Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yu Gong, Purdue University; Tugba Yuksel, Purdue University; Alejandra J. Magana, Purdue University; Lynn A. Bryan, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

Engineering Senior CE_Se_03 Male Chemical Engineering Senior NE_Se_01 Male Nuclear Engineering SeniorData Analysis. Our data analysis process was an iterative one involving continualexamination and discussion. Interview data were analyzed using constant comparativemethods of analysis17. In the first phase of analysis, the students’ interview responses weretranscribed from both audio and video records. The research team looked for patterns instudents’ responses that reflected their subjective reasoning. Each of the first two authorsindividually identified and grouped distinct responses. The grouped categories were used tostructurally describe participants’ reflections on their learning

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Teresa L. Larkin, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

. While females haveslightly higher mean grades and higher mean GPAs in the course, they have significantly lowerFCI gains than their male constituents. If course grade can be taken to reflect how much astudent has learned, and GPA as a measure of academic success, then it would be reasonable tothink that the female students would have slightly higher FCI gains than their male counterparts.The results presented here reflect the opposite and give rise to a discussion in terms of testingand the potential connection to gender issues. Research on standardized tests (i.e. SAT, GRE, LSAT, etc…) and their relationship togender have been widely reported in the literature [45 – 46]. In 1992, the American Associationof University Women Educational

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jia-Ling Lin, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Manuela Romero, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Jennifer Binzley, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Eman A. Zaki, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

choices in this survey, we only use responseswith indications of either “very much” or “not much” when we define the majority in Figures 1and 2, respectively. The same definition of “majority” is applied to both Figures 3 and 4. Figure 1 and Table (II) display the 13 questions that produced a relatively higherpercentage of “desirable answers”. As illustrated in Figure 1, most survey questions/statementsthat received "desirable" responses generally mirror students’ learning experiences and thus theseresults are quite understandable. For example, students’ responses to statements under thecategory of “Effort”, (e.g., E20, E21, E22, E23, E24) typically reflect their strong determinationto learn well. Three questions in the category of

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frank V. Kowalski, Colorado School of Mines; Susan E. Kowalski, Colorado School of Mines; Patrick B. Kohl, Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines; Hsia-Po Vincent Kuo, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

fluency, originality, and honingpositive critical thinking skills. This emphasis is reflected as the group creates a metric toevaluate their potential solutions.A specific case from undergraduate and graduate level engineering physics courses is describedto illustrate how the extensive work done in this arena in psychology, marketing, and businessenvironments can be applied to STEM education. Students were presented with the problem ofhow to measure the mass removed from a quarry. The classroom process is outlined and actualstudent results are presented to illustrate the method for other instructors who might be interestedin employing similar activities in a non-threatening, low-stakes learning environment.IntroductionIn the landmark report about

Conference Session

Engineering Physics Technical Session 1

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yumin Zhang, Southeast Missouri State University; David K. Probst P.E., Southeast Missouri State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

concepts inNewtonian mechanics.Acceleration is a concept of crucial importance, which is connected to velocity and force inkinematics and dynamics, respectively. However, this concept is rarely used directly in everydaylife, and there is a lack of vocabulary to describe it. In the specifications of automobiles,acceleration is not listed directly; instead, it is described in the acceleration time from 0 to 60mph. This example reflects the definition of acceleration, which connects the two relatedparameters: the change of velocity and the time interval. With the unit converted, students canfind the acceleration easily from the provided time interval.The concepts of centripetal acceleration and force are a little challenging for most students

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reagan Curtis, West Virginia University; Braxton Lewis, West Virginia University; Wathiq Abdul-Razzaq, West Virginia University; Gary Winn, West Virginia University; Robin Hensel, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

students identify their own misconceptions.* Acknowledgement and Disclaimer: Page 14.1103.2“This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0525484. Any opinions, findings,and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the viewsof the National Science Foundation.”The pedagogical challenge for physics instructors is clear. Students come with pervasive deep-rooted misconceptions about how the most foundational physics principles work. Traditionalapproaches to moving students beyond these misconceptions

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Upper-Level Physics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Ross, University of Detroit Mercy; Eswara Venugopal

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

the current and voltage probes, we estimate themeasurement error in the power and resistance to each be less than 1.5% over the entire range ofvalues plotted in Fig. 3. While the data was generated over the entire range of values of thecurrent, the plot has been truncated at a lower limit of 50mA of current. This ensures that thegraph reflects only the temperature range in which the radiative mechanism of power dissipationis dominant. Page 11.190.5The linearity of the plot is strong evidence that the temperature and resistance are related via apower-law of the form T ∝ R γ . From the slope of the line in Fig. 3 the value of γ is determined

Conference Session

Engineering Physics Technical Session 1

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

physics concepts. This is indeed a positive outcome for this new effort.  In Figure 2, the results of question 4 indicate student response to the final group activity. This rating was lower than for other questions, and students were less enthusiastic about a lengthy group activity close to the end of the semester, especially for this accelerated course. 4 5.00 Figure 2 4.50 4.00 3.50 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 q1 q2 q3 q4Figure 3, response to questions 5 and 6:  In Figure 3, question 5 reflects the students’ view regarding the

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Haridas Kumarakuru, Northeastern University; Don Heiman, Northeastern University; Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

environment. When the lab environment is enjoyable, learning is accelerated.In Fig. 2 on statement 1, 44% of students were neutral and 38% agreed that the lectures wereuseful. This could signal that more demonstrations would be helpful. On statement 2, while 25%of the students strongly agreed on the usefulness of the lab instructions, 31% equally mentionedas agree or neutral. This somewhat reflects our objective of having minimal “recipe” instructionsthat require significant student attention. Statement 3 on interactive learning and discussionsduring the lab, students strongly agreed and agreed by 63% and 31%, respectively. Indeed, this isgreat news. For statement 4, 38% of students responded as strongly agree and 50% of students asagree about their

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

the activity enjoyed learning theconcepts via designing and team work. 4 Figure 3 Rate the motor design team activities from very interesting (5) to uninteresting (1) 50 45 Number of students 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Low (1) to high (5)Figure 4 displays the responses to the question, “Do you think that the motor design team projectmotivated you to learn the engineering physics concepts?” This reflects the students’ viewregarding the effect of the project in learning

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3Figure 6 reflects the students’ view regarding the important question of this study and surveywhether “the mastering physics helps you to master the engineering physics concepts thecourse”. The majority of the students, about 75% felt that mastering physics helps them to learnengineering physics 2 concepts. Page 24.79.6 6 Figure 6 100 80 60 40 20 0 Yes NoConclusionMastering

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Phys

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yumin Zhang, Southeast Missouri State University; David Probst, Southeast Missouri State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

problem, students must write a detailed discussion comparing and contrasting theresults of the simulation with their manual analysis. This last step is critical for helping studentsadequately reflect on what the simulation is producing and whether or not the results are sensibleand in reasonable agreement with their manual analysis. Experience has shown that these kindsof exercises truly reinforce for students the distinction between simple device models used inmanual analysis and more detailed device models used in computer simulations. They alsoprepare students for professional practice by helping them gain basic proficiency with circuitsimulation software.IV. ConclusionWe believe that CAD software is a useful tool in teaching science and

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Engineering Physics

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Bougie, American University; Philip Johnson, American University; Nathan Harshman, American University; Teresa Larkin, American University; Michael Black, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

the program has become much more attractive to potential majors.In addition, students who matriculated under the old program are able to choose whether tograduate under the old requirements or the new requirements. Of the students who had thischoice, six chose to graduate under the old standards, while twelve selected the new program,even though the requirements for graduation are more stringent under the new program. Themajority of students graduating since the change have opted for the traditional physics track,indicating that there is a strong desire for a solid grounding in physics and that the addition ofthis track served a need.The changes made tend to reflect the desires of students for a more rigorous traditional physicsprogram. This

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian Belu, Drexel University; Alexandru Belu, Case Western Reserve University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

examples, most applications of theory are omitted. One reason that those examples arewell known is that they admit analytic solution: they typically represent simplified solutions thatgenerally fail to fully reflect the reality. In most situations, analytic solutions simply do not exist, andone cannot proceed without the assistance of a computer. Although some textbooks have sectionsdiscussing numerical methods, many of them contain just the theory of numerical methods, and one isrequired to posses programming skill for practice; this part is hence generally neglected. Essentially allexperiments in physics measure numbers, so any formulation must eventually be reducible to numbers.Under a conventional curriculum, a student’s ability to calculate

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian Belu, Drexel University; Alexandru Belu, Case Western Research University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

? Page 15.46.94. A change in the planet's reflectivity can change its effective temperature. For a onepercent increase in reflectivity (that is 0.34 rather than 0.33 for the albedo), how muchdoes the ground temperature decrease with NO change in optical depth.5. Venus has an effective temperature of 240K, but its surface temperature is 700K!Find the atmospheric optical depth that is required to accomplish this.Extra Credit Calculation: To make our calculation easy, we have divided theatmosphere into layers of equal optical depth. In the real atmosphere, these layers wouldhave different thickness since the optical depth depends on the mass of the layer and thedensity of air decreases with altitude. The density of air in the Earth's atmosphere, d

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie Lopez del Puerto, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

Physics textbook. We have picked a textbook3 that reflects ourphilosophy for the Applications of Modern Physics course. After reviewing the literature andcourse materials available online, we decided to adapt the Physics-Education-Research-basedcourse materials developed at the University of Colorado-Boulder,4 which consist of lectureslides, tutorials and the use of on-line simulations, to fit the Applications of Modern Physicscourse.The objectives we have established for course development are: I. Adapt and expand course materials developed by the University of Colorado – Boulder Physics Education Research group in order to increase students’ conceptual understanding of modern physics topics, and II. Develop laboratories

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angeles Dominguez, Tecnologico de Monterrey & Universidad Andrés Bello; Jorge Eugenio de la Garza Becerra, Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM)

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

reflects the physicist’s way ofunderstanding the world, so we should teach physics that way.The importance of nurturing a scientific curiosity and motivating young students’ understandingof science has been addressed for many years1 and that call invites everyone2. As Barak Obamarecently reinforced: “we want to make sure that those who historically have not participated inthe sciences as robustly -girls, members of minority groups here in this country- that they areencouraged as well”3. In this call, physics and mathematicians become the main filters of young Page 26.353.2students’ career decisions. We want them to select a program because it has

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Poster Session

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Kirkpatrick, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Richard W. Liptak, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Renat Letfullin, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

. Using provided parts, the students must deliver a working prototype topass the project.Figure 5 is an annotated image of the students electrical design developed during theirjunior design course.OpticsCourses: PH113, PH292(Optional), OE280(Optional), OE295, EP410, EP411, EP415EP students graduating from RHIT are also expected to be proficient in the field of optics.Training in optics begins in the third quarter of their freshman year in introductory Physics. Inthe PH113 course, the students are introduced to basic concepts in the field of optics such as:basics of electromagnetic waves, reflection and polarization, diffraction, and simple geometricand physical optics principles. Following this course, the students have the option of taking

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Teresa Larkin, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

- 8hours) is set aside to read them and provide each student with written feedback. This writtenfeedback is absolutely essential. Numerous studies have pointed out the importance and value ofprompt and thoughtful feedback to students [27 – 31]. When students take time to reflect ontheir writing and on the instructor’s comments, the folder becomes a highly effective tool inhelping them uncover and then wrestle with their misconceptions while the learning is takingplace. The nature of the free-writing assignments varies depending on the goals and objectivesfor a particular topic or content area. For example, for some free-writing assignments studentsare asked to explain a problem or a concept that was highlighted or discussed during a

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristi J. Shryock, Texas A&M University; Arun R. Srinivasa, Texas A&M University, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Jefferey E. Froyd, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

research field studies conceptual understanding oflearners, including what is conceptual understanding, how conceptual understanding can beassessed, what are common alternative explanations that learners offer for physical phenomena,and how learners can be influenced so that their explanations reflect common scientificunderstanding3. Duit maintains an active bibliography for this field that contains over 8000references4.Force Concept InventoryA pivotal event in the field of conceptual understanding occurred when Halloun and Hestenessynthesized research on understanding (and misunderstanding) of concepts of force and motionto create the Force Concept Inventory (FCI)5. Consisting of 29 multiple-choice questions, theFCI assessed a student’s

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Engineering Physics

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Denise Martinez, Tarleton State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

Page 12.747.3should be able to do 2-5 years after graduation, EPOC compiled the list into a set of programobjectives, and EPAB approved it. Although ABET prescribes criteria 3a-k as inclusion inprogram outcomes, EPOC and EPAB again collaborated to ensure both sides knew the nationalaccreditation expectations plus developed an additional program outcome that reflects theuncommon interdisciplinary nature of this program.Program ResponsibilitiesThe next item was to establish the responsibility areas and assign faculty. These responsibilitieswere generated by EPOC and approved by EPAB. The responsibility areas are defined as: eachof ABET Criteria 1-7 (Criteria 8 was not applicable to Engineering Physics at the time), ABETcoordination, advisory

Conference Session

Technology in the Physics or Engineering Physics C

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nataliia Perova, Tufts University; Patricia Hogan, Suffolk University; Walter H. Johnson, Suffolk University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

yourecharge the 5 Ah battery to maintain the mote in the operational condition.The understanding of the concept of EM wave propagation is one of the fundamental topicsincluded in physics and physical science textbooks. Participant of this study indicated that theytook at some point a university physics course so they could explain this question based on theirprevious knowledge. It is also possible that participants gain an understanding through directexperimentation with the Tmote devices and some of the responses can reflect that. To teststudents’ understanding of electromagnetic waves propagation they were asked the questionwhether it would be feasible to try to increase the speed of transmission of EM signal usingwater as the media where the wave

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anca Sala, Baker College; Raghu Echempati, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

student learning in the course. The target goal we have adopted is to have an average achievement of 70% or better for each SLO. The cells in red in Tables 7, and 8 reflect the SLO’s where the percent average is less than 70%. A similar table is created for each course section, each time the course is taught. While these tables hold detailed information per student, the averaged data for the entire class is further used to create year-to-year comparisons such as the ones in Figures 1, and 2 below. Page 14.843.6

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, State University of New York, Oswego; Rachid Manseur, State University of New York, Oswego; Thomas Doyle, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

, whichallowed all students to identify and reflect on physics ideas and their applications. Thesuccessful aspects together with possible improvements of the teaching procedures arereported.1. IntroductionThe use of Blackboard system [1] is widespread now and is recommended over regularcourse websites [2], as it is significantly more versatile for course management andinteraction with students. The system is most effective for distance courses [3] as onlinecourses [4] can be delivered in a consistent meaningful manner even if recent works showthat there are some challenges associated with distance learning [5]. The system has greatbuilt in flexibility and allows instructors to use their imagination in designing the course[6], interacting with students

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 4

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joona Kurikka, Aalto University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

amount of feedback and comments were felt to be too low, which reflects the inabilityto motivate the peer review of the team submissions, and amount of coordination resources – forthe future iterations we need to either make sure more of the global coordination and exerciseevaluation is shared among the collaborating universities, or arrange more resources forcoordinating and managing the collaboration and technical implementation from CERN.Overall, the online platform testing with CBI 2 was a successful probe into the limits andpossibilities on how such platform can be used and is useful, and how the other elements of thecourse design can affect these limits. Enabling students to collaborate and learn in suchenvironment, and offering them the

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kanti Prasad, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

of x, (b) Calculate 𝑍!" at 𝜆! /8 away from the load, (c)Calculate Γ! , (d) Calculate VSWR and (e) Calculate the transmitted power and reflected power as apercentage of incident power 𝑃!"Solution: (a)        𝑍! = 0, 𝑍! = 50  Ω. !! !!!          Γ! = = -1 = 𝑒 !!"# => Γ! = 1 50  Ω 𝑍!   !! !!!   Φ = 180 ! !/! Applying this for 𝑉(𝑥) , we get ( 𝑉(𝑥) = 𝑉! (1 + Γ!  )! − 4  𝑠𝑖𝑛! (𝛽𝑥

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harold T. Evensen, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

topic.Overall, students were observed to place more care in their experiments than they had in the past.This was especially evident in the final projects, where students took great care to minimizefluctuations in their system’s outputs. Accordingly, average final project scores were a half-letter grade higher than in past semesters (28 students each term; same instructor), reflecting thisincreased care and professionalism. For example, a group optimizing a paper airplane designselected heavy paper as it was found to lead to less fluttering; another group carefully designedtheir “bottle flip” experiment to minimize the human error; another meticulously determined arepeatable condition to test soap bubble lifetime. It is believed the new randomization

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carl K. Frederickson, University of Central Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

indicates that the cart was traveling at a speed of 0.017 cm/µs. Most groups will use theraw data as reported in centimeters and microseconds. When asked, students are satisfied with thesmall number that they determine for the speed. It is considered as a reasonable result until it is Figure 3: The header comment to the starter sketch controlling the Vernier Motion Detector.converted to 170 m/s, or half the speed of sound used in the sketch. The fact the 90% of labgroups report this result without reservation initially reflects student willingness to accept theresults that the computer reports with little critical evaluation. This leads to a discussion abouthow to modify the program to report the time that the cart is at each position and not the

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 4

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Evan C. Lemley, University of Central Oklahoma; Thomas Chen

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

impacted research, but also the classes that are using ​Buddy​.​The items in Tables One and Two reflect considerable effort on the part of faculty, students, andthe co-authors of this paper. It should not appear as though these results were not “hard-won.” Inthe conclusions of this paper we list some of the issues that have arisen in this deployment andoperation of the ​Buddy​ cluster in hopes that others can at least be aware of pitfalls.Conclusions and DiscussionAt UCO an NSF MRI grant was competed for and won for a HPC cluster, ​Buddy​, to enable andenhance the research computing environment at UCO, which had not had any such facilitiesbefore. The competition for ​Buddy​ took several tries with

Conference Session

Engineering Physics & Physics Division Technical Session 4

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rodrigo Cutri P.E., Centro Universitário do Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia ; Demetrio Elie Baracat, Centro Universitário do Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia; Luiz Roberto Marim, Centro Universitário do Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia ; Francisco Mauro Witkowski, Centro Universitário do Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

active learning approach2,3,4;• promoting a better interpretation of physics and its application in practical situations5promoting activities where students can understand how physics works instead of just doingcalculations;• developing skills and competencies for a professional life as an Engineer6, such as gainingan understanding of different cultures, foreign language skills, oral and written expression,time management, and teamwork, amongst others.The pedagogical features of the developed project were as follows:• development of scientific thinking and reflection using physical problems. Page 26.147.3• application of real problems with increasing