U of T Lab Practical 1: Forces, Motion & the Scientific Method

This workshop will be run using the environment, pedagogy and equipment of the newly combined tutorials and laboratories in the large first-year physics courses at U of T. Participants will work in teams of 3 or 4 at separate tables, or pods. After a brief introduction, two Instructors roam the room and help pods with guided activities, some of which use hands-on apparatus and/or computers. The activities will be interrupted with a demonstration and an interactive discussion question.
The first activity will involve a low-friction cart on a 2.2 m aluminum track and an ultrasonic motion sensor, used to measure position versus time with the computer. Participants will make motion diagrams and investigate velocity and acceleration when the track is held at a fixed angle. Through experiments and conceptual questions participants are lead to discover the idea of Newton’s First Law. Another activity involves a battery-powered fan attached to the cart, a set of masses, a spring-scale and a force sensor, which lead participants to an experimental verification of Newton’s Second Law. The instructor-lead demonstration uses a set of playing cards to illustrate how the scientific method relates theory to observation.

Jason Harlow completed his undergraduate degree in Physics at the University of Toronto in 1993, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Penn State University in 2000.  He spent several years teaching undergraduate physics and astronomy courses at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, before returning to U of T.  Jason is now a Lecturer in the Physics Department at U of T, which is part of the Teaching Stream Faculty.  His main area of interest these days is in Physics Education Research and how to best help students learn.