journal of science education
In this section of Resonance, we invite
readers to pose questions likely to be raised in a classroom situation.
We may suggest strategies for dealing with them, or invite responses,
or both. “Classroom” is equally a forum for raising broader
issues and sharing personal experiences and viewpoints on matters related
to teaching and learning science.
Must Books that are Popular be Closer
to Top of the Stack?
Read full article ( 683 Kb)Making Introductory Quantum Physics
Understandable and Interesting
It is well known that the average student of physics finds quantum physics (QP) difficult. Special efforts are therefore needed to make the subject both understandable and interesting.
To make QP more easily understandable, we identify the main elements of cognition involved in the study of QP, and point out how they are different from those involved in the study of classical physics. We find that drawing the student's attention to the special features of the very act of cognition in QP makes the subject more comprehensible.
To make QP interesting and exciting, we feel it is essential to give the subject a human touch, e.g. by integrating into the process of teaching biographical notes on the discoverers of the subject.
MacWilliams Identities
This lecture is part of a course in Algorithmic Coding Theory offered by Professor Madhu Sudan at MIT and may be accessed at http://theory/lcs.mit.edu/~madhu/FT01/
Starting from August 2004, Resonance is publishing in the Classroom section, a series of short articles, ‘Earthquake Tips’, related to earthquakes, their effects on civil structures, and design and construction of earthquake resistant buildings. The concepts are clearly explained with sketches and analogies. We hope the Resonance readers will benefit from this series of articles.
Earthquake Tips have been brought out by the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur and sponsored by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi, India. These articles are reproduced here with permission from IIT Kanpur and BMTPC, New Delhi.
Learning Earthquake Design and Construction
11. What are the Indian Seismic Codes?
12. How do Brick Masonry Houses Behave during Earthquakes?
Importance of Seismic Design Codes
Ground vibrations during earthquakes cause forces and deformations in structures. Structures need to be designed to withstand such forces and deformations. Seismic codes help to improve the behaviour of structures so that they may withstand the earthquake effects without significant loss of life and property. Countries around the world have procedures outlined in seismic codes to help design engineers in the planning, designing, detailing and constructing of structures. An earthquake-resistant building has four virtues in it, namely:Behaviour of Brick Masonry Walls
Masonry buildings are brittle structures and one of the most vulnerable of the entire building stock under strong earthquake shaking. The large number of human fatalities in such constructions during the past earthquakes in India corroborates this. Thus, it is very important to improve the seismic behaviour of masonry buildings. A number of earthquake-resistant features can be introduced to achieve this objective.
Indian Academy of Sciences
C.V.Raman Avenue, Post Box No. 8005,
Sadashivanagar Post, Bangalore 560 080
Tel: 91-80-23612546, 23614592, 23612943
Fax: 91-80-23616094
email: resonanc@ias.ernet.in
URL: http://www.ias.ac.in