Why is it that so many introductory physics students fail to grasp concepts and applications presented during the lecture? This misunderstanding does not necessarily arise because the material is difficult but instead it arises because of the manner in which the material is presented. The principal objective of The Visual Physics Advancement Project is to determine the effect of a unique learning environment in which students can actively explore fundamental physical phenomena, using popular media to exploit conceptual understanding. In this experiment popular media was used to assist the student in relating a concept taught in the lecture to a visual situation in a popular film. In order to achieve this objective the students were asked to analyze introductory mechanics problems created by different situations in a variety of movies. My hypothesis is that a relaxed and interesting activity will stimulate the student's interest in the material, resulting in a better understanding of the concepts.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Nasto, Rachel Harte.

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 04A012M

Advisor

• Koleci, Carolann

Year

• 2004

Date created

• 2004-01-01

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Physics

Rights statement

• In Copyright