Galileo's Discovery of the Law of Free Fall

Drake, Stillman

doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0573-84

Cited by 33 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…When a ball was released from the top of the ramp, it would roll over the cords, making a slight noise each time. Galileo adjusted the distance between the cords so that the tempo of the noises produced a consistent beat, and in this way determined the ratio of distances traveled in equal time intervals (see Drake 1973or Takahashi 1993 for elaborate descriptions). In this way, Galileo reconceptualized speed by achieving measured feedback on that concept from nature's behavior.…”

Section: 'Grasp Of Practice' In Science Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Grasp of Practice’ as a Reasoning Resource for Inquiry and Nature of Science Understanding

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article articulates how a 'grasp of practice' serves as a reasoning resource for inquiry and citizenship abilities associated with nature of science (NOS) understanding. Theoretically, this resource is elaborated through an overlapping concern with 'practice' in two literatures, science studies and psychology of learning, bringing attention to two key roles in scientific practice, Critiquers and Constructors of claims. Empirically, this resource is made plausible by the results of an expert-novice study and a classroom study. In the expert-novice study, reactions of scientists and laypeople to science-related claims in the popular media were contrasted, underlining the appropriate ways scientists tend to Critique such claims. In the classroom study, sixth-grade students engaged in a 2-week ramp experiment, experiencing first hand the roles of Critiquers and Constructors of claims, and were subsequently assessed with a novel experimental task. Performances suggest that students had attained a grasp of practice, going well beyond mere execution of methods or procedures. These results challenge a common assumption that declarative knowledge best characterizes learning targets for supporting inquiry and NOS understanding.

show abstract

Section: 'Grasp Of Practice' In Science Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Grasp of Practice’ as a Reasoning Resource for Inquiry and Nature of Science Understanding

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Because this horizontal speed was maintained as the ball moved from the end of the incline to the floor, the range was proportional to S. By using various values of H, Galileo was able to show that D was proportional to √(H). Drake (1973, pp. 9-15), MacLachlan (1976, Naylor (1974b), Settle (1961), Sherman (1974), and Straulino (2008.…”

Section: The Parabolic Path Of Trajectories and The Law Of Free Fallmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…30 See Gauld (2010), Herival (1965), Smith (2001), andWestfall (1971). 31 See Drake (1973Drake ( , 1974Drake ( , 1975aDrake ( , b, 1978Drake ( , 1990. 32 See Naylor (1974aNaylor ( , b, 1976Naylor ( , 1977Naylor ( , 1980Naylor ( , 1983.…”

Section: History Of Mechanics and Student Conceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For some (e.g. Settle 1961;Drake 1973), it was to determine whether Galileo could actually have carried out the experiment with the equipment which he had and with the accuracy he claimed. For others it was as an exercise for students who were learning about motion with an eye to its history (Straