CSAAPT/NCS-AAPT Fall 2024 Joint Semi-Virtual Meeting

Saturday Oct 19, 2024, 8:00 AM → 6:00 PM US/Eastern

CEBAF Center, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Photo by Aileen Devlin

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This Meeting is hosted by the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, 

with additional funding from:

• Department of Physics and the College of Science at Virginia Tech 
• Departments of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Virginia
• Department of Physics, Computer Science and Engineering at Christopher Newport University
• Department of Physics at Virginia Commonwealth University
  
• Department of Physics at the College of William and Mary
  
• Department of Physics at Old Dominion University
• Department of Physics and Astronomy at Jame Madison University
• Department of Physics at Georgetown University
  
• Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges (OPTYCs)
  
  

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Overview:

The Chesapeake and North Carolina Sections of the American Association of Physics Teachers (CSAAPT and NCS-AAPT) will be holding their Fall 2024 Meeting jointly on Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (aka Jefferson Lab or JLab) in Newport News, VA.

No membership required!             
You do not have to be an AAPT, CSAAPT, or NCS-AAPT member to attend. We welcome participation of all physics/science teachers and students in the region (DC, DE, MD, VA, NC and neighboring states) as well as anyone interested in physics education, or physics in general.

The semiannual CSAAPT/NCS-AAPT meetings are great forums to exchange ideas on novel teaching techniques and economical physics demonstrations, and to meet a fascinating cohort of physics education enthusiasts.

This meeting is semi-virtual.  The in-person venue is the CEBAF Center at Jefferson Lab.  See the Meeting Location page for details.  The Meeting will be broadcast on Zoom so that people from afar (both presenters and attendees) can join in.  

Lodging Support!             
We have limited funds to provide up to $206 in lodging support to high school physics teachers. Support for community college faculty is also available from OPTYCs. Please see the Travel and Lodging Info page for details.

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Jefferson Lab Security:

Please note that Jefferson Lab deals with radioactive material and other hazerdous substances so there are strict security protocols in place.  To attend the meeting or to go on the Jefferson Lab tour, you must be registered with us so that Jefferson Lab knows that you are coming. You must also bring a valid government issued photo ID with you to enter the building where the meeting will take place.

 

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Banquet:

There will be a get together for people arriving a day early in the evening of Friday, Oct. 18 from 6:00PM at

• Angelo's Steak and Pancake House
  755 J. Clyde Morris Blvd.
  Newport News, VA 23601
  Phone: (757) 599-5727
  
  

This restaurant is a 3-min drive from the meeting hotel (Holiday Inn Express and Suites Newport News) and an 8-minute drive from Jefferon Lab.

The cost is $30/person.  Please indicate on the registration form the number of people in your party if you are planning to join us.  Payment info will be emailed to you together with the payment info for the registration fee.
      

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Program:

Please see the TimeTable page for the complete program, and the Contribution List page for the complete list of titles and abstracts.

Invited Speaker:

• Dr. Patrizia Rossi (Jefferson Lab, Deputy Associate Director for Experimental Nuclear Physics)
  
  Title: Jefferson Lab: a journey from quarks to matter
  
  Abtract: Since time immemorial people are wondering what the world is made of. An ancient idea dating back to the Greeks is the system of four elements: earth, water, fire and air. Our understanding of nature has come a long way since then. We have learned that much of our world is made of the various atoms compiled in the periodic table of elements. We have also learned that atoms themselves are built from more fundamental pieces, named protons, neutrons and electrons, and that protons and neutrons in turn are made of more fundamental particles named quarks hold together by gluons. Researchers at Jefferson Lab study quarks and gluons using continuous beams of high-energy, polarized electrons. Research on the building blocks of matter will be presented along with the challenges posed by the nature of Quantum Chromodynamics, the theory which describes the characteristics and behavior of quarks and the peculiar force that binds them together.
  
  Bio: Rossi, Patrizia joined Jefferson Lab as the Deputy Associate Director for Nuclear Physics in May 2012. She graduated in Physics from the University of Rome (Italy) in 1986. Following a fellowship at the Frascati National Laboratories (LNF) of INFN-Italy, she obtained a permanent position at LNF in 1990 where she is now "Research Director" (on leave). Since 2013 she has been a Research Professor at the George Washington University. She was the National co-spokesperson for the Italian collaboration at JLab from 2003 until May 2012. She is Managing Editor for “Reviews” and “Letters to the Editor” of the European Physical Journal A. She  served as Member of the Helmholtz-Institute Mainz Scientific Council, Member of the GSI-FAIR Scientific Committee, and member of the US High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP).Her professional service has also included Member of the GSI-FAIR Strategy Board and Member of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC). She has served as reviewer in many DOE, NSF and Laboratory Management Review Committees. In addition to her research at Jefferson Lab, she has carried out experiments at DESY, ESRF and LNF. Her most recent investigations are related to the study of the transverse momentum parton distribution functions for which she is co-spokesperson for several experiments. Her hardware activity has been focused on the construction of electromagnetic calorimeters, jet targets, monochromatic photon beams, and RICH detectors. Additionally, she has been an advisor to Undergraduate and PhD students. She has co-authored over 250 refereed journal papers and presented her works at 100+ conferences/workshops/seminars.
  
