MAAPT Program Spring 2004

MAAPT

SPRING Meeting 2004

April 24, COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT, St. JOSEPH

This MAAPT meeting will be held in Room 142 Ardolf Science Center, College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph Minnesota. The campus is about 5 miles east of St. John’s University, where the Minnesota Academy of Sciences meeting will be held. The Ardolf Science Center is building AA on the Campus map. Lunch will be available in the Haehn Campus Center, building T on the Campus map. Parking lot #5 will place visitors halfway between the science building and the Haehn Campus Center. Please see Directions to CSB for directions.

There is a Super 8 Motel in St. Joseph on County Hwy 75 east of College Avenue:

320-363-7711.

Other accommodations are available in St. Cloud near Division Street. See Link to Central MN area for a more complete listing.

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MAAPT PROGRAM

8:00 am - 8:30 am: Coffee and Registration

8:30 am – 9:00 am: On the Constancy of the Gravitational Constant

Steven T. Ratliff, Northwestern College

9:00 – 9:30 am: Physics as a Second Language

Miranda C. Pihlaja, Bethel College

Sponsored by Richard Peterson

9:30 am – 10:00 am: Using computers as interactive problem-solving coaches

Leon Hsu and Ken Heller, University of Minnesota

10:00 – 10:30 am: Fluid-structure interactions for a flapping filament in a steadily flowing soap

film

Keith R. Stein, Christopher J. Stelter, and Erik M. Leigh, Bethel College

10: 30 – 11:30 am : Coffee Break and Poster Session

Characterization of SiO Maser Features Using an Autocorrelation Function

William Cox, University of Minnesota Morris

Sponsored by Gordon McIntosh

Magmatic Resurfacing on Venus

C. P. Orth and C. C. Reese, University of Minnesota Morris

Sponsored by Gordon McIntosh

11:30 – 12:00 pm: Light Scattering Optical Demonstration Chamber

Ryan Johnson, Minnesota State University, Moorhead

Sponsored by Matthew Craig

12:00 – 12:30 pm: An Animated Version on the Two-Tracks Demonstration

Thomas C. Thaden-Koch, University of Minnesota

12:30 – 12:40 pm: An Update on Efforts to Build a New Minnesota Planetarium

Parke W. Kunkle, President, Minnesota Planetarium Society

12:45 – 1:45 pm: Lunch and Business Meeting/Election of MAAPT Officers

MAAPT PROGRAM ABSTRACTS

SPRING Meeting 2004

April 24, COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT, St. JOSEPH

Steven T. Ratliff, Northwestern College

STRatliff@nwc.edu

“On the Constancy of the Gravitational Constant”

Paul Dirac (1937) was one of the first to suggest that the Gravitational constant (G) might be a function of time. At present, the possibility of a G that changes very slowly in time has not yet been ruled out. If General Relativity is correct, then G must be constant in time, but there are alternative theories of gravity that actually require a time-varying G. In this talk I discuss how G is measured, the implications of a G that changes in time, and experiments designed to detect changes in G.

Miranda C. Pihlaja, Bethel College

pihmir@bethel.edu

“Physics as a Second Language”*

This paper explores the preliminary and retrospective attitudes towards physics of preservice elementary education teachers while taking NAS104D, an intensive 7-week physics component of a required science sequence for future elementary teachers. The motivation for this study comes largely from previous work^(a)that attempted to understand the attitude of preservice teachers towards physics and their willingness to teach it in their future classrooms. The survey designed for this work probes into the reactions of a class of preservice teachers and attempts to measure how their attitudes changed during this hands-on, activity-based physics class geared for elementary teachers. The results showed that 70% of those surveyed had a significant change in attitude, with 58% of the changes being very substantial. Both the negative initial attitude towards physics and the very positive response after the class leads us to conclude that a significant fear of physics can be largely overcome by the methods of such a highly interactive class that directly engages each future teacher.

^(a)Private correspondence from course instructors Jack Netland and Jon Barber, Bethel College. See course text, SETUP, Strengthening Elementary Teacher’s Understanding of Physics, by Jack Netland, Jon Barber, and Hank Ryan,

*Sponsored by Richard W. Peterson, Professor of Physics, Bethel College

Leon Hsu and Ken Heller, University of Minnesota

lhsu@umn.edu

“Using computers as interactive problem-solving coaches”

Computers can play an important role in physics instruction by coaching

students to develop good problem-solving skills.  Building on previous

research on the teaching  of problem solving and on computer-student

interactions, we are designing computer tutorials that provide students

with guided practice in solving problems.  We will present a prototype of

such a tutorial along with students reactions to it and discuss some of

the design issues identified.

