Help me understand a misconception....

[asterroc]

An interesting situation came up in my Physics class today, where two of my students surprised me with a question they asked. To try and understand their thinking so I can teach the content better, I'd like to ask that everyone take a look at the below situation and tell me what you think will happen. I don't care if you know any physics or if you're a professional ear-wax taster, I want to know what you think and why.

In the picture below, Box 1 (m₁) is hanging from a string that passes over a pulley. There's no friction in the pulley, and the pulley has no mass, so it can spin freely. The string is then connected to Box 2 (m₂) sitting on a table. For simplicity, let's assume there's no friction on the table - there's some lubrication between the box and the table.



[Poll #1162218]

X-posted a couple places.

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I swear teaching is as much sociology/psychology as whatever subject you're teaching.

Edit:
Regarding how authors choose to present material to students, for me personally the issue is that I've always had an easy time of learning physics, while I watched my classmates struggle with it, so I've spent much of my physics career trying to figure out how what's going on in my head differs from what's going on in their heads. My default is to present material how I learned it, but I know that it won't work for the majority of students, so I have to keep trying to figure out other things to attempt.

[ka3ytl.livejournal.com]

*grins* That's the same problem that I have. I'm teaching HS students though.

What book(s) are you using? Do you have any recommendations on books? I haven't found the perfect book and I'm always looking for suggestions :)

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I learned from Serway in college and liked it; I forget which I had in HS. The Serway book now has a co-author so it might not be as good. I currently use Giancoli's algebra- and calc-based books for the respective courses for college. I like that both have problem solving strategy boxes, as I think that's one of the top difficulties physics students have. I haven't heard that many complaints from students about the book either - in some of my other courses I'll put a few books by different authors at the library reserves and have the students skim and review them all, but I haven't actually tried that with phys since I'm using a department-chosen book. Giancoli's calc-based book also has Mastering Physics, an online HW system, come with it for free if you pick the right package version (ask your book rep for help with that), which I find to be a great time saver for me. (There are of course drawbacks too, but so far I think the pros outweigh the cons.) Honestly I don't think any book is going to be perfect, and it's an easy scapegoat for both the teacher and the students.

Any chance you know of decent books (upper high school or freshman college) for (1) Earth Science AND Astronomy, or (2) Waves, Optics, and Sound for students who haven't had physics? I'm looking for a low math level book for both. I've used the Arny/Schneider astro book for the Earth Science and Astro course, but I haven't found any book that really does include both but NOT chemistry and physics.

[sirroxton.livejournal.com]

I hope we as a society finally find good ways to teach kids how to learn. I think a lot of us just pick it up from our parents. Even some of my most progressive friends fail to recognize their privileges in that regard.

It's not an intuitive idea, and I don't think it'll catch on until we discover and popularize ways of teaching kids to learn. It's a fundamental piece of the inequity puzzle, exacerbated by the fact that many fail to recognize it.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

*nods* I never realized my own privileges in that regard until I did some student teaching in inner city schools. I'm now faculty at an urban community college and I'm sometimes shocked by how little my first generation college students understand about the culture of college and how to learn.