Physics Education

• Advancing Physics AS/A2 Level Course from the Institute of Physics - Site contains resource material for Students, Teachers, and Technicians studying AS or A2 Level Physics.
• Amusement Park Physics - Explains how the design of amusement park rides in terms of physics laws. Activities involve designing a roller coaster and discovering the outcomes of bumper car collisions. Also includes links to related sites.
• Animations of Wave Motion - Animated GIFs and explanations of the mathematical properties.
• APS - Division of Physics of Beams - History and current info on beam physics research.
• Bad Physics - Simple explanations of commonly misunderstood physics.
• Beginner and Intermediate Electronics - Simple diagrams and theories used to explain physics easily!
• Bicycle Physics - Explains the physics of riding a bicycle and the role of stop signs in commuting.
• Bicycle Physics Online - A two part study: First, a theory study; Second, a report of the experiment. The Kansas State University's department of physics performed “The Bicycle Project” in September through December 1999.
• Computer Simulation Methods - Site for students and faculty using computer simulation techniques to explore physics. This site supplements one textbook but also contains content from other sources.
• Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP) - A Lawrence Berkeley Lab, this is a non-profit organization of physicists and teachers.
• Dropping In a Microgravity Environment (DIME) - Web site contains a teacher's guide for a high-school student science competition hosted by NASA.
• The Elements of Machines - Explains and illustrates some simple machines.
• Essential Physics - A book for first-year college students with interests in physics careers.
• The Evil Tutor's Guide: Graphs and Figures - An amusing and honest look how students incorrectly produce scientific graphs at every level of school.
• Exploring Physics in Cyberspace - This site, supported by the National Science Foundation, Explores several proven extracurricular programs that introduce hands-on physics activities for K-12 students.
• Fundamental Physical Constants from NIST - Provides the values of the fundamental physical constants. CODATA recommends this site for all international use.
• FYKOS - Physical Correspondence Seminary - Worldwide physics grammar school competition for students under the age of 19 who are interested in physics.
• Glass: Liquid or Solid - Science vs. an Urban Legend - Addresses the popular and misconceived question that asks which of the glasses is liquid.
• GRE Physics Prep - Yahoo group to help prepare for GRE Physics.
• How Atoms Work - Explains how man discovered atomic structure and interaction.
• HSC Physics - School of Physics at the University of New South Wales. The site contains details about professional development workshops for physics educators. Provides background and help on the Stage 6 HSC syllabus. Also contains some workshop resource material.
• HyperPhysics Concepts - A conceptual physics map that provides references and explains the relationships between topics.
• I Love Physics Forum - Forum providing for discussions on physics education.
• Innovations in Undergraduate Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) - Provides the details of the recent developments that have revitalized UIUC's introductory physics curriculum. Site also contains a list of previous presentations, resources, and course outlines.
• The Motion Mountain Physics Text - This free physics textbook on intro physics is entertaining, surprising, and thought-provoking. Downloadable pdf file chapters.
• NSTA - Position Statement on Laboratory Science - The National Science Teachers Association makes the following recommendations to enhance the vital lab experience necessary for a better and more cognitive scientific understanding.
• Physical Science for Nonscientists - Physics 1020 (2nd Semester) - This University of Colorado course website contains lecture notes in pdf format.
• Physical Science Resource Center (PSRC) - Many resources for physical science and physics teachers of grades K-16.
• Physics 2000 - Enjoy visual and conceptual learning through this interactive journey about 20th century science and technology. Site uses java applets.
• Physics Courseware Communicator - The Physics Courseware Evaluation Project (PCEP) in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University publishes this newsletter quarterly. It explains physics educational software to physics teachers of all grade levels.
• The Physics Encyclopedia - This site provides comprehensive, exhaustive, structured and carefully selected physics material from the internet.
• Physics Equations and Constants - Sorted by topic at the high school level, this site contains a concise guide to basic physics facts, lists of constants, and equations.
• Physics First - Discusses the integral role of physics as a part of science throughout the past 130 years and how its current vertical position is now challenged.
• The Physics of Learning - This paper defines the terms and relations made easily familiar to scientists through analogy, suggests methods for quantifying those terms and thus gives teachers a method for enhancing the student’s learning experience.
• The Physics Of... (Part 2) - Website contains a Kentridge High School student research project into the physics of everyday, commonplace things.
• Physics Simulations - Teaching Programs - Free and commercial website with physics materials and programs for download or sale. Not for macintosh.
• Physics Simulations in Education - ZIP-format files covering a variety of physics concepts. For DOS or Windows
• Physics, the Neglected Science - Sites to heighten awareness of the importance of physics and to support high school physics teachers, students, and parents.
• Professor Stephen Hawking Online - Biography, education, and scholarship of Stephen Hawking. Also contains some fun material and information. (He appeared on The Simpsons TV show!)
• The Quantum Exchange - Resourceful info for teachers of quantum physics.
• QuarkNet - Physicists will mentor high school teachers from 60 laboratories and universities whose centers participate in the collider experiments at CERN in Switzerland and at Fermilab in Illinois. Stipends are provided to the teachers who participate.
• School Mathematics and Science Programs Benefit From Instructional Technology - NSF report summarizes key findings in elementary and secondary schools about science and math in controlled evaluations of instructional technology.
• Spacetime Wrinkles - Major advances in computation are only now helping scientists to understand how black holes form, interact, and evolve. Here students can learn about relativity and its implications through video and text files.
• Thermal and Statistical Physics Curriculum Development Project - Includes introductory information to the project as well as related papers, conferences, links, and Java applets.
• TYC Physics Workshops - Provides information on workshops for community or junior college physics teachers and the resultant products.
• UMPERG: Minds-On Physics (MOP) - The National Science Foundation supports this one-year high school curriculum as the result of a materials-development project. Educational research findings guided the project’s design.
• West Point Bridge Design Contest - As a tribute to the U.S. Military Academy's two hundred years of service to the United States of America. U.S. students age 13 through grade 12 may participate in this bridge design contest (using specialized software) and are eligible for prizes. Site contains rules, an overview, software download, resources, and FAQ.