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A Video Analysis of Projectile Motion...Without Fancy Equipment
Carey Woodward UW--Fond du Lac
Video analysis is an effective way of capturing and analyzing projectile motion and other dynamic physical phenomena; however, it is usually implemented with specialized (and expensive) hardware and software. In this talk, I show how, by using a projectile with a suitably long flight time (a potato launched from a homemade "spud gun"), video analysis becomes practical with nothing more than a low-end digital camera and freely-available software. The result has the pedagogical advantages of a high-speed video analysis lab, on the budget of traditional lab, while engaging the typical student more than either.

AAPT Topical Conference on Advanced Laboratories
Lowell McCann Univ. of Wisconsin - River Falls
AAPT is sponsoring a two and a half day Topical Conference on Advanced Laboratories in physics to be held in Ann Arbor, MI July 23-25, 2009.

Acceleration Recorders-"Bringing the Outside World into the Lab"
Ron Green SENSR
A brief product introduction. The GP series acceleration recorders- Innovative technology for capturing dynamic motion. Taking discovery to a new level.

Astro-Compass Science Initiative
Alan Scott University of Wisconsin-Stout
The Astro-Compass Science Initiative is a new, local project that sets out to strengthen astronomy and geology learning at the elementary school level. It consists of two main components. The most important being a professional development activity for elementary teachers on select topics in astronomy and geology. The other part involves painting science-related, educational murals on elementary school playgrounds and sidewalks.

Civic Engagement Initiatives in STEM Disciplines Conference and Research Opportunities for Two Year College Students
Jim Madsen UW-River Falls
Friday, Feb. 6, 2009 Wisconsin Dells Patricia Cleary, Geosciences, UW-Parkside, and Jim Madsen, Physics, UW-River Falls, are organizing a one day conference on using civic engagement to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) understanding and instruction in the University of Wisconsin System (UWS). All travel costs will be supported by the UWSÆs Office of Professional and Instructional Development. The conference will be Friday, Feb. 6, 2009 in Wisconsin Dells. See http://uwp.edu/cgi/remark/3/rws3.pl?FORM=CEI_STEM to register. Jim Madsen also has funding to bring two year College students to UWRF to work on the IceCube project in the summer of 2009 and 2010, with opportunities for research in Sweden in the summer of 2010.

Clickers in the Classroom: Benefits and Alternatives
Amy Raplinger UW-Eau Claire
Using clickers in the physics classroom is one way to get students actively involved in their learning, but they are not necessary. Engaged learning can come from other teaching methods as well. I will be presenting our recent study on this topic in order to help teachers determine whether or not it would be worth having clickers in their classrooms.

Developing a Useful Instrument to Assess Student Problem Solving
Jennifer Docktor University of Minnesota
Problem solving is a complex skill that is important for learning physics. Unfortunately, there is no standard way to evaluate problem solving. An assessment tool commonly used for complex processes such as problem solving is a rubric, which divides a skill into multiple categories and defines criteria met to attain a score in each. Such rubrics are often difficult and time consuming to use. We will report progress on the development of a physics problem solving rubric that is simple, fast, and requires minimal training yet remains reasonably valid and reliable.

Easy and Challenging Daytime Projects that Involve Observing the Sun.
Jim Mallmann and Steve Mayer Milwaukee School of Engineering
For those who would enjoy getting experimental data outdoors in the summer, and maybe in the winter, we describe projects that involve where the Sun is in the sky and where the Sun will be in the sky. The goals of some of the projects can be easily achieved by middle school or elementary school students. One of the projects, however, will challenge even experienced, competent experimenters. The mathematics for the projects range from simple arithmetic to spherical trigonometry, and for one of the projects the experimenter must be able to see something that 99 percent of people have never seen.

Eight Semesters of MasteringPhysics - Discussion and analysis.
Jerome Wilson UW-Platteville
I will speak about what I think are very good and important features of the Online Masterphysics tutorial and homework. Included will be a summary of student responses and a conclusion about the net effect on student learning based on data from 1995 - 2008.