Keith R. Stein, Christopher J. Stelter, and Erik M. Leigh, Bethel College

k-stein@bethel.edu

An experimental apparatus was built to study the periodic

fluid-structure interaction (FSI) behavior of a light-weight filament in a

steadily flowing soap film. A piece of thread was inserted in the soap film

and allowed to interact with the flow. The film flows under the influence of

gravity, reaching speeds of approximately 3.5 m/s at the thread. Typical

frequencies for the flapping thread ranged from 20-25 Hz. Detailed

visualizations of the flow surrounding the flapping filament were obtained along with

measurements comparing filament length to flapping frequency, and film width

to frequency. In addition to providing a better understanding on the FSI

behavior for the flapping filament, these results provide data that can be

used for validation purposes in ongoing FSI modeling efforts.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported in part by the MN NASA Space Grant.

William Cox, University of Minnesota Morris

coxx0148@umn.edu

“Characterization of SiO Maser Features Using an Autocorrelation Function”*

We have been collecting spectra of the SiO maser emission of the stars Mira

and R Cassiopeia.  We intend to examine the line widths of the maser

features that make up these spectra.  Each feature should be described by a

Gaussian distribution.  However, in our spectra individual maser features

are blended together.  This makes it impossible to fit a Gaussian

distribution to each feature.  Thus, we will be using an autocorrelation

function to characterize the line widths.  An autocorrelation function

provides a measure of how the intensity at one velocity affects the

intensity at another velocity.  This autocorrelation function, being

derived from a set of Gaussian distributions, should itself be described by

a Gaussian distribution.  Therefore, we will be using the width of these

autocorrelation functions to characterize the width of the maser features

found in the spectra.

*Sponsored by Gordon McIntosh

C. P. Orth and C. C. Reese, University of Minnesota Morris

orth0031@mrs.umn.edu

“Magmatic Resurfacing on Venus”*

The Venusian impact crater distribution revealed by Magellan radar imaging

suggests that the surface is approximately uniform in age. Estimates of the

resurfacing time range from 300 to 1000 million years. One possible

mechanism for resurfacing is widespread volcanism due to late onset of

mantle convection beneath an immobile surface. This hypothesis is explored

using physical models with constraints from observational data to calculate

thermal evolution scenarios for Venus.

*Sponsored by Gordon McIntosh

Ryan Johnson, Minnesota State University Moorhead

“Light Scattering Optical Demonstration Chamber”*

This apparatus is a plexi-glass chamber in which magnetic optical

mounts can be set up. Laser light shines through the optical elements

and is scattered with water mist from a humidifier. With traditional

optics benches, students set up their optics, project an image, and then

must imagine what is taking place between the optical elements they are

using. The LSODC shows students exactly what light does when it

interacts with various optics, making refraction and diffraction

experiments easier to understand conceptually.

*Sponsored by Matthew Craig

Thomas C. Thaden-Koch, University of Minnesota

ttkoch@physics.umn.edu

“An Animated Variation on the Two-Tracks Demonstration”

In the classic two-tracks demonstration, balls race along tracks that begin

and end at the same heights but differ along the way. Most introductory

physics students (and many physics faculty!) predict an incorrect race

outcome. I will present an animated variation (see

http://groups.physics.umn.edu/physed/People/Tom%20Koch/2_tracks) that seems

to pit perceptual cues against physical intuition. In this variation,

students try to identify the animation depicting realistic motion rather

than predicting the race outcome.

Parke W. Kunkle, President Minnesota Planetarium Society

Parke.Kunkle@minneapolis.edu

“An Update on Efforts to Build a New Minnesota Planetarium”

The Minneapolis Planetarium is now torn down with no money to build a

new one.  The Minnesota Planetarium Society has formed to help build and

operate a new Planetarium and Space Discovery Center both at the State

level and privately.  This presentation will briefly describe the vision

for this facility and update you on current efforts to make this a

reality.