Physics: Permafrost part of PENGUIN:PENGUIN Modules
Students learn what permafrost is, the implications of permafrost thawing due to climate change, and how to calculate heat diffusion through permafrost. Student activities include watching a video about permafrost, ...

Unit 3: Field Geophysical Measurements part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Near-surface geophysical measurements are performed by moving sensors across the earth's surface. Active geophysical sensors transmit a signal into the earth and record a returned signal that contains ...

Unit 2: Geophysical Properties of the Subsurface part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Archie (1950) defined the term petrophysics to describe the study of the physics of rocks, particularly with respect to the fluids they contain. Although originally focused on geophysical exploration, petrophysics ...

Unit 5: Integrated Geophysical Interpretation and Comparison with Ground Truthing part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
In this unit, students explore spatial associations between the three-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) conductivity inversions and the visible patterns of Salicornia (pickleweed) introduced in Unit 1, Exploring ...

Bouncing Ball Explorer part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop October 2022:Activities
Exploration of the sound of a bouncing ball dropped on a hard surface, the sound recorded with a mobile phone or laptop microphone, is the basis for an accessible experiment in elementary mechanics. For ...

Unit 1: Exploring Harrier Meadow, an Urban Wetland System part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Students will conduct a virtual exploration of Harrier Meadow, a salt marsh in the New Jersey Meadowlands. They will identify its vulnerability to pollution, its tidal connection to the Hackensack Estuary and the ...

Unit 3: Codorus Creek Case Study: Measuring and Interpreting Seismic Refraction Data part of Measuring Depth to Bedrock Using Seismic Refraction
This unit presents an applied case study example and the associated concepts related to designing a seismic survey and analyzing the data. It discusses parts of the instrument and presents practical experience ...

Unit 4: The Magic of Geophysical Inversion part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
This unit introduces the student to the concept of geophysical inversion, which is the process of estimating the geophysical properties of the subsurface from the geophysical observations. The basic mechanics of ...

Cool Roof part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2018:Activities
This project is a hands-on, open-ended, collaborative assessment of students' abilities to collect numerical data, and develop mathematical models of naturally occurring phenomena. Students design physical ...

Projectile Motion and Circular Motion part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2017:Activities
4 MATLAB Grader (previously Cody Coursework) problems assigned to freshmen physics majors in a general physics course are described. The physics concepts are projectile motion and circular motion.

Field Presentation part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
During the E-STEM Field Course, each student was responsible for a field presentation related to a geology, geomorphology, hydrology, and/or ecology topic specific to the Sierras or Owens Valley. Depending on the ...

Career Portfolio part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
This activity is an opportunity for students to document their interaction with environmental professionals with whom they interact during and after their environmental field course. Each career portfolio entry ...

Intro to Quantifying Stream Discharge and Base Flow part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
In this exercise, students calculate stream discharge from sample field data using the velocity-area method. They compare multiple measurements of discharge to determine base flow in a sample river reach.

Thermodynamics: Sea ice melt part of PENGUIN:PENGUIN Modules
Students learn about thermodynamics topics through calculation of the amount of heat required to melt Arctic sea ice. They start by watching an online animation of changing polar ice with time. They next download ...

Design a basketball shooting machine part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2024:Activities
In this assignment, students will determine the appropriate exit velocity from a basketball shooting machine as it passes the ball back to the shooter on the free throw line. Students will simulate the trajectory ...

Unit 1: Introducing Shallow Seismology to Explore Our Subsurface Environment part of Measuring Depth to Bedrock Using Seismic Refraction
This introductory unit is designed to provide a standalone introduction to geophysical imaging of the shallow subsurface, motivate students to become invested in the topic, provide career context for these ...

Intro to Image Processing with MATLAB part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2020:Activities
This short project introduces students to image processing with MATLAB including importing images from the web, color transformations, circle finding, and edge finding. These techniques are broadly applicable in ...

MATLAB LIGO Analysis part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2019:Activities
Foundational computational skills for physics students can be developed in an introductory 2-semester survey course for first-year university physics students using physics-data-driven exercises that introduce ...

Virtual Pendulum Experiments & Mechanical Oscillations part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop October 2021:Activities
The pendulum motion is one of the first encounters with the concept of a harmonic oscillator. This activity seeks to complement a traditional, rigorous, theoretical approach with a rigorous numerical model. It ...

Unit 2: How Seismic Waves Travel Through the Ground part of Measuring Depth to Bedrock Using Seismic Refraction
This unit presents core underlying principles needed to understand refraction seismology concepts including refraction of rays, types of seismic waves, interpreting information about subsurface materials from ...