  
  

Tour of the Jefferson Lab Facilities:

• Must be 18 years or older to participate.
  
  
• The Morning Tour will be from 9:30AM to 11:30AM, and the Afternoon Tour from 1:30PM to 3:30PM.
  
  
• If you signed up for the Tour, you will receive an email from JLab Tour Coordinator, Mr. Daniel Akeredolu. Please read it carefully and respond to the online questionnaire.  
  
  
  

Science Education Opportunities at Jefferson Lab:

• Presentation by the Science Education Department of Jefferson Lab
  
  
• Offered twice: 10:30AM to 11:15AM and 2:30PM to 3:15PM
  
  
  

College Fair and Poster Session:

• To run concurrently in the Atrium and Lobby of the CEBAF Center
  
  
• 9:30AM to 10:30AM and 1:30PM to 2:30PM

 

 

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Contributed Talks/Demos/Posters:

We solicit contributions within the following parameters:

• 15-minute talk or demo (12 minute talk + 3-minute Q&A, both in-person and via Zoom)                   
  Talk topic/demo can be anything pertaining to physics teaching
  
  
• Research Poster (4'x3') on any physics topic by undergraduate and high school students
   
• To submit the title and abstract of your talk/demo/poster, please register first and then click on Call for Abstracts in the menu
  
  
• If you are a student submitting the title and abstract for a poster, please add your research advisor's name as a co-author of the poster                                
   
• The deadline to submit your title and abstract for talks and demos is midnight of Sunday, September 22, 2024.
  
  
• The deadline to submit your title and abstract for poster has been extended to midnight of Sunday, September 29, 2024.            
   
• Contributors of talks/demos/posters will be issued certificates of presentation                       
   

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Registration:

• In-person attendance:                                  
   
  • Please use the in-person attendance registration form on the Registration page,                  
     
  • The deadline to register for in-person attendance is midnight of Sunday, September 29, 2024.  
     
  • In-person attendees are requested the following registration fees to cover meals and administrative costs:                                  
     
    • Instructors/faculty of 2-year and 4-year colleges/universities, employees of institutions/organizations/companies : $40
    • K-12 Instructors, Retirees, Students, Guests : $30                                
  • The registration fee is NOT payable upon registration.  A link for you to directly pay the registration fee online will be emailed to you.    
                                  
     
• Remote Attendance:                                  
   
  • Please use the Zoom attendance registration form on the Registration page,                  
     
  • The deadline to register for remote attendance is midnight of Friday, October 18, 2024.                                  
     
  • There is no registration fee for remote (Zoom) attendance.                                  
     
  • Please note that the Zoom link for the meeting will not be made public and will only be emailed to registrants.  The Zoom link will be sent to you in a Zoom or calendar invite, so please pay attention to what you are receiving in your email.               
     
  • Once on Zoom, please change your Zoom name to your full name followed by your affiliation in parentheses, e.g. Jane Doe (Thomas Jefferson High School). This is so that we can identify your presence for the purpose of issuing your certificates of attendance.                               
    
     
• Certificate of Attendance/Presentation:                                  
   
  • Certificates of attendance/presentation will be issued to both in-person and virtual attendees/presenters.                                  
     
  • If you need a certificate of attendance and/or presentation, please register your name exactly as it should appear on your certificate(s).  No nicknames or pseudonyms, please.                      
     
  • A detailed program in pdf can be generated by clicking on the "PDF" button at the top of the "Timetable" page (once the timetable is available).
         
     

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Important Deadlines:

• Application for Lodging Support: midnight of Sunday, September 8, 2024
• Hotel room-block cutoff: midnight of Sunday, September 15, 2024 
• Submission of talk and demo abstracts: midnight of Sunday, September 22, 2024
• Registration for in-person attendance, and submission of poster abstracts: midnight of Sunday, September 29, 2024
• Registration for virtual attendance: midnight of Friday, October 18, 2024                               
   

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Organizational Committee:

Tatsu Takeuchi (CSAAPT President, Virginia Tech, VA)
Muge Karagoz (CSAAPT Vice President, MD)
Joe Heafner (NCS-AAPT President, NC)
Brittney VornDick (NCS-AAPT Past President, Durham Technical Community College, NC)
Marie Boer (Virginia Tech, VA)
Joshua Erlich (College of William and Mary, VA)
Ryan Fisher (Christopher Newport University, VA)
James Freericks (Georgetown University, DC)
Elena Kuchina (Virginia Peninsula Community College, VA)
Kris Lui (AAPT-OPTYCs, MD)
Carl Mungan (US Naval Academy, MD)
Felix Jaetae Seo (Hampton University, VA)
Jason Sterlace (James Madison University, VA)
Denise Wetli (Wake Technical Community College, NC)
Kent Yagi (University of Virginia, VA)

