| Title: | Qualitative Quantum Mechanics: Visualizations to Facilitate Learning about the Waves of Matter* |
| Meeting: | 118th AAPT National Meeting: Anaheim, CA |
| Location: | N/A |
| Date: | Mon, Jan 11, 1999 |
| Time: | 10:30 a.m. |
| Author: |
Dean A. Zollman, Kansas
State Univ. 785-532-1619, dzollman@phys.ksu.edu |
| Co-Author(s): | None |
| Abstract: | Interactive computer visualizations have been coupled with hands-on experiences to create a series of activities which help students learn about waves in quantum mechanics. The goal of the materials is to enable secondary students and non-science college students to obtain a qualitative understanding of the wave nature of matter. Included in the instructional materials are student-centered activities that address why we use waves to describe matter, how we interpret the matter waves, and why accepting a wave model of matter leads to quantization and the uncertainty principle. Applications of quantum physics to atoms, the electron microscope and the Star Trek Transporter are included. Throughout the instructional unit, which is part of the Visual Quantum Mechanics project, the students work with interactive visualizations rather than equations. Thus, the mathematical prerequisites are low and allow students with no background in calculus to begin to understand the implications and interpretations of quantum physics. |