Note: This assignment was provided by Prof. Elteto in Fall, 2023. Please always check your Canvas page, syllabus, or with Prof. Elteto for current/updated information

 

Physics 250, Research and Presentation Lab: Applications of physics

 

Goal: Practice connecting physics theory to real life applications, as well as professional scientific communication skills.

Note: This "lab" has two parts with sequential due dates.

Research Assignment and Presentation:

• You will choose a physics topic relevant to our current semester curriculum from our textbook (Newton's laws, conservation of energy, inelastic collisions, torque..., OpenStax, chapters 4-12, and 16), examine the physics principles and think about their possible applications.

• You will pick a real life application (note: an application is something useful or important, not just an example problem) of the physical process or law you have chosen and research it in terms of both its features and how knowledge of the physical laws and processes are useful for it.
• You must include at least two (2!) reliable, authoritative sources in your research other than physics textbooks or encyclopedias (note, Wikipedia does NOT count as a reliable source).
• You must prepare a presentation of at least three minutes, and no more than five minutes in length talking about your topic. Your presentation must include:

1. An explanation of the physical principle.
2. A description of the real life application.
3. Specifically explaining how your physical principle is used by your real life application.

• You must submit your initial reference list with your presentation in proper APA style.
• You must use visual aids in your presentation. If you are using PowerPoint or PDF slides, you must submit them no later than 2 weekdays before. No links, nor logging into Google the day of, you must submit the file. Note that I cannot guarantee that other forms of presentation will display properly.
• If you include an uploaded video (even if it's you talking), activity, or participation from somebody other than you, it must not be longer than 1/3 of your total presentation length.
• After your presentation you must be able to answer questions from your classmates as well as the instructor.
• Your classmates and your instructor may offer constructive criticism and requests to improve the research. Write these down, as you will be required to address them in your report. You may also find the discussions useful for additional information you can include in your paper. Note, however, that the Q&A session may not be used to substitute for the content requirement in the basic 3-5 minute time limit.

Report:

• You will be required to write up a formal paper about your topic, addressing the same requirements, AS WELL AS all additional questions/requests given to you by the class and the instructor during your presentation.

• You must define the relevant equations for your physics.
• Your paper must include at least one figure (diagram, table, or graph) with relevant labels and a proper descriptive caption.
• The text of your paper (i.e. excluding title, name, reference list, any figures) should be about 5 pages long, size 12 font (Times New Roman or equivalent), standard 1 inch margins. Make sure to have answered the question: how is knowledge of the physics useful in the real life application?
• You must use proper, APA style in-text citation of your sources, as well as provide an updated reference list at the end of your paper (yes, you handed me a reference list with your presentation, but you will have to attach one to your report again, especially if you added any new sources).
• You may segment your report into logical sections of your own choosing.

 

Report due date: 1 week after conclusion of presentations.

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Warning!

Yes, there are certain websites that may create an APA style reference list for you, but they are notoriously unreliable. I also want you to practice manually formatting for APA style. Here's one website with lots of examples of proper citation and referencing: Owl. The campus library will also help you with APA style. See the link on Canvas.

NAME ___________________________________________         Date ______________

Evaluation of presentation:

Criterion	Goal (9-10)	Satisfactory (6-8)	Unsatisfactory (0-5)
Content (x4)	The presentation included thorough and clear explanations of the physical principles involved and their use in real life applications.	The presentation included explanations of the physical principles, and made some connections to real life applications.	The presentation showed vague or no explanation of the physical principles, and/or made vague or no connections to real life applications.
Reference list (x1)	The reference list was submitted and met requirements in content and format.	The reference list was submitted but may have contained mistakes in content and format.	The reference list was sloppy, missed several requirements, or was not submitted.
Organization, clarity, style, and professionalism (x3)	The presentation was well organized and clear, and demonstrated a professional attitude throughout. The presentation was within the time limits (3-5 minutes).	The presentation demonstrated some organization and clarity, and maintained a professional attitude throughout. The presentation was within the time limits, or no more than a minute without.	The presentation showed haphazard or no organization, was unclear, and/or involved unprofessional or offensive elements, and/or the presentation was more than a minute below or a minute beyond the time limit prescribed.
Preparation, answers to questions, engagement (x2)	The presentation demonstrated thorough preparation about the topic and application, the class was engaged, and the presenter was prepared to answer the questions posed and on topic clearly.	The presentation demonstrated some preparation, and could respond in a knowledgeable way to questions posed, with at least some accuracy. Some engagement was present.	The presentation showed haphazard or no preparation, answers to questions did not demonstrate knowledge or understanding of the topic, or the answers strayed from topic, were unprofessional, or offensive in nature, or there was no engagement.

Evaluation of written report:

Criterion	Goal (9-10)	Satisfactory (6-8)	Unsatisfactory (0-5)
Content (x5)	The report included thorough explanations of the physical principles involved and their use in real life applications.	The report included explanations of the physical principles, and made some connections to real life applications.	The report showed vague or no explanation of the physical principles, and/or made vague or no connections to real life applications.
Organization, clarity, style, visuals and professionalism (x2)	The report was well organized and clear, used a figure well to aid explanations, and demonstrated a professional attitude throughout.	The report demonstrated some organization and clarity, and maintained a professional attitude throughout. A figure was included.	The report showed haphazard or no organization, was unclear, and/or involved unprofessional or offensive elements, or no figure was used.
Research and references (x3)	The report demonstrates thorough research of the topic, with demonstration of the understanding of the references, and proper APA citations of the authoritative references.	The report demonstrates research of the topic, with some references and explanations of the topic, and some citations to authoritative references.	The report demonstrates vague or no research of the topic, with vague or no understanding of references, and/or improper or no citation of authoritative references.

Presentation score: __________

Written report score: ___________

Total score: ___________

Additional considerations: ______________________________________________________

Lab grade percentage ((presentation score + written score)/2): ___________