AAPT_2025W_St_Louis.pdf

Google Map of attendee institutions

Poster_Abstracts.pdf

8:00 AM Registration and Breakfast

Welcome: Dr. David Dean (Jefferson Lab Deputy Director for Science and Technology)

8:40 AM five-minute break to move between rooms

Atrium/Lobby: Morning Session

1 A simple approach to determining classical planetary orbits

I will show an elementary derivation of the bound orbits of an inverse-square force law. The approach uses the Hamilton equations of motion, which are just two coupled first-order differential equations for the time rate of change of the radial coordinate and of the radial momentum. By decoupling these equations, we simply have to integrate a first-order differential equation of a complex exponential function to find the orbit. This approach is much simpler than the standard approach, which requires one to solve a complicated integral for theta(r) and then invert it to find r(theta). This derivation is easily within reach of beginning physics students who are familiar with angular momentum and the fact that the derivative of an exponential is an exponential. Our approach has the added benefit of having a deep connection to the quantum solution of hydrogen as well. The original idea for this comes from the 1930 textbook Elementare Quantenmechanik by Born and Jordan.

Speaker: James Freericks (Georgetown University)

CSAAPT-Fall-2024-freericks.pptx

2 Creating Successful Professional Development Programs

During the past two years, The Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges (OPTYCs) has ramped up multiple programs for professional development. While these are aimed at two-year college faculty, we have had participation from high school teachers, professors from four-year institutions, and graduate students. In this presentation, we will highlight some of our programs and share what we have learned about creating relevant and engaging events for professional growth. OPTYCs is funded by NSF-IUSE-2212807.

Speaker: Kris Lui (AAPT - OPTYCs)

Professional Development Programs

3 Experimental high energy physics research: Knowledge transfer and career readiness

When I started as a research leader at a UMD gen-ed UG program in 2018, I realized that I could effectively utilize my experimental high energy physicist upbringing in my role. This was not only because of the research projects I implemented in the course, but also of the baseline knowledge, competencies, hard and soft skills acquired through apprenticeship, experiential learning, project and product management, and teamwork. With this talk, I hope to convince you that physics education and research prepares a student for life. (This is an abbreviated version of an invited talk I gave at the 2023 APS MAS meeting.)

Speaker: Dr Muge Karagoz

CSAAPT-fall-2024-Muge-Karagoz.pdf

Auditorium: Morning Session

4 Relativistic Two-Body Equations

The difficulties associated with relativistic two-body equations, both classical and quantum mechanical, will be discussed. Two approaches to the two-body Dirac equation will then be considered. The emphasis will be on the Breit version of this equation with instantaneous interaction. This equation will be solved for quarkonium states using a standard potential with short-range and linear terms, with a particular emphasis on the vector-scalar mix in the linear potential. The energy of the 0-
state of charmonium will be calculated as an example. Much of
this material is accessible to upper-division undergraduates.

Speaker: Walter Jaronski (Radford University)

Two Body.pptx

5 Coefficient of performance (COP) of a Stirling refrigerator

Many textbooks define the COP of a refrigerator consisting of a working fluid (taken to be an ideal gas) as the ratio of the sum $Q_C$ of all heats input to the ideal gas divided by the total work $W$ done on the ideal gas, both calculated around one complete cycle. Since the change in internal energy of the gas is zero for a (steady-state) cycle, $W$ can alternatively be written as $Q_H - Q_C$ where $Q_H$ is the sum of all heats output from the ideal gas during a cycle.

However, this definition does not correspond to one's intuition. The COP of a fridge should instead be defined as the ratio of the heat extracted from the sample compartment divided by the energy (presumably electrical) supplied to run the fridge. That corresponds to the ratio of energy transfer wanted to the energy transfer paid, i.e. what we usefully obtain divided by what it costs us.

The issue is that the sum of all heats input to the gas is not in general equal to the heat extracted from the (cold) sample compartment. Many thermodynamic cycles have steps where heat must be input to the ideal gas but that heat is not transferred out of the cold reservoir. Instead the heat comes from one or more supplementary reservoirs, such as a heat exchanger (sometimes called a "regenerator").

I will illustrate these ideas by calculating the COP for several possible designs of Stirling refrigerators using these two alternative definitions of COP.

references: Eur. J. Phys. 38, 055101 (2017) & 41, 058002 (2020)

Speaker: Carl Mungan (U.S. Naval Academy)

CSAAPT_Mungan.pptx

6 Projectile Motion: More Geometry, More Physics

Projectile motion is the first topic in an introductory physics course that can boggle the minds of students. It is important to start with basic observations and discussion much earlier in math, geology, or other science classes. The presentation will demonstrate how free simulations, such as PhET - Projectile Motion, can be effectively used for pre-lab activities or projects in schools with limited resources. These simulations can be adapted to different levels of difficulty, aligning with the key themes outlined in my recent paper and the supplementary material found in its appendix, published in The Physics Teacher.

