Welcome to the Teacher Notes section of my website. Here you will find resources to aid in lesson planning, facilitate student engagement, and promote conceptual understanding and critical thinking.
Check here periodically for new additions, improvements, corrections, etc.
The files are divided within the five topics of the curriculum, but occasionally some files may belong to more than one topic.
Files are constantly being edited.
LAST UPDATED: 10 February 2026
- 100 Kinematics graphs
- 101 A peculiar problem of motion under gravity
- 102 Motion under gravity
- 103 An energy and momentum problem
- 104 An impressive demonstration
- 105 An impulse problem
- 106 An interesting result in kinematics
- 107 A neat problem in energy conservation
- 108 A human powered helicopter
- 109 A challenging problem with friction and momentum
- 110 A problem on friction
- 111 A problem with a math connection
- 112 A shocking and beautiful result in Kin
- 113 A study of air resistance
- 114 Conservation of energy
- 115 Conservative forces
- 116 Energy density
- 117 Energy transfer
- 118 Free body diagrams and Newton_s second law
- 119 Free body diagrams and Newton_s third law
- 120 Friction
- 121 Maximum possible energy transfer
- 122 Pendulum meets peg
- 123 On centripetal acceleration
- 124 Another problem on circular motion and work done
- 125 Three ways to solve a problem
- 126 Twenty Conceptual problems in mechanics
- 127 Two classic questions on buoyancy
- 128 Two problems on projectile motion
- 129 Variable mass and rockets
- 130 Walter_s problem
- 131 A problem in rotational motion
- 132 A problem on torques leading to an IA
- 133 A problem on torques
- 134 A problem with angular momentum
- 135 A puzzle with velocities of points on a rolling ring
- 136 Average power
- 137 Ball falling off a sphere
- 138 Ball on an accelerating wedge
- 139 Ball on movable inclined plane
- 140 Circular motion and work done
- 141 Cue hitting snooker ball
- 142 Independence of horizontal and vertical motion
- 143 Motion on a vertical circle
- 144 Rolling ball falling off a sphere
- 145 Rolling on an accelerating block
- 146 Rolling without slipping
- 147 A specimen paper relativity question
- 148 An instructive relativity problem
- 149 Another instructive relativity problem
- 150 Birthdays and Doppler
- 151 Galilean vs Einstein simultaneity
- 152 Invariant interval
- 153 Is seing believing
- 154 Pole in the barn
- 155 Spacetime diagrams
- 156 The leaking carriage
- 157 The power of the work-kinetic energy relation
- 158 The three cylinder problem
- 159 Scales in the Universe
- 160 An equilibrium problem requiring intuition
- 161 An unexpected motion
- 162 Spring decompressing
Topic A
- 200 Temperature during melting
- 201 Derivation of gas pressure
- 202 Another derivation of gas pressure
- 203 A temperature difference puzzle
- 204 Internal energy
- 205 Molar specific heat capacities
- 206 So you bought a Carnot air conditioner
- 207 Stars are made of gas
- 208 The Planck radiation law
- 209 Demonstrating blackbody radiation
- 210 Another view of entropy
- 211 About rms speed
- 212 A basic problem in thermodynamics
- 213 Free expansion and entropy
- 214 Earth equilibrium temperature
- 215 Fun with emissivity
- 216 The black body peak puzzle
- 217 Wrong methods can give the right answer
- 218 The missing equation
- 219 A circuit problem often gotten wrong
- 220 Cooling curve for a radiating sphere
- 221 Resistance increases with temperature
- 222 Hydrogen in the Sun
Topic B
- 300 Wave graphs
- 301 A common exam question
- 302 Another missing equation
- 303 Longitudinal waves
- 304 A longitudinal wave puzzle
- 305 Another longitidinal wave problem
- 306 It is hard to believe but it is true
- 307 Least time
- 308 Reflection from an open end
- 309 SHM
- 310 SHM equation
- 311 Standing waves and SHM
- 312 The Huygens principle
- 313 Single slit diffraction
- 314 About phase difference
- 315 A detailed explanation of 14.24
- 316 An extension of problem 14.32 in the textbook
- 317 An instructive interference problem
- 318 Standing waves
- 319 Standing waves or interference
- 320 A resonance problem
- 321 A problem on elastic energy in SHM
- 322 A problem on driven oscillations
- 323 Ball oscillating in a bowl
- 324 Energy and oscillations
- 325 Forced oscillations
- 326 Resonance and energy conservation
- 327 A challenging problem
- 328 The approximate Doppler formula
- 329 Two problems on the Doppler effect
Topic C
- 400 Estimate of the drag force on a satellite
- 401 Is the earth moving away from the Sun
- 402 Making planets
- 403 The binary star system
- 404 The gravitational slingshot
- 405 The Hohmann transfer orbit
- 406 Asteroids attacking Earth
- 407 Meteorites again
- 408 The magnetic field of a straight wire
- 409 Electric potential
- 410 Non Coulomb electric fields
- 411 Gravitational potential and work done
- 412 Magnetic force on current
- 413 Does the magnetic force do work
- 414 Flux and monopoles
- 415 Origin of magnetic force on wire
- 416 Negative mass
- 417 A basic induction problem
- 418 Electrical effects and SHM
- 419 EM and Newton third law
- 420 Induced emf in a rotating coil
- 421 Loop entering magnetic field
- 422 Questions based on an induction experiment
- 423 The aurora
- 424 Two basic induction questions
- 425 A qualitative problem
- 426 Chiara_s problem on magnetic forces
- 427 Force between point charge and neutral sphere
Topic D
- 500 The Thomson model of the atom
- 501 Binding energy per nucleon
- 502 Iron or nickel
- 503 Mass defect
- 504 Nuclear density
- 505 Nuclei as protons and electrons
- 506 The distance of closest approach
- 507 What about momentum conservation
- 508 Why is energy released
- 509 Bohr condition and de Broglie
- 510 A special energy level
- 511 Energy released
- 512 On the photoelectric effect
- 513 The de Broglie hypothesis
- 514 Quantized flux
- 515 The Compton effect
- 516 A problem on the Compton effect
- 517 Compton vs photoelectric
- 518 Heisenberg's pencil
- 519 Helium and the Sun
- 520 The decay constant and probability
- 521 The relation between luminosity and mass
- 522 Stellar equilibrium
- 523 HR diagram
- 524 Electron degeneracy pressure
- 525 Antiparticles
- 526 Why alpha decay