Physics Commons^™

Senior Theses: Department Of Physical Sciences, Patrick M. Higgins, Timothy Howard, Leah Carol Ross

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

1992 Senior Theses from the Department of Physical Science at Morehead State University.

The Abundance, Diversity, and Stratigraphy of the Upper Crab Orchard Formation, Lewis County, Kentucky by Patrick M. Higgins.

The Modification of Flemion for Use in a Solid Electrolyte Battery by Timothy Howard.

Simple Analog Computers by Leah Carol Ross.

Science On The Great Plains: The History Of Physics And Astronomy At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, M. Eugene Rudd

M. Eugene Rudd Publications

The year 1988 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Physics at the University of Nebraska. While the year passed without fanfare in the department, DuaneJaecks, one of the members of the faculty, suggested to the author that it would be a good time to write a history of what is now the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He not only provided the initial impetus for the project, but has also given it his continual help and encouragement. While the initial plan was to write only a brief, informal departmental history, the project, like Topsy, grew. …

Displacement, Velocity, And Frames Of Reference: Phenomenographic Studies Of Students’ Understanding And Some Implications For Teaching And Assessment, John Bowden, Gloria Dall'alba, Elaine Martin, D Laurillard, Ference Marton, Geoff Masters, Paul Ramsden, Andrew Stephanou, E Walsh

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Student understanding of fundamental concepts in kinematics has been explored using the phenomenographic research method. University and high schoolphysics students were interviewed and their understandings of displacement, velocity, and frames of reference have been analyzed in particular problem contexts. Descriptions of the different ways students understand the concepts have been developed and relations between the different levels of understanding have been identified. The data highlight the contextual nature of learning and the need for teachers to focus on the nature of student understanding in specific contexts using questions that require qualitative explanation by students. In particular, it is demonstrated that …