Research Article

The value of hands-on experiments in an upper-division classical mechanics course

School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 837 State Street, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

^* e-mail: daniel.goldman@physics.gatech.edu
^a These authors contributed equally to this work.
^b Currently at Department of Radiation Medicine, University of Kentucky – 800 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.

Received: 4 July 2024
Accepted: 17 December 2024

Abstract

We share our experience incorporating open-ended experimentation into an upper-division classical mechanics course through project-based learning, including one student’s investigation of a common textbook problem and its unexpected connections to astrophysics. By iterating a computational model and an experimental apparatus, the student participated in inquiry in a way that would not have been possible in a typical classical mechanics course. We advocate the adoption of similar hands-on approaches in the classroom to help upper-division students develop both an understanding of the value of experimentation and an appreciation of the diversity and subtlety of physical phenomena that can emerge in apparently simple systems.