If you build it, they will learn

Bruce Yeany0873552679, 9780873552677, 9781933531922

If You Build It, They Will Learn is the perfect do-it-yourself guide for physics teachers who want custom-made demonstration projects to use in their classrooms. Devices like Galileo’s Track, Coupled Pendulum, and Gum-Wrapper Thermostat will help you teach forces, energy, properties of matter, and much more. Best of all, you don’t need an engineering degree to assemble these devices. The book provides such detailed instructions that even novices can handle the necessary tasks and tools. If You Build It is organized into two practical parts: 1. Step-by-step directions for producing 17 well-designed pieces of equipment that author Bruce Yeany has tested in his own classroom. Each set of instructions is illustrated with clear photos or drawings and includes a materials list. 2. Suggestions for how to teach with each piece of equipment. Yeany provides information to prepare students for the demonstration, ideas for the presentation itself, and interactive questions to verify that students are learning the physics concepts. When you can’t find or afford high-quality equipment from a catalog… or wish you could make your gear bigger or smaller… or simply find it satisfying to use devices you ve put together yourself, If You Build It has your solution. Developing your own demonstrations can even enrich your understanding of the physics concepts you wish to teach. The experience creates an environment rich in opportunities for observing and investigating. Teach physics your way with custom-made demos.

---

Table of contents :
Table of Contents……Page 5
Preface……Page 7
Introduction……Page 9
1 Galileo’s Track……Page 19
2 Can You Top This?……Page 33
3 Inertia Block……Page 51
4 Resonant Pendulums……Page 63
5 Hero’s Fountain……Page 89
6 String Racers……Page 105
7 Solar Motor……Page 123
8 Weigh Your Cans……Page 141
9 Balanced Breakfast Box……Page 159
10 Heavy Foam……Page 171
11 Mystery Boxes……Page 183
12 Balloon in a Bottle……Page 201
13 Hot, Warm, or Cold?……Page 213
14 What Color Is Inside?……Page 223
15 Gum Wrapper Thermostat……Page 237
16 Simple Motor, Two-Coil Motor……Page 249
17 Lightbulbs……Page 265
Appendix A Resources……Page 285
Appendix B Research Review……Page 287