P-35 A Diffusion Activity for Students
Presenter Status
Professor of Physics, Physics
Second Presenter Status
Alumnus, Physics
Preferred Session
Poster Session
Start Date
4-11-2016 2:00 PM
End Date
4-11-2016 3:00 PM
Presentation Abstract
Diffusion is a truly interdisciplinary topic bridging all areas of STEM. Through statistical notions of the random walk, physics brings a unique, stochastic perspective to diffusive processes as first shown by Einstein's Nobel-Prize-winning work on Brownian motion. We present a hands-on educational activity for introductory physics students illustrating diffusion as a random walk. The random-walk activity, data collection and analysis techniques will be presented. Pre- and Post-testing demonstrates that the activity and analysis improves student understanding of the mechanisms underlying diffusion.
P-35 A Diffusion Activity for Students
Diffusion is a truly interdisciplinary topic bridging all areas of STEM. Through statistical notions of the random walk, physics brings a unique, stochastic perspective to diffusive processes as first shown by Einstein's Nobel-Prize-winning work on Brownian motion. We present a hands-on educational activity for introductory physics students illustrating diffusion as a random walk. The random-walk activity, data collection and analysis techniques will be presented. Pre- and Post-testing demonstrates that the activity and analysis improves student understanding of the mechanisms underlying diffusion.