Galloping horses and speeding cars: photography and the perception of motion
Kenneth Mendelson Marquette University

High Temperature Melting in a Microwave Oven
/Robert James Foley UW-Stout Physics Department (retired)
It is possible to safely achieve extreme high temperatures (1200+ oC, or 2500+ oF) in a standard microwave oven. Associate Professor emeritus Robert Foley will demonstrate and explain the technique.

Home Heating With a Ground Source Heat Pump
Milo Oppegard River Falls High School, retired
This past heating season my ground loop heat pump provided about 60% of the heat needed. In the air-conditioning mode, the GLHP has used less than half the electricity per CDD than the older AC unit. The payback period in terms of the cost of propane & electricity saved is about 8 years.

Integrating Physics and History--An Undergraduate Honors Course on the Atomic Bomb
George Stecher University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Investigating the Performance of the IceCube Project Bubble Camera: A Summer Research Project in Sweden
Kyle Jero UW-River Falls

Modeling the Compact Disc Read System during Introductory Lab
Brad Hinaus UW Stevens Point
A lab has been developed in which introductory students build model of a compact disc read system. Binary data is stored on a disc by altering its reflective properties on the surface. The data is then read using a laser pointer, beam splitters, lenses, and an optical detector. Storing and translating the binary data will be discussed

Oh God, I have to take Physics next semester
John A. Peterson Hubbard Scientific
People have conceptions about physics classes long before they think about taking the class. Rarely are those preconceptions favorable. I will share my observations, first as a physics major, then as a graduate teaching assistant, and now as a designer for educational products and a geology major. Many of my stories will be anecdotal, but the messages are not trivial. I will also discuss what might be done to better engage future scientists and citizens, including specific activities that will broaden the appeal of physics.

Predicting Student Performance in University Introductory Physics: The Role of Physics Concepts and Math Skills.
Ken Heller, Jennifer Docktor University of Minnesota
This talk presents the analysis of a decade of data representing thousands of students to determine the extent that high school preparation in physics concepts (as measured by the FCI) and math skills (as measured by an algorithmic math test)can predict their performance in the University of Minnesota Introductory Physics course for engineering and physical science students. Gender differences in preparation and its effect on success will also be reported.

Preparations for lecture/lab physics at UWP (tentative)
philip young uw platteville
I will talk about the materials we have been preparing and the pre-assessments for implementing lecture/lab instruction in General Physics at UWP.

Science & Stipends & Supplies - Oh My! A Physical Science Workshop for K-12 Teachers
Gubbi Sudhakaran and Mike LeDocq UW-La Crosse and Western Technical College
Instructors from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse (UW-L), Western Technical College, School District of La Crosse, and CESA #4 partnered to offer a two-week summer science workshop at UW-L. The workshop featured hands-on, inquiry-based activities in Sound and Music; Simple Machines; Light and Color; and Mirrors and Lenses. We will share some of the experiences and results from the workshop.

Simulations for the IceCube Project Bubble Camera: A Summer research Project in Sweden
Jessica Gravesen UW-River Falls

Teaching Physics Using 2-Liter Pressurized Air/Water Soda Bottle Rockets
Kim Pierson University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
A portable battery powered rocket launcher designed for launching a large number of pressurized 2-liter soda bottle rockets has been used to teach fundamental physics principles in a Phys100 Physical Science class at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This presentation will briefly discuss the design of the launching system and how it has been used in large lab sections as a "capstone" experience to integrate the concepts of Newton's Laws and Conservation of Energy. The launcher has also been used for demos with science classes at local Elementary Schools.

The Latest from the IceCube Project
Jim Madsen UW-River Falls

The Long Decay Model of One-Dimensional Projectile Motion
Mark Lattery University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Two-and-a-half Computational Projects in Introductory Astronomy
David Tamres University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
In an introductory astronomy course at UW-SP, students were asked to undertake term projects related to their majors. Several students opted to do computational projects that required skill in computer programming. The challenge: none of the students had ever written a computer program before. I will describe the projects undertaken and how the fledgling programmers carried them to completion.

Using Science News in the Science Classroom
Laura McCullough University of Wisconsin-Stout
Discussion of how to use the magazine Science News in the classroom to help students learn.

To get an idea of past subjects see the listings for our past meetings 2007, 2006, 2005

For more information please contact the WAPT meeting coordinator vicepresident@wapt.org
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