Speaker: Jan Fiala

Projectile Motion- More Geometry, More Physics.pptx

F113: Morning Session

7 Physics Identity of Undergraduate Women

Students with a strong science identity have a higher likelihood of choosing a science career and are more likely to demonstrate persistence in STEM courses and careers. Preliminary findings of an ongoing qualitative survey analysis of 120 undergraduate women in Physics will be presented. The following research questions are being investigated:

• What are undergraduate women’s conceptions of what it means to be a
  physics person?
• How do undergraduate women explain their self-assessment of their own physics identity?

Speaker: Laura Akesson (George Mason University)

CSAAPT 2024 Physics Identity of Undergraduate Women.pptx

8 Cultural Backgrounds and Classroom Dynamics: Understanding the Impact of cultural background on International Graduate Teaching Assistants' Adjustment to U.S. Graduate Teaching

This study explores how International Graduate Teaching Assistants (IGTAs) adjust to teaching roles in the U.S., focusing on how their cultural backgrounds influence their experiences and classroom interactions. Using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as a framework (Hofstede, G. 2011), we examine how power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and motivation towards achievement in their prior cultural experiences affect IGTAs' integration into the teaching culture of their GTA position. This research includes one-on-one semi-structured interviews with twelve IGTAs from various countries. The preliminary results show that, beyond common barriers like language and accents, differences in educational systems, classroom hierarchies, and student engagement play a big part in how IGTAs adapt to their teaching roles. This research aims to understand how IGTAs navigate these cultural shifts and how their backgrounds shape their interactions with students. By understanding these dynamics, this study provides ideas for creating more culturally sensitive teaching environments and better support for IGTAs, helping to build more effective cross-cultural classrooms in higher education.

Speaker: Nishchal Thapa Magar (George Mason University)

NISHCHAL_CS-NCSAAPT_ Presentation_2024.pptx

9 Quantum Concepts for High School and College

As quantum information science becomes a more prominent topic, high schools and colleges are thinking about how to incorporate these ideas into existing classes and new courses. We have been working with teachers to develop quantum activities and lessons for high school computer science, chemistry, and physics classes as well as to develop a new conceptual (no pre-requisites) university course. For the high school classes, we have worked with teachers to make sure that the activities would be appropriate for their classes and their students. The university course was taught in Spring 2024 and will be taught again in Spring 2025. We will discuss some of the activities and lessons that have been developed for these courses as well as the opportunities and challenges they present.

Speaker: Jessica Rosenberg (George Mason University)

CSAAPT_fall_2024.pptx

L102/104: Morning Session

10 A Pilot Engineering Intro Course for the Early Engagement of First-Year Engineering Physics Majors

Introduction to Engineering Design is a pilot course started in the fall of 2024 at Delaware State University among freshmen majoring in engineering physics. This course is one of the several course modules being piloted before a major program revision can be implemented. The goal for this pilot introductory engineering course is to bring the hands-on engineering design experience to the freshmen class and prepare them with basic practical skills for future success in the program. Students will explore different engineering tracks in our program (electrical, biomedical and optical) and conduct hands-on team projects to get familiar with the tools used in engineering design. In addition, student will practice on problems solving, data analysis, lab report writing, and oral presentation.

Speaker: Qi Lu (Delaware State University)

A Pilot Engineering Intro Course.pptx

11 Outcomes of MSU's "Quantum Literacy Teachers Training" Workshop (QLT2)

This past summer, I was a facilitator at a Morgan State University quantum teacher workshop titled "Quantum Literacy Teachers Training" (QLT2). In this talk, I will share my experience and the goals, details and outcomes of this workshop.

Speaker: Dr Lilian Clairmont (Appomattox Regional Governor's School)

CSAAPT Talk Fall 24.pptx

12 Teaching K-12 Particle Physics as an Advocate: A Personal Journey into Radio Wave Science and Technology Research

During my US Pathways Summer 2016 Internship with the Office of Science (High Energy Physics) of US Dept. of Energy (Germantown MD), I evaluated the US workforce readiness for future US particle physics projects for further research of the Standard Model of Physics and Beyond. One of the findings showed literacy disparities in physics of American secondary students in comparison to those of other Western countries. Particle physics makes an appearance in the curriculum for the International Baccalaureate, a program recognized as a qualification for entry into higher education by many universities around the world. Although my internship focused more identification of sub-atomic particles based on experimental particle collision studies with detectors—ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, graduate studies and AIAA affiliations introduced me to space studies and naturally occurrence of the same particles. With a 15-year career of teaching high school science, I made post-internship commitment to advocate for space weather curriculum for K-12 students.

Just as student learning focuses on knowledge sharing by the teacher, role-modeling active learning for knowledge-ownership is within the domain of dynamic, engaging research. So, reclassification of my teaching role in current parlance culturally captures my job more as a social influencer. I aim to influence students to passionately to keep abreast of current particle physics applications, then delve into the processes how the applications occur. Unrelated to classroom instructional curricula, I actively research current space-based events and share findings in technical conference presentations and papers.

