How To Keep Kicking Your Science Teaching In The Arts

Poetry, Music, Song & Dance

in the Physics Lab

by T. (“Haggis”) Henderson

What is today’s plan?Willebrord Van Rooijen SnellProjectile SongNuclear Physics SongThe SHM SongThe Capacitor SongSnell’s Law…all with chorusesand…Homework

Willebrord Van Rooijen Snell

• To the tune:”Sweet Betsy From Pike”

• The web address to find the original set of lyrics and mp3 file is http://www.haverford.edu/physics/songs/snell.htm

• Physics lyrics by Marion McKenzie and Walter Smith (Google “Physics Songs”)

• C is a comfortable key

• Image from the Haverford website

C G7 CCome listen and learn, I’ve a story to tell, C Am G G7I sing of the genius of Willebrord Snell C Em F CA mathematician who lived long ago G7 CIn the Netherlands where the Rhine river does flow.

C G7He set for his mind occupations of worth, Am G G7 Improved navigation and measured the Earth! C Em F CHe gave us the sine law, that wonderful guy, G7 CAnd he made more precise calculation of

Verse 1

Chorus

C F (or C) G (or G7) Am (or C)Singin’ n1 sine theta-sub-1, hey, hey, hey,  C F (or C) G (or G7) CEquals n2 sine theta-sub-2, hip hooray!

𝑛1𝑠𝑖𝑛θ1=𝑛2𝑠𝑖𝑛θ2

C G7 CHis greatest feat came in Sixteen Twenty-one, Am G G7When optics as science was really begun! C Em F CWhile flashes of lightning illumined his page, G7 CHe wrote down Snell’s law, his great gift to the age!

C G7 CSo if you wear glasses or like to fry ants, Am G G7Be grateful your lenses were not made by chance! C Em F CAstronomers hail him with each new-found star! G7 CMicroscopists toast him from each sleazy bar!

Verse 2

Chorus

C F (or C) G (or G7) Am (or C)Singin’ n1 sine theta-sub-1, hey, hey, hey,  C F (or C) G (or G7) CEquals n2 sine theta-sub-2, hip hooray!

𝑛1𝑠𝑖𝑛θ1=𝑛2𝑠𝑖𝑛θ2

C G7 CNow some credit Harriot, others Descartes, Am G G7Both studied refraction, and both were real smart. C Em F CBut we prefer Willebrord van Rooijen Snell G7 CHe laid down the law, and he did it darn well!

Verse 3

Chorus

C F (or C) G (or G7) Am (or C)Singin’ n1 sine theta-sub-1, hey, hey, hey,  C F (or C) G (or G7) CEquals n2 sine theta-sub-2, hip hooray!

𝑛1𝑠𝑖𝑛θ1=𝑛2𝑠𝑖𝑛θ2

Chorus – last time

C F (or C) G (or G7) Am (or C)Singin’ n1 sine theta-sub-1, hey, hey, hey,  C F (or C) G (or G7) CEquals n2 sine theta-sub-2, hip hooray!

𝑛1𝑠𝑖𝑛θ1=𝑛2𝑠𝑖𝑛θ2

The Projectile Song• To the tune:”The Old Folks

At Home”• Music and original words by

Stephen Foster• C is a comfortable key• Written to assist NCEA2

learners

When a thing is thrown and it zips offIt will chase a parabolic arc

We can do this with a gun or ballOr even Fido’s stick when in the park

An object that’s not held up by anythingWill plunge to earth like concrete in free-

fallAs well as that, in a horizontal senseThere is no force that pushes it at all

Projectiles – Verse 1

Chorus – your turnHorizontally, its speed

is setOf acceleration that

way, it is freeVertically, everything

that’s not held upAccelerates to earth,

with value “g”

Projectiles are objects that are in the airFree from almost all external force

We ignore all lift & thrust & drag but weMust include the vector, weight, of

course

To find the range of anything that’s thrown about

We need to find the time until it landsThe vertical velocity, when t is nought

Combined with “g” will put it in our hands

Projectiles – Verse 2

Chorus – your turnHorizontally, its speed

is setOf acceleration that

way, it is freeVertically, everything

that’s not held upAccelerates to earth,

with value “g”

Finally, now we know our time of flight

And the constant horizontal speed

We can find the distance ‘til the object drops

And thus we then have all the stuff we need

Projectiles – Verse 5

Chorus – last timeHorizontally, its speed

is setOf acceleration that

way, it is freeVertically, everything

that’s not held upAccelerates to earth,

with value “g”

The Nuclear Physics Song

• To the tune:”Baby Blue”• Music and original words by George Baker• G is a comfortable key to sing it in

• The purposes of the song are to:

• Help students understand why energy is released in nuclear reactions (AS 3.5-90522)

• Explain why BOTH fission and fusion release energy

• Show that c2 is the link between mass and energy.

Henri Becquerel looked in his drawer

And what he saw there he’d not seen before

Uranium fogged the photo paper although it was wrapped

From where did this energy come?

In total a remarkable sum

The potential was enormous if only this resource could be tapped

Nuclear Physics V1

Chorus – your turnNucleus, the nucleus

Elusive source of high energy

Extremely small, almost no volume at all

And Rutherford gave it an I.D.

The amount of energy did amaze

Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays

And nobody knew just what it was that powered the Sun

“Mass and energy” (said Einstein)

“Are equivalent”; their values entwine

C2 is the ratio; 90 thousand trillion to one

Nuclear Physics V2

Chorus – your turnNucleus, the nucleus

Elusive source of high energy

Extremely small, almost no volume at all

And Rutherford gave it an I.D.

Fission is an energy source

Fusion powers stars, and our Sun, of course

The puzzle is, they’re opposites yet both of them can generate heat

The secret at the very heart

Is the “mass per nucleon” U-shaped chart

Coming in from each end will drop “m” and give off “E” – now that’s neat

Nuclear Physics V3

Chorus – last timeNucleus, the nucleus

Elusive source of high energy

Extremely small, almost no volume at all

And Rutherford gave it an I.D.

The Simple Harmonic Motion Song

• To the tune:”Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”

• (F is a comfortable key to sing it in)

S.H.M.– chorus demoSimple Harmonic Motion

Harmonic motion, simple to see

Simple Harmonic MotionOne on T gives

frequency

SHM– verse 1A bouncing swingbridge; a korimako sings

Harmonic motion, simple to seeA natural frequency seen for all things

One on T gives frequency

All has mass and springinessHarmonic motion, simple to see

If you have more k then the period’s lessOne on T gives frequency

S.H.M.– chorus

Simple Harmonic MotionHarmonic motion,

simple to seeSimple Harmonic Motion

One on T gives frequency

SHM– verse 3S.H.M. – an energised state

Harmonic motion, simple to seeThe energy cycles too; with twice the rate

One on T gives frequency

Energy shows exponential decayHarmonic motion, simple to see

Subcritical damping makes it that wayOne on T gives frequency

S.H.M.– chorusSimple Harmonic Motion

Harmonic motion, simple to see

Simple Harmonic MotionOne on T gives

frequency

SHM– verse 5S.H.M. can be diagnosed

Harmonic motion, simple to see“a” proportional to “y” but the signs are

opposedOne on T gives frequency

The field of applications; wide and bigHarmonic motion, simple to see

So get your head around the waves from trig.One on T gives frequency

S.H.M.– chorus (last time)

Simple Harmonic MotionHarmonic motion,

simple to seeSimple Harmonic Motion

One on T gives frequency

The Capacitor Song

• To the tune:”Mockingbird Hill”

• Music and original words by Vaughn Horton

• F is a comfortable key

Chorus - DemoFaraday is the chappie whose name we all say

Well almost, we leave off the suffix bit, “ay”

Capacitance is measured in Coulombs per Volt

But Farads is easier; a better result

Chorus – Your turnFaraday is the chappie whose name we all say

Well almost, we leave off the suffix bit, “ay”

Capacitance is measured in Coulombs per Volt

But Farads is easier; a better result

If you take some electrons from a metal sheetAnd give them to its partner, symmetrical, neatThen you’ll separate charge and store energyThe capacitance will be E nought, A upon d

(oA/d)

Capacitors act as electrical springsTheir stored energy can do handy thingsLike saving your data when the battery’s

impairedThe energy stored is a half C V squared

(E=1/2CV2)

Verse 1

ChorusFaraday is the chappie whose name we all say

Well almost, we leave off the suffix bit, “ay”

Capacitance is measured in Coulombs per Volt

But Farads is easier; a better result

Verse 2And in AC circuits the voltage flip flops

(and) Therefore the current through the cap barely stops

This flip flopping current has power to impressA nice, smoothed out value is IRMS

But the currents that flow, VC will retardTheir ratio is measured in Ohms, that’s not hard

But the Ohms do not measure resistance you seeAs the energy’s returned, it’s reactance, XC

ChorusFaraday is the chappie whose name we all say

Well almost, we leave off the suffix bit, “ay”

Capacitance is measured in Coulombs per Volt

But Farads is easier; a better result

Verse 3If the frequency rises, reactance then

dropsThere’s more current flowing, less time for

the stopsThe same will occur if C’s value does rise

Less reactance again, that can’t be a surprise

If you lift f or C, the reactance will dropNothing else affects it, just those two, full

stop.Two pi times their product, viz 2fC

Then find the reciprocal;voila, XC

ChorusFaraday is the chappie whose name we all say

Well almost, we leave off the suffix bit, “ay”

Capacitance is measured in Coulombs per Volt

But Farads is easier; a better result

The Snell’s Law Song (and Dance)

• The tune, dance moves and web link all are secret until after completion!

• Physics Words by Anonymous of Haverford College in the USA

• Only one verse so it’s easy to learn• F is a comfortable key

Snell’s LawSnell’s Law, n times the

sine of the thetaIf the n gets lower then

the theta will get greaterIf the n be greater then the light will get there

laterHey, n sine theta!

The Snell’s Law Song (and Dance)

• The tune and dance moves are from the Macarena by Los Del Rio

• The web link to the file is http://www.haverford.edu/physics/songs/macsnell.htm

• A database of Physics Songs exists at http://www.haverford.edu/physics-astro/songs/

To SummariseWhat did we do?

We did the following:

Willebrord Van Rooijen SnellProjectile SongNuclear Physics SongThe SHM SongThe Capacitor SongSnell’s law – Macarena Style

Homework - mine

I’ll keep working on new ones and

looking for existing ones

Homework - yours

Go back to your teaching space

and…

Keep kicking your Science Teaching in

the Arts