For the past few years, students in my first semester calculus physics laboratory have explored kinematics (and also a little dynamics) by building and launching model rockets. Working in groups, the students build Estes Big Bertha or Baby Bertha rockets from kits. Then, we travel to a local park to launch the rockets. The rockets

In order to run the following simulations you need a web browser capable of running javascript and of interpreting HTML5. Brownian Particle Simulation in 2D A Simulated Time-Lapse Video of Brownian Particles in 2D

In Excel, you can apply a line-of-best fit to any scatterplot. The equation for the fit can be displayed but the standard error of the slope and y-intercept are not give. To find these statistics, use the LINEST function instead. The LINEST function performs linear regression calculations and is an array function, which means that

As a physics professor, I’ve discovered that the biggest impediment to success in college physics is a shaky foundation in high-school level algebra. If you are unsure of your algebra ability or want to review key concepts in preparation for physics, this page is for you. Let’s review: Order of Operations Consider the following mathematic

As a physics professor, I’ve discovered that there is one thing more than any other that prevents students from finding success in my conceptual physics course, proficiency in algebra. My conceptual physics course include a significant amount of problem solving and students who start the course without sufficient mastery of algebra are like students starting