Speaker: Ronald Freeman (Space Operations and Support Technical Committee AIAA)

Freeman RH_CSAAT_October 19_2024 Presentation.pptx

9:30 AM five-minute break to move between rooms

Atrium/Lobby: College Fair & Poster Session (AM)

Auditorium: Tour Orientation (AM)

Auditorium: JLab Science Education Department

13 Science Education Opportunities at Jefferson Lab (AM)

This session will present opportunities for STEM students and teachers available at Jefferson Lab — from internships, mentorships and summer programming for both high school, 2- and 4-year undergraduate students, and faculty. We will also share resources for K-12 teacher professional development and information regarding community outreach efforts and how to engage with the Lab for your events.

Speaker: Jalyn Dio (Jefferson Lab, Science Education Administrator)

2024_AAPT.pptx

11:15 AM Break

Featured Talk

14 Jefferson Lab: a journey from quarks to matter

Since time immemorial people are wondering what the world is made of. An ancient idea dating back to the Greeks is the system of four elements: earth, water, fire and air. Our understanding of nature has come a long way since then. We have learned that much of our world is made of the various atoms compiled in the periodic table of elements. We have also learned that atoms themselves are built from more fundamental pieces, named protons, neutrons and electrons, and that protons and neutrons in turn are made of more fundamental particles named quarks hold together by gluons. Researchers at Jefferson Lab study quarks and gluons using continuous beams of high-energy, polarized electrons. Research on the building blocks of matter will be presented along with the challenges posed by the nature of Quantum Chromodynamics, the theory which describes the characteristics and behavior of quarks and the peculiar force that binds them together.

Speaker: Dr Patrizia Rossi (Jefferson Lab)

12:30 PM Group Photo in South Atrium

12:40 PM Lunch

Atrium/Lobby: College Fair & Poster Session (PM)

Auditorium: Tour Orientation (PM)

Auditorium: JLab Science Education Department

15 Science Education Opportunities at Jefferson Lab (PM)

This session will present opportunities for STEM students and teachers available at Jefferson Lab — from internships, mentorships and summer programming for both high school, 2- and 4-year undergraduate students, and faculty. We will also share resources for K-12 teacher professional development and information regarding community outreach efforts and how to engage with the Lab for your events.

Speaker: Lisa Surles-Law (Jefferson Lab, Science Education Manager)

2024_AAPT.pptx

3:15 PM Break

Atrium/Lobby: Afternoon Session

16 Baryon Model using Quark and Gluon spheres

Introduction: How can a Physics and Chemistry student easily visualize the resultant charge of a Neutron or Proton? By using a simple educational model that includes Down and Up quarks. Computing the resultant charge requires knowledge of only simple fractions.

Methodology/Theoretical Framework: Color-coded spheres are used to represent Down Quarks, Up Quarks, and Gluons. Desktop model enables student to build respective Baryon (Neutron or Proton).

Results: Students can easily and quickly understand constituents of Baryons-the Neutron or Proton, according to resultant spin of Down and Up quarks, respectively.

Significance: Every physics and chemistry student can easily and quickly build models of Neutrons and Protons, replete with Gluons which carry Strong Nuclear Force allowing charge swapping between quarks, and holding Neutron and Proton together within the diameter of the respective Baryon. Multiple Baryons can be grouped to represent atoms of their respective atomic number.

Speaker: David Parham (North Carolina State University)

Baryon Models1b.pdf

Baryon Models1c.pdf

17 REU… but for TYC faculty?

North Carolina Central University received a grant to give underrepresented students ( women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and TYC) along with TYC faculty opportunities to do research at Triangle University Nuclear Laboratories along with TUNL REU students and TUNL faculty. I will be talking about my experience as a TYC faculty getting back into research and the opportunities of my TYC students this past summer.

Speaker: Brittney VornDick (Durham Technical Community College)

JLAB-2024.pptx

18 Evidence of Quantum Mechanics as “seen” through Diffraction Gratings and Light Emitting Diodes

2025 has been designated as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). I have developed a set of simple outreach activities that involve applications of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and spectrum analysis using simple diffraction grating viewers. Students and outreach audiences often marvel at the rich details that emerge from ‘normal’ sources of light: the wavelengths present in spectra reveal the underlying regularity imposes by QM on the electronic structure of atoms and the corresponding emission spectra. Spectrum studies of the Sun motivated Dr. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin to propose in 1925 that the Sun was comprised mainly of Hydrogen and Helium, and later to map the various paths of stellar evolution. In a much cooler regime LEDs have become ubiquitous as efficient lighting sources whose color range can be easily controlled. I plan to tie together the concepts tied to the IYQ with these two activities during my talk.

Speaker: William McNairy (Wake Technical Community College)

19 Simple Outreach Activities to Celebrate 2025: The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology

In my previous talk I outlined the role of quantization considerations in the emission spectra of ionized elements and in the colors emitted by Light Emitting Diodes. I have created an inexpensive set of demonstrations that can be given to students and outreach audiences of almost all ages so that they can directly experience these surprising phenomena. I cut small squares of linear diffraction gratings, typically 500 to 1,000 lines/mm and tape them over holes punched in business cards. For the diodes I include a colored lens, several ‘clear water’ of varying wavelengths, a UV spectrum, and RGB flashing LEDs along with a 3V lithium battery. Students can clearly see the circuit components through the magnifying clear plastic lenses. They quickly note that when several LEDs are connected to the battery several short-wavelength LEDs dim or go out while the red/yellow ones remain lit—a great introduction to band gaps in the semiconductors. I will have several kits to hand out to interested attendees. This talk is given in memory of Drs. Rae Carpenter and Richard Minnix for their decades of service to the state of Virginia and Physics teachers worldwide.

