1,721,050 research outputs found

    Experience gravity in the classroom using the rubber sheet: An educational proposal from the collaboration between university and school

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    Teaching modern physics in high school is of increasingly importance as it can offer students a more realistic and updated vision of the world, and can provide an opportunity to understand the most recent scientific discoveries. In this context, general relativity (GR) occupies a prominent place, since it is related to astonishing scientific results, such as the first image of a black hole or the discovery of gravitational waves. In this paper we describe an educational proposal aimed at teaching GR in high schools in a fun and playful way using the so-called rubber sheet analogy. We present a set of instructions to build a simple and low-cost space-time simulator, and a series of related educational cards that guide the teacher in the implementation of the activities step by step. This work is the result of a long and productive debate among Italian high school teachers who have collaborated for many years with the Department of Mathematics and Physics of Roma Tre University in Rome. As our proposal relies on the collaboration with the final users, we believe that it will meet their needs and expectations, and it will help to treat GR in high school more and more over time

    Students’ understanding of gravity using the rubber sheet analogy: an Italian experience

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    General relativity (GR) represents the most recent theory of gravity, on which all modern astrophysics is based, including some of the most astonishing results of physics research. Nevertheless, its study is limited to university courses, while being ignored at high-school level. To introduce GR in high school, one of the approaches that can be used is the so-called rubber sheet analogy (RSA), i.e. comparing space-time to a rubber sheet that deforms under a weight. In this paper, we analyse the efficacy of an activity for high-school students held at the Department of Mathematics and Physics of Roma Tre University that adopts the RSA to address several topics related to gravity. We present the results of the questionnaires we administered to over 150 Italian high-school students to investigate their understanding of the topics treated

    Trattare la gravità a scuola attraverso lo spaziotempo

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    La Relativit`a Generale `e la teoria pi`u moderna della gravit`a, che spiega innumerevoli fenomeni. Nonostante ci`o, essa non `e abiltualmente trattata nella scuola secondaria superiore. In questo articolo proponiamo una modalit`a di formazione docenti che ha l’obiettivo di renderli autonomi e confidenti nell’introdurre la Relativit`a Generale in classe attraverso il concetto di spazio-tempo e l’uso di un telo elastico. Tale modalit`a `e stata prima testata nell’ambito delle attivit`a PLS dedicate agli studenti portate avanti dal Dipartimento, e poi inserita nelle iniziative PLS di sviluppo professionale dei docenti. Attraverso una lunga e proficua discussione con i docenti in servizio, abbiamo quindi sviluppato e ottimizzato la modalit`a di formazione docenti, definendo le linee guida e i materiali necessari per trattare diversi fenomeni legati alla gravit`a. Per raggiungere anche docenti non appartenenti alle nostre scuole partner PLS, abbiamo infine raccolto tutti i materiali in un manuale gratuito, che pu`o essere usato come formazione autonoma.General Relativity is the most modern theory of gravity and allows to explain several phenomena. However, it is not usually treated in high school. In this paper we propose a teacher training activity that aims at making them autonomous and confident in introducing General Relativity in their classrooms making use of the concept of space-time and a rubber sheet. This activity we developed was first tested among the PLS activities dedicated to students carried on by the Department, and then added to the PLS initiatives addressed to teachers. After a long and productive debate with high school teachers, we optimized our teacher training activity, defining guidelines, materials, videos and images necessary to treat different phenomena related to gravity. In order to reach teachers not belonging to our PLS partners, we finally collected all the materials developed in an open access manual, that can be used as a standalone training

    Papiae Elementarivm rec. V. de Angelis, I. A-aequus, LII-100 p. ; II. aequus-anniferme, p. 101-256 (Testi e documenti per lo studio dell'antichità, LVIII, 1-2)

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    J. A. Papiae Elementarivm rec. V. de Angelis, I. A-aequus, LII-100 p. ; II. aequus-anniferme, p. 101-256 (Testi e documenti per lo studio dell'antichità, LVIII, 1-2). In: Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Budé, n°1, mars 1979. p. 92

    Real sky through small telescopes

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    In a big town where the night sky is virtually invisible and if often only a virtual experience a telescope is the best channel for the real sky. Even a small telescope. Moon, planets, double stars and some deep sky objects become real objects viewed through an eyepiece or by means of modern CCD In the last few years, in the nice location of our Astrogarden, we did a lot of public outreach and educational activities using small telescopes. Our results show that these activities are very efficient in the broadening of understanding of astronomy and science with the public, in stimulating scientific interests with the young people and in developing useful skills in university students

    Researcher for one day: An Astrophysics Masterclass

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    In the last years the importance in providing the students, and people in general, with a more realistic view on the scientific research world is becoming more and more evident. In this framework many initiatives are beeing carried out to put students closer to scientists. The Astrophysics Masterclass, held in our Department, is an example of such activities, consisting in a one-day outreach event during which high school students experience the research methods in the astrophysics field. In this paper we describe this activity, which allows the participants to work on real research data in a real research center

    Cloud chamber contamination from Roma Tre University

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    What if a community of physics researchers and students has the opportunity to always have at their fingertips the traces left by the particles around us thanks to a historic detector left always in operation? To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the INFN Division of Roma Tre, we have placed a cloud chamber right at the entrance of the university building that houses the Roma Tre physics degree course

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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