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Physics for Non-Physicists: Forces

In this video, produced by Teachers TV, Steve Hearn from the Institute of Physics visits a group of physics non-specialists to offer ideas on how to approach the teaching of forces.

Steve starts his introduction to forces with a bazooka: a homemade, partially evacuated tube which fires missiles at a target. He discusses how the bazooka works and what forces are acting on the missile. Teachers then draw their own force diagrams.

Steve then goes on to introduce a bubble investigation where air bubbles are released in glycerol and rise up a small container. One of the teachers tries this investigation with a Year Seven group. Which bubble will reach the top first, the big one or the small one? What forces are acting on the bubbles? The teachers and the students make their predictions with some surprising results.

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