Speaker: William McNairy (Wake Technical Community College)

Auditorium: Afternoon Session

20 Demonstration of Light Emitting Diodes and Alternating Current

A red LED and a green LED are wired in parallel and attached to a lamp cord. The LEDs are oriented in opposite directions, so when one of them is forward biased the other is reverse biased. When plugged in to a wall outlet, at any instant only one of the LEDs will be forward biased; this switches between red and green with a 60 Hz frequency. Waving the end of the cord back and forth (or twirling it) in a darkened room makes alternating red and green streaks visible, an indicator of the alternating voltage difference from the wall outlet. Careful observation shows that the red streaks are slightly longer than the green ones, an indicator of the different band gaps of the two LEDs. I will provide instructions (and make-and-take kits until they run out) for building this demonstration using inexpensive materials.

Speaker: Jonathan Bennett (NCSSM)

leds_presentation.pdf

leds_presentation.pptx

21 Using the Sound from a Tuning Fork to Demonstrate Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

We teach a little modern physics in Phy 202; one topic we cover is the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle. To demonstrate the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle, we put the sound of a tuning fork through different filtering window sizes then we get the resulting spectrum. The result shows that reducing the uncertainty in time will increase the uncertainty in the frequency in accord with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

Speaker: Phuc Tran (Brightpoint Community College)

Presentation.pptx

22 Theoretical Systematic Errors in the Centripetal Force Experiment

The Centripetal Force Experiment is a standard experiment for physics student labs in which a mass is attached is rotated in a circle at different angular velocities. The mass is attached to a string that goes around a pulley and is attached a force sensor by a string over a pulley so that the length of the string to the pulley is the radius $R$ of the circular motion, and so the centripetal force is measured. In this experiment, that mass is assumed to be a point mass, but in reality, it is a disk whose radius some fraction of $R$, which introduces a systematic error. We have calculated the centripetal force due to a disk and have found a factor $\chi(b/R)$, where $b$ is the radius of the disk, which is written in terms of Complete Elliptic Integrals of the First and Second Kind. The centripetal force is then $F_c=m \omega^2 R \chi(b/R)$. The correction factor is always less than 1.13. The factor could be one of the contributions to the systematic error that account for the theoretical value of the centripetal force always being considerably less than the centripetal force measured in the experiment.

Speaker: Marilyn F. Bishop (Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University)

23 Demonstration of Systematic Errors in the Centripetal Force Experiment

We will demonstrate the Centripetal Force Experiment in which a mass is attached is rotated in a circle at different angular velocities. The mass is attached to a string that goes around a pulley and is attached a force sensor by a string over a pulley so that the length of the string to the pulley is the radius $R$ of the circular motion, and so the centripetal force is measured. In this experiment, that mass is assumed to be a point mass, but in reality, it is a disk whose radius some fraction of $R$, which introduces a systematic error. We will show the systematic difficulties in obtaining agreement between the experimental and theoretical results. We will consider the radius of the mass used and the stability of the entire apparatus. Data will be taken with a force sensor and a Pasco interface, which allows the data to be seen by a computer and displayed on the screen. We will demonstrate possible systematic measurements and improvements to eliminate some of them.

Speaker: Dr Samanthi Wickramarachchi (Department of Physics,Virginia Commonwealth University)

Circular Motion.pptx

24 Revamping Introductory Physics for Life Sciences

I will be presenting my recent work in redesigning Introductory physics 1 and 2 for pre-health majors at the University of Virginia by integrating biological and medical applications of the physics concepts covered in a manner that students perceive as relevant and engaging. We aim to bridge the gap between physics and biology, addressing the common issue of waning interest in learning the material, and fostering a greater sense of belonging to the course. Specific changes to the course, assessment methods and initial outcomes of the project will be discussed in my presentation.

Speaker: Dr Jency Sundararajan (University of Virginia)

Fall 2024 - CSAAPT - Jency Sundararajan.pptx

25 Active Learning Tools in a Physics of Sports Course

In this talk our interest is on whether we can observe, demonstrate, and perhaps measure at some level the interplay of the effects of air-drag around smooth non-spinning balls, rough balls, and spinning balls (Magnus Force) at speeds available in a classroom environment. Some of this effort came about when looking for simple aerodynamic affects that could be used in an active learning environment in teaching a newly created “Physics of Sports” course. Using easily available tools at home such as cell phones, video analysis, large screen TV, precision alarm clocks, etc, results on the acceleration of gravity from dropping various balls from classroom ceiling heights will be shown. Results on effects due to drag and Magnus forces will also be shown from dropping basketballs and beachballs from tall campus buildings.

Speakers: Richard Lindgren (University of Virginia), Dr William A. Tobias (University of Virginia)

CSAAPT Talk Fall 2024.pdf

CSAAPT Talk Fall 2024.pdf

F113: Afternoon Session

26 Differentiating instruction while implementing the ISLE methodology: One approach

A challenge for high school teachers pursuing the National Board Certification is the ability to demonstrate differentiation in the classroom. One example of such differentiation is implementing multiple formative or summative assessments adequate for the critical thinking level of the students for an 11th grade Honors Physics class. Yet designing a curriculum for each individual student level is impractical. While the differentiation might encourage engagement and build relationships, it might be counterproductive to the overall classroom effectiveness. Since our school did not open an AP Physics 1 class due to low enrollment, one manageable approach was to open a Honors Physics and AP Physics 1 class concurrently. The Honors Physics class follows the curriculum based on the same College Physics textbook from Dr. Etkina used for AP Physics 1. They both use the ISLE methodology but differ on the summative assessment. A transition and trial period was provided for students with a soft landing if they did not want to continue with the AP Physics 1 curriculum. This talk will discuss the challenges of such implementation, the efficiencies that can be achieved and how it contributed to the goal of increasing AP Physics courses enrollment in the school.

Speaker: Andres Akamine (Boyd J. Michael, III Technical High)

Differentiation while implementing the ISLE methodology: One approach

27 Physics and Dance Teaching Techniques

Dance obviously involves body control and biomechanics, lending itself to the use of physics principles in its execution. But as a teacher of both physics and dance, I find that physics and astronomy instruction also benefits from analogies to dance movements and figures. From simple teaching tools like the "sun and moon dance" to the use of folk dance analogies in the teaching of circuits and mechanics, incorporating elements of dance into the classroom presents students with another pedagogical tool for understanding physics concepts. Likewise, both physics and non-physics students can benefit from reference to simple physics concepts in a folk dance class, improving dancers' technique and execution. This talk explores a few of the ways in which dance analogies help to teach physics and vice versa.

Speaker: Arthur Baum (Myers Park High School)

Physics and Dance F24.pptx

28 Presenting an Interactive eBook on Relativity

I will present an overview of an interactive electronic textbook I have developed on Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. Based on an original PDF text by my late colleague Prof. Rexford Adelberger, I have expanded his content into a 14-chapter Jupyter Book that walks the reader through four vectors, Lorentz Transformations, and spacetime diagrams, all the way through relativistic dynamics, electromagnetism, and a brief introduction to the ideas of General Relativity. I use Python to create interactive animated illustrations that allow the user to change such parameters as the relative speed between reference frames and see how the system responds. I have used this textbook in two classes so far (Fall 23 and 24) at the sophomore level. I will show examples of how the book works and share student reactions. In closing, I will preview my intentions to add a second volume on particle physics, using a discovery-based approach that will allow the reader to follow in the footsteps of 20th Century Physics to develop the Standard Model. Together, these two volumes will make a textbook for an Introduction to Modern Physics course.

Speaker: Donald Smith (Guilford College)

29 21st century physics in the classroom

Students who complete a high school physics course may be under the impression that physics somehow “stopped” in the late 19th or early 20th century. Of course this idea could not be further from the truth, as physicists today continue to work on addressing an ever-growing list of unsolved questions: Where has all the antimatter gone? What is dark matter? What is dark energy? Physicists from all over the world work to address these and many other questions at research facilities including FermiLab here in the US and CERN in Europe. This talk will discuss Quarknet, an ongoing professional development program for high school physics teachers. Quarkent Centers bring teachers together with particle physics researchers to enable teachers to enrich their courses with exciting modern physics topics and allow students to see how the fundamental physics they are learning is applied in current physics research.

Speaker: Ray Hodges (CESJDS)

CS/NCS AAPT 24

CS NCS AAPT 24.gslides

30 QuarkNet: Ready-to-go Particle Physics for High School

QuarkNet is more than an amazing professional development opportunity for teachers! QuarkNet also provides the Data Portfolio, a set of teacher curated and tested particle physics lessons intended for use at the high school level. Talk will feature examples of implementation in a real classroom, as well as discussion of QuarkNet's eLabs and Masterclasses, with some focus on the Virginia Tech Center.

Speaker: Rebecca Jaronski (MCPS, VT QuarkNet)

2024 CSAAPT Slides - Rebecca Jaronski.pptx

31 The Virginia QuarkNet Center

The Virginia QuarkNet Center hosts an annual particle physics masterclass for students and several teacher workshops each year primarily including teachers in the Hampton Roads and Richmond area. Some participating teachers also attend workshops at CERN and Fermilab. We will share details of some activites from recent Viriginia QuarkNet Center events.

Speaker: Jeanette Morin (CSAAPT)

Quarknet MasterClass

VA Quark Net, Master Class

L102/104: Afternoon Session

32 Outcome of A Summer High School Quantum Program at MSU: iQuEST

During the Summer of 2024, from July to August, Morgan State University hosted an in-person five-week summer program entitled iQuEST. Twenty-three iQuest participants, selected from 9th - 12th graders in the Baltimore metropolitan schools, were given the opportunity to build 21st-century skills that involved problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation concepts in quantum science. These skills were not just theoretical, but were designed to be practically applied in the real world. iQuEST was specifically designed to meet the explicit needs of underrepresented and minority students. The iQuest summer education included mathematics, fundamentals of composition, and communication, as well as an introductory physics course highlighting quantum concepts. iQuest participants were guided through the Scientific Method by designing projects as a team and presenting the project digitally and through posters. In this talk, I will share some details and outcomes of the iQuest program.

Speaker: Ms Maajida Murdock (Randallstown High School and Morgan State University)

MMurdock IQUEST AAPT Presentation.pptx

33 PhysChats: An Ongoing Attempt to Normalize Physics Learning

Students are often intimidated by professors in introductory courses, despite having questions or misunderstandings about concepts. In an effort to address this, last year I implemented a new component to participation in my introductory physics courses. During Physics Chats or PhysChats, students schedule time to meet with me individually and informally talk about a group activity they did in class. My goal was to learn about how the students learn and gauge the level of individual understandings of topics. In this talk I will speak to how I implemented this, the pros and cons that I’ve observed one year in, and how you can implement a similar strategy in your classes.

Speaker: Desmond Villabla (University of Mary Washington)

F24PhysChatTalk.pptx

34 Deeper Understanding Through Problem Posing

Research findings suggest that many students tend to ask infrequent and superficial questions, which hinders their ability to deepen their understanding and acquire new knowledge. This pilot study (N=15) asked whether having students pose their own problems to examine would have an effect on their understanding. The instructor guided the students from structured problems to having students posing their own problems for each unit. To assess the effects of problem posing on understanding, students were evaluated on Advanced Physics Calculus released force multiple choice and free-response questions. Bayesian machine learning was used to determine the network of influencing factors. The network results suggest that problem posing, with an arc strength of 0.54, supported free-response questions. Problem posing also influenced the total achievement with an arc strength of 0.82, with one being the maximum. While these results are intriguing, the study needs to be expanded with a larger sample size and broader content assessment.

Speaker: Michael Peterson (Triangle Math and Science Academy)

Deeper Understanding Through Problem Posing 20251017.pdf

Deeper Understanding Through Problem Posing 20251017.pptx

35 Improving an Asynchronous Online Physics Course

This is a survey of some ideas and resources I use (or have used) in my online asynchronous Physics classes. I will mention a couple of tips on using Moodle as well as other external tools and software that I've found useful. I'll also talk about what it is possible to do to decrease cheating and to push students towards learning the main ideas in

Speaker: Tim Jones (Craven Community College)

Improving Asynchronous Online Physics Courses.pptx

36 Learning Gains in using Kahoot! Games with Student-generated questions in Introductory Physics Courses

Kahoot! is a widely-used game-based learning platform in K-12 classrooms, valued for its ability to review knowledge, facilitate formative assessments, and provide an engaging alternative to traditional learning activities. However, its use in college-level physics education remains limited. Moreover, most Kahoot! games typically rely on teacher-generated questions or pre-made content. This study explores the integration of Kahoot! as an interactive engagement tool in two introductory physics courses at Stevenson University. In this approach, students were actively involved in developing the questions for the Kahoot! games, which served two key purposes: (1) encouraging students to engage with the textbook content and create Kahoot-style questions, and (2) fostering a fun, collaborative learning experience.

To assess the impact of this method, I conducted a preliminary study using pre- and post-test results from the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a well-established diagnostic tool in physics education. The effectiveness of using Kahoot! with student-generated questions was measured by the average normalized gain <g>, representing the course’s ability to promote conceptual understanding. The results were compared to traditional lecture-based courses with minimal or no interactive engagement, as documented in the literature. Additionally, a secondary analysis was conducted to examine the outcomes for both male and female students. In this presentation, I will discuss the findings and share my conclusions.

Speaker: Sithy Maharoof (Stevenson University)

AAPT 2024 Kahoot Games in Physics (2).pptx

37 Integrating Evolutionary Biology into Physics Classroom: Scaling, Dimension, Form and Function

Since Galileo and (more recently) D’Arcy Thompson, it has been understood that physical processes and constraints influence biological structures and their resulting functions. However these cross-discpline connections — and their importance to growing scientific disciplines such as biophysics — are rarely taught in introductory physics courses. Here we examine how the laws of physics shape Darwinian evolution through the surface area to volume ratio, an important geometric measure of a structure. We develop conceptual cartoon clicker questions to enhance students’ understanding of these interdisciplinary concepts. By connecting abstract physical laws with biological (and technological) applications, our approach aims to help students appreciate the deep connections between physical and biological sciences, thereby enriching the learning experience in introductory physics courses.

Speaker: Kausik Das (University of Maryland Eastern Shore)

CSAAPT_Seminar_Das_2024.pptx

5:00 PM five-minute break to move between rooms

5:05 PM Announcement of Poster Awards and Closing Remarks: Tatsu Takeuchi (CSAAPT President)

Auditorium: CSAAPT Business Meeting

F113: NCS-AAPT Business Meeting