It is often challenging, especially at the beginning of a course, to find good examples where students can actively explore and grapple with the methods of science. We want them to learn the connection between observation, theory, prediction, evidence, and falsification, but to really accomplish this we need platforms for which the students are able to design and implement experiments, and we need to be able to see the results of those experiments relatively quickly. There are some nice ideas using games1 and simple demonstrations and labs.2,3 I have found an example that is both entertaining for the students and rich enough in behavior to be an ideal platform for introducing scientific thinking: the automatic flushing toilet (Fig. 1).
Topics
Educational aids
REFERENCES
1.
David P.
Maloney
and Mark F.
Masters
, “Learning the game of formulating and testing hypotheses and theories
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, 22
–24
(Jan. 2010
).2.
Robert W.
Harris
, C. F. C.
, “Using wind chimes to introduce the physics course
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38
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–219
(April 2000
).3.
Frank A.
Smith
, “Testing alternative hypotheses
,” Phys. Teach.
44
, 400
(Sept. 2006
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The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, www.randi.org/research/.
5.
“Ocean's Eleven,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2001. “National Treasure,” directed by Jon Turteltaub, Walt Disney Pictures, 2004.
6.
“MythBusters Episode 59: Crimes and Myth‐Demeanors 2,” created by Peter Rees, Beyond Entertainment. Air Date: August 23, 2006. They show that a heat detector can be blocked by a plate of glass and an ultrasound detector can be blocked by a bed sheet.
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© 2011 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2011
American Association of Physics Teachers
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