Physics Tutoring Continues on a Great Path

These past two weeks have been extremely satisfying tutoring my physics student.  He has really taken to the framework I taught him and I think it is giving him confidence to tackle the problems.  This past week he was given problems with blocks on a table attached by a rope.  These types of problems add one more level in complexity in that each block is its own system, the two together are a system and they all have to be analyzed.  In addition, there is a new concept called tension, and one problem had friction involved as well.  I found that putting the equation for force due to friction (Ff = uk FN ) and force due to gravity (Ff =mag) on the board to refer to is a good exercise.  He seemed to forget to use those two definitions and if they were just put on the board before getting started it stuck with him.  I asked him to make it a habit to put them at the top of the paper before starting any problem set. 

My other student is really doing well these days and isn't really in need of too much help.  It seems like after going through "sum of the forces" type problems the classes touch on a bunch of different subjects and don't get very deep.  It is a good way to expose the students to thermodynamics, vibrations, electricity and magnetism, etc.  I am still forming an opinion on weather it is better than going a little deeper into some of the subjects.  It really doesn't seem like it is a challenge for the student anymore, but I do feel like she is learning a lot. 

Rocket Class So Far

As I mentioned in the previous post I am involved in a rocket class at the NYA.  I worked with a co-worker of mine, a physics masters student working at JPL, and a teacher at NYA to develop this class from December-February.  We planned out the class week-by-week and came up with demonstrations and projects for the students.  This class is not meant to be a lecture-type, it is supposed to be more hands-on and project based.

We are now in coming on the 5th week and the class is going great!  It is difficult fitting everything in with only one hour a week but we are doing our best.  We are not holding to the original schedule, but we figured this first year would just be a learning experience.  So far we have done:

Week 1: Water Rocket Introduction
This is an excellent way to introduce students to rockets.  All you need is a soda bottle, water, a rubber stopper, a bike pump with a pin (the type used for a basketball), straws and some wood to make a stand.   For the first week we had the students all put the same amount of water in and just get a feel for how they work.  Check out the video below.  We spent about a half hour in the beginning lecturing about rockets, but we got a glimpse of how difficult it is to hold their attention at 6 o'clock at night after a full day of school and homework!

Week 2: Solid vs. Liquid Propellants
I missed this week so I won't have much to say.  My co-worker gave a lecture with some pictures showing real rockets and the difference between solids and liquids.  In addition, he gave a briefing intro to space and orbit.  From what I understand it was extremely difficult to hold their attention especially when they were sitting in the computer room.  That was it, no more lecturing for more than 5 minutes!  After the talk the students decked out their water rockets with fins and nose cones.  They were allowed to do any size they felt and had to start thinking about the tradeoffs of using different designs.  We had some really fancy water rockets by the end of the day.

Week 3: Water Rocket Continuation
I wanted to utilize the water rocket for this class to teach about two things we do in industry on a regular basis, trade studies and optimization.  We had three water rockets; one with fins and a nose cone, one with a nose cone and no fins, and one with no fins and no nose cone.  With these three different designs we were going to run each of them at 3 different water levels to see which design was optimal at each water level.   The trade off for the nose cone was aerodynamics vs. weight and for the fins was stability vs. weight.  The students measured the height of the rocket with a protractor gun.  Because they didn't know sine and cosine yet we just used the angle as an indication of the height.  We were able to get through this lesson and the data showed some interesting results!  Below is the graph we came up with.

It worked out so nicely!  You can see that at every water level the rocket with no nose cone or fins went the highest.  When you add a nose cone and/or fins any benefit they may add is canceled out and actually hindered by their weight.  In addition, you will notice that 1 L seems to be the best option for what we tested.  What do you think the optimal water level is?

Week 4: Introduction to hobby motors and hobby rocket kit
We started getting the students acquainted with the kits they will be using and the engines that will power their rockets.   We went through the engine designations and touched on what thrust and total impulse are.  Thrust is the measure of the force the rocket provides to lift itself off the ground and total impulse is the measure of the rocket engine's thrust multiplied by the total time it burns.  We lit a small engine on the ground to give the students a little show.  That thing was a site to see!  After that the students got to open their rocket kits and start dry fitting the pieces together.  I am looking forward to building these hobby rockets and flying them.

Tutoring High School Physics-Frameworks

Tutoring high school physics is difficult, especially because you don't have control over how they learn it in the first place.  For me, physics came down to learning the framework to solve a problem, and going through the steps each time.  When I thought about it quickly, I felt like it was just a process that can be easily followed, which does not vary much from problem to problem.  While teaching that framework, however, I realized how complex it can actually become. It takes a lot of practice to remember "what comes next" and how to apply the framework to each particular part of the process, however once it is embedded in the students head it is powerful.

I feel it is extremely important to go through all of the necessary steps from the very beginning, even if most variables turn out to be zero for the easier problems.  It gives the students a guide to work with so, when a more difficult problem comes along, they aren't confused by using a new method to solve the problem.  The less equations you use throughout the class the better.

What I am finding is that students learn quick ways to solve the problems at first (basically plug and chug with simplified equations) and then as the problems get more difficult they don't see the connection from problem to problem and chapter to chapter (if applicable).  It is a front end investment to push for them to write down a big equation with many variables that turn out to be zero, however it gets them in a great habit for the harder problems to come.

I think my tutee was a little annoyed at my persistance at first, but today he was cruising through some difficult problems.  I could feel his confidence and see his pride knowing he could go through a tough physics problem even if it is overwhelming at first.  He is comfortable and happy knowing he knows what the next step in the process is.  I am looking forward to see how he does as the class moves forward.

Introduction

I currently work at The Aerospace Corporation, providing technical consulting and strategic advisory for USAF and NASA satellite launches.  I am officially in the Propulsion Department, but currently doing a rotation in Corporate Strategic Planning.  This has given me the unique opportunity to see this industry from both the technical and business side and I am looking forward to learning more as this year goes on.  I obtained my BS in Mechanical Engineering from Union College in Schenectady, NY in June of 2003 and my PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in December of 2007.

Throughout my time at Penn. State I was involved in a group called the Science Lions.  We went around to local schools and gave science shows, which I absolutely loved.  Seeing the kids faces when you set something on fire or freeze something with liquid nitrogen is priceless.  Now that I am out in California and working, I want to keep my "foot in the door" when it comes to educating kids about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  My company is making a big push to become involved in this movement and is one of 100 companies involved in Change the Equation (CTEq), a non-profit, non-partisan CEO-led initiative to solve America’s innovation problem. 

To support this initiative (and my for my own sense of gratification) I am currently tutoring once a week at an after-school program in Venice Beach called the Neighborhood Youth Organization (NYA) and helping run a rocket class there once a week as well.  I am also a guest speaker in my sister-in-law's (here is her blog) 5th grade class in New York whenever I am back on the East Coast.