Teaching Method for Idealized Physics Concepts

—Through a Practice of Physics Lesson Considering the Connection Between Physics Concepts and Reality—

Abstract

In physics, various phenomena are expressed theoretically, and, in the theoretical explication, physics concepts are basically idealized. In the field of physics education, one important issue is how to provide clear guidance on these physics concepts while linking them to practical events. In this study, the mass point has been taken up as a typical example of a physics concept, and an effective teaching method for the mass point has been considered through practice in a physics lesson. In the practice, learners dropped a box made of paper from a height of 150 cm and measured the free-fall time. At this time, they investigated the change in the free-fall time while gradually decreasing the size of the box and graphed the results. Then they inferred the free-fall time of the mass point from the graph and confirmed consistency with a theoretical value. As a result, the value inferred from the graph differed from the theoretical value only approximately 5% on average. This result indicates that the theoretical value can be lead from actual measurements. Moreover, it was confirmed that the learners’ understanding of the mass point significantly improved. Consequently, this study indicates the effectiveness of a new teaching method for physics concepts in the field of physics education.