Physics Education

"Physics Experiments to Stimulate Creativity and Logical Thinking"
Forewords

It is widely accepted among students and teachers alike that physics is a difficult subject to master. It is our aim to overcome this pre-conceptionby delivering what may seem as difficult physics concepts in an interesting and refreshing manner, to students.

We feel that it is exceedingly important to stimulate students' interest in physics at an early age, especially considering the role of physics as the fundamental basis of all science and technology

Moreover, a basic understanding of physics and its phenomenon allows students to better appreciate nature and its wondrous workings;routineevents that are often overlooked can now be viewed with awe, its beauty and brilliance appreciated.

For example, understanding the physics principles of a rainbow or a sunset will let students observe nature more carefully, unravel its mysteries,and ultimately, enrich their lives.

The first and main aim of the activities of our NPO (non-profitorganization) is to devise experiments using tools which are made from simple, inexpensive and easily-obtainable materials; this would not only teach scientific principles,but also stimulate the students' creativity and curiosity.

It is the latter aim which cannot be fulfilled by commercially available scientific kits on the market today. Furthermore, we feel that this concept is best suited for developing countries, in which many of its schools are not well equipped with adequate experimental tools. It has not escaped us that this activity can also be done within the family in which parents can be actively involved in their childrens education process.

Secondly, we want to show that it is possible to train students to think logically using experiments in physics. During an experiment, the variables and conditions can be changed relatively easily, while the results can also be observed directly. If we compare this to mathematics, for example,logical thinking in physics experiments deals with real and tangibleobjects, and this should benefit students in a more concrete and practical manner.

Thirdly, we also would like to emphasize the importance of observing and understanding the beauty that is nature, in relation to physics. We feel that this is very important incapturing and stimulating the students' interest in physics.

This textbook was organized into the four chapters. First chapter explains the demonstrations of Mechanics. The demonstrations of Optics and Electrostatic and Electromagnetics are discribed in the second and the third chapter. The fourth chapter is used to explain some of the interesting group experiments,like snow cristal production.