Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title Title

Physics Teacher

Volume

42

Issue

3

First Page

173

Last Page

179

Abstract

We developed activity-based instructional units to introduce basic quantum principles to students with limited physics and mathematics backgrounds. To emphasize the practical applications of contemporary physics, we introduced concepts using the contexts of light-emitting devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fluorescent lamps, and glow-in-the-dark toys. As our standard of living becomes more dependent on the latest developments in science and technology, our students' literacy must be at a level that enables them to make educated decisions on science- and technology-related issues and their everyday applications. Students need to have at least a basic understanding of 20th-century physics and its applications in order to make informed decisions about them. Unfortunately, many physics teachers either exclude or spend very little time on modern topics such as quantum mechanics in high school physics courses.1,2 The high degree of mathematical formalism and abstract nature of quantum mechanics is frequently given as a reason for not introducing quantum physics in high school physics courses.3,4

Department

Department of Physics

Department

Science Education Program

Comments

First published in The Physics Teacher, v. 42, n. 3 (2004), pp. 173-179, published by the American Association for Physics Teachers. DOI:10.1119/1.1664385

Original Publication Date

3-2004

DOI of published version

10.1119/1.1664385

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, University of Northern Iowa, Rod Library

Copyright

©2004 Lawrence T. Escalada, N. Sanjay Rebello, and Dean A. Zollman. The copyright holder has granted permission for posting.

Date Digital

2004

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

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