Topic: Relativity
This website has a list of resources giving an overview on the theory of relativity as well as related topics such as information about Albert Einstein and topics such as the Doppler effect in light. This would be a good starting place for students just looking for an introduction to the Theory of Relativity.
This site contains information on relativity using easy - to - understand diagrams. The page is colorful and bright, making it attractive to students. This is a student - friendly website using understandable vocabulary.
This company has created various videos illustrating the concepts of relativity, such as simultaneity, making them simpler and easier for students to understand.
This website has a plethora of resources. It includes links to information about the scientists who paved the way for Einstein, stories of contemporary artists relating Einstein’s work into their everyday life, videos, animations, and quizzes. This site contains information related to the essence of gravity and collapsed stars. It also contains brief animations of Einstein’s experiments related to relativity such as a car trying to race a beam of light. This website is useful in finding information about Einstein relating to his work on relativity.
Activity
The PBS website has a lot of possible classroom activities with supplemental resources. One particular activity helps students understand just what the equation E = MC2 means. The site provides a supplemental graphic organizer to go along with the experiment. “In this activity, students examine the components of a chemical reaction and make measurements to confirm the conservation of mass in a closed system (quart freezer bag)” (Lightman, 2005). Students will be mixing harmless citric acid and baking soda in a freezer bag and comparing masses. It is a structured inquiry lesson as the students are given the question and the procedure. The teacher will ask the class what they predict might happen when baking soda and citric acid mix. The teacher will demonstrate the mixture and show that nothing happens. The students will work in small groups to mix the substances but adding water to the mix. Students will be measuring the masses of the substances prior to combining them and then again after. The students will observe the chemical change as the combination creates a gas and they will discover the conservation of mass after the reaction. The students can also measure the temperature of the substances before and after and compare them to deicide what type of chemical reaction it was.
Obstacles
Some challenges that might be faced when integrating this activity into the classroom are time to complete the activity in one class period and also providing the proper saftey gear for each student.
References
About.com. (2010). Theory of relativity. Retrieved from http://physics.about.com/od/relativisticmechanics/Theory_of_Relativity
Department of Physics, University of Tennessee. (2010). Albert einstein and the theory of relativity . Retrieved from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/einstein.html
Earbot.com. (2010, June 4). Our World. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/MyEarbot
Lightman, A. (2005, June). Relativity and the cosmos. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/relativity/
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI checked out your websites. I am going to study them further myself. They were as you said.