moon, Continue reading
The philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) offers an intriguing system for classifying misconceptions (or fallacies as he terms them) that could be useful for teachers in understanding many of the misconceptions and preconceptions that our students hold. My own thoughts Continue reading
It is a truth which is by no means universally acknowledged, but one of which I hope shortly to persuade the reader, that introducing speed to 11-14 year-old students as speed=distance÷time or s=d ÷ t is not the most pedagogically Continue reading
I recently made a bit of a mess of teaching the topic of gears by trying to wing it with insufficient preparation. To avoid my and possibly others future blushes, I thought I would compile a post summarising Continue reading
Rosencrantz (an anguished cry): CONSISTENCY IS ALL I ASK! Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) I think that dual coding techniques can be extremely helpful in helping students understand the concept of change of momentum. To engage our Continue reading