Parts II-V Sabbatical Leave Report

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2 Parts II-V Sabbatical Leave Report II. III. Re-statement of Sabbatical Leave Application I propose to spend my sabbatical updating all of the lab manuals for the five physics courses. The lab manuals are in serious need of updating for several reasons. We have purchased a new software system (CAPSTONE) that will run most of our experiments, and the lab manuals need to be rewritten for the new software. We have purchased new equipment to create entirely new experiments, and lab manuals need to be written for these labs. We have adopted a new open-source textbook for the PHYS 111/112 series, and the labs need to be realigned with this new textbook. And finally, we have never had an instructor manual for our labs, so new associate faculty members have not had a manual to help them lead the lab sessions or to predict what range of values students should be getting for their measurements. By updating the lab manuals, creating new labs, better aligning the labs with course content, and beginning a draft of an instructor manual, I hope to solve these problems. Completion of Objectives, Description of Activities Objective #1: a. Update all PHYS lab manuals to incorporate new CAPSTONE software. b. I accomplished this objective by first learning the CAPSTONE software via online tutorials and the user manual. I went through each lab individually and updated the lab. I wrote CAPSTONE files for the labs that use the computer for data acquisition. Some labs do not use the computer for data acquisition, and therefore did not need the CAPSTONE update, but I updated these labs by incorporating fixes and any other equipment changes that we have adopted over the years. I have uploaded all the CAPSTONE files and the 39 updated lab manuals to a Dropbox website that can be accessed as described in the Documentation section. c. I spent a total of 344 hours on this objective. Objective #2: a. Write new labs for new equipment. b. I created 2 new labs, one for the PHYS 151 and 111 courses and one for the PHYS 253 course. I played around with the new equipment we had purchased for these labs, developed the experiments, and wrote lab manuals for these experiments. These lab manuals are available on the Dropbox website that can be accessed as described in the Documentation section. c. I spent 35 hours on this objective. Objective #3: a. Align PHYS 111/112 labs with the new open-source textbook we have adopted. b. I skimmed through the open source book that we have adopted for the PHYS 111/112 series, paying attention to the order that topics are presented and the specific variables and equations this book employs. I then went through the labs that are used in the 111/112 series and reordered the labs to match the book. I also replaced some of the variables and equations from the lab manuals with the specific ones used by the textbook to create a more cohesive experience for the 111/112 students. The 111/112 lab manuals can be accessed as described in the Documentation section. c. I spent 20 hours on this objective. Objective #4: a. Begin a draft of an instructor lab manual. b. I returned to each lab and performed the lab as a student would, being careful to note potential problems and common mistakes the students might make. I created an instructor lab manual for each lab that is complete with data values, tips for the instructors, and sample graphs when applicable. The instructor lab manuals can be accessed as described in the Documentation section. c. I spent 228 hours on this objective. IV. Contribution to District This project contributed to my professional development by allowing me time to focus on the role of labs in our physics curriculum. While updating the labs, I was able to analyze the details and descriptions in each lab, and I had time to reflect on what activities are most useful for our students. I have found in the past that many students treat the lab portion of the class as less important than the lecture portion of class, so I feel I now have a clearer perspective on what I want my students to get out of the labs. This process has also sparked many useful conversations among my physics colleagues as we have shared our insights about how we want these labs to work and how they can benefit our students. Erika Peters - Page 2 of 10

3 The benefits of this project will be immediate for the students. They will have access to our new lab manuals which have been updated with the latest software and equipment. By updating the labs, I have been able to clarify the confusing parts of the lab manuals for the students, and this will help them complete their labs with ease. The students will also benefit from the instructor manual because now all of our associate faculty (even ones who have never performed the labs before) will know what range of values are expected for certain measurements and they will know potential problems and mistakes to look out for. I expect that we may see positive results in our SLO assessments, particularly in the 111/112 series which has had high associate faculty turnover in the past. Specifically, during our last assessment of PHYS 111, our expected achievement levels were not met in any of the course s three SLOs. Our next assessment cycle is due to begin in Fall 2017, when we will also begin using the new updated lab manuals with the new equipment and the instructors will have access to our instructor manual. I am hopeful that with these several improvements to the labs, we will see the expected achievement levels met in all three of the PHYS 111 SLOs. The college benefits by having a physics department whose lab materials and software are updated and in some instances state of the art. This contributes to the function of the physics program at the school, which is a key subject for students in the STEM pipeline. V. Documentation A table of hours logged is included below. I have uploaded all the CAPSTONE files, lab manuals, and instructor lab manuals that I wrote or modified to a Dropbox account. The account can be accessed by visiting The username and password have been provided to Debby Adler and the members of the Sabbatical Leave Committee. I have also included below screenshots from all the CAPSTONE program files that I wrote. Finally, I have included excerpts from the new lab manuals that I wrote as part of Objective 2. Table of Logged Hours Week Description Hours Hours Hours Hours Obj 1 Obj 2 Obj 3 Obj 4 8/15 8/19 Learn Capstone, watch videos, read manual 40 8/22 8/26 Update 151 Labs 1,2 35 8/29 9/2 Update 151 Labs /5 9/9 Update 151 Labs /12 9/16 Write new Lab 151 X, Update 151 Lab /19 9/23 Update 152 Labs 1 2, /26 9/29 Update 152 Labs 3, /3 10/7 Update 152 Labs 9 12, 253 labs 1, /10 10/14 Update 253 Labs /17 10/21 Update 253 Labs 10, Lab /24 10/28 Write new Lab 253 X, instructor manuals /31 11/4 Read 111/112 textbook, align 111/112 labs /7 11/11 Write instructor manuals 35 11/14 11/18 Write instructor manuals 40 11/21 11/25 Write instructor manuals 8 11/28 12/2 Write instructor manuals 35 12/5 12/9 Write instructor manuals 40 12/12 12/16 Write instructor manuals 40 Total hours on each objective: Total hours on entire sabbatical project: 627 Sum total of hours completed for approved activities: 627 Erika Peters - Page 3 of 10

4 SCREEN SHOTS OF CAPSTONE PROGRAM FILES Erika Peters - Page 4 of 10

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7 Excerpt for 151 Lab X Conservation of Energy Names Group # Date Experiment X: Hooke s Law and Conservation of Energy OVERVIEW A spring exerts a force that is proportional to the distance that the spring has been stretched or compressed according to Hooke s Law: Fsp = k( x) When a spring is stretched or compressed, it also stores energy, according to the equation, U = ½ k( x) 2 Energy is a quantity that is conserved, meaning it cannot be destroyed or created. It can however be transformed from one type of energy to another. In this lab, you will determine how much energy is stored as elastic potential energy in a spring, and you will observe how that energy is transformed into the kinetic energy of a dynamics cart. MATERIALS Capstone software, computer interface box, track, smart cart, 2 mass bars, track foot PROCEDURE Activity 1: Determine the spring constant 1. Set up the track, motion sensor and cart. Turn on your smart cart. Open Capstone. Click on Hardware Setup. Pair your smart cart with your computer by selecting the smart cart whose six digit number matches the one on the top of your cart. When your smart cart is paired to your computer, the Bluetooth indicator light should blink green. Under the File menu, choose Open Experiment. Click on Discard to dismiss the dialog box. Open the file Hooke s Law on the physics server. Make sure the plunger on the cart is all the way out. Attach the track foot above the track by sliding the square nut into the groove on the underside of the track. Tighten the bolt so that the track foot is firmly attached to the track. 2. Compress the plunger. With the plunger all the way out, push on the black bumper on the cart to move the cart towards the track foot. Allow the cart to move towards the track foot, compressing the plunger. When the plunger is compressed all the way, it will lock in place. If it locks in place, release the plunger with the plunger release trigger. Consider a position where you push the cart until the plunger is about half way compressed and the cart is at rest. In the space below, draw a free body diagram showing all of the forces acting on the cart. Erika Peters - Page 7 of 10

8 The force sensor on the cart will read the force that is pushing on the black bumper. How is the force on the black bumper related to the force of the plunger spring. 3. Record your data. Press RECORD and record data while you push on the black bumper and compress the plunger against the track foot. When the plunger is fully compressed and locked in place, click STOP. Release the plunger and repeat this step until you have consistent data. Your data will be displayed as a graph of force vs position. 4. Calculate the slope of your graph. Find a portion of your graph where the slope is relatively constant. Click the Highlight button and move and resize the highlighted box so that it surrounds only this portion of data. Click the Fit tool and select a linear fit. Record the slope of your data below. Slope = Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to get four more sets of data and values of slope. Record them below and find the average value. Slope = Slope = Slope = Slope = Average slope = Determine the spring constant of your spring. k = N/m Prediction: If you increase the mass of the cart, will the spring constant increase, decrease or stay the same? Discuss with your group and explain your answer below. 5. Test your prediction. Place two mass bars in your cart and repeat the entire experiment. Show the calculations for your new spring constant below. Erika Peters - Page 8 of 10

9 Excerpt from 253 Lab X Radioactivity Names Group # Date Experiment x: Radioactivity OVERVIEW Unstable nuclei decay by shooting out a high energy particle through a process called radioactive decay. There are three types of radioactive decay: α decay, in which the radioactive particle is a helium nucleus; β decay, in which the radioactive particle is an electron; and γ decay in which the radioactive particle is a high energy photon. In this lab, you will explore radioactive decay using a Geiger Muller tube. A Geiger Muller tube is a device that detects α, β and γ particles and emits an audible beep whenever one of these radioactive particles is detected. The computer software will keep track of these detections and measure them as radioactive counts. The timing of the radioactive decay of an individual nucleus is random and completely unpredictable. However, for each isotope s particular decay process, there is a probability rate r at which the decays occur on average. The lifetime, τ, of an unstable isotope is equal to 1/r. And the number of nuclei left which have not decayed is given by the expression N = N 0 e, Where N is the number of remaining nuclei, N0 is the number of nuclei present when the measurement began, and t is the time that has elapsed since the measurement began. The decay rate and lifetime of an isotope can also be expressed as a half life, τ, where the half life of an isotope is the time during 1 2 which half of the nuclei will decay. The half life is related to the lifetime by the expression τ = 1 τ 2 In this lab you will measure the radioactive counts for an isotope that has a short lifetime. You will be able to observe the radioactive counts decreasing as fewer nuclei are left to decay. MATERIALS Computer with Capstone software, computer interface box, ring stand, clamps, support rod, radioactive samples, Geiger Muller tube, paper, cardboard, aluminum foil, lead PROCEDURE Activity 1: Exploring Radioactive Decay 1. Set up the Geiger Muller tube. Use the ring stand, clamps and support rod to hold the Geiger Muller tube vertically pointing downwards. It should be about 5 cm above the table. Connect the Geiger Muller tube to the interface box and open the file Radioactivity on the physics server. 2. Measure background radiation. Make sure all of your radioactive sources are far away from the Geiger Muller tube. Click RECORD to begin measuring. You will hear the Geiger Muller tube beep every time it detects a radioactive particle. The beeps you hear are not due to the radioactive sources in your kit, but rather due to background radiation that is present on Earth. The two main sources of t τ ln 2 Erika Peters - Page 9 of 10

10 background radiation are the walls of the classroom and cosmic rays that have made it through the Earth s atmosphere. Keep measuring for at least two minutes. The data in your table shows how many radioactive particles the tube has counted over a ten second interval. Using the statistics button on your table of data, determine the mean of the background radiation count. Mean background radiation count: counts per ten seconds 3. Measure α decay. Find the Po 210 source and place it directly underneath the Geiger Muller tube. Click RECORD to begin measuring. The beeps you hear now are due to the radioactive decay of the Po source and due to background radiation. The Po source emits α particles. Prediction: What do you think will happen to the radiation count rate if the Geiger Muller tube is moved farther away from the Po source? Explain your reasoning. 4. Test your prediction. With the program still recording data, move the Geiger Muller tube a few cm higher. Continue to measure for two minutes. Then move the tube a few cm higher again and measure again. Do this several times until you are confident in the trend you are observing. Question: Was your prediction correct? Why or why not? In your own words, try to explain why the radiation count rate changes as the distance between the source and the tube changes. 5. Try to block the α radiation. Return to the Geiger Muller tube to a position about 5 cm above the Po sample. Using the various barrier materials you have, see which of the materials can block the α radiation coming from the Po source. List the materials that successfully block the α particles. Click STOP when you have finished measuring. Erika Peters - Page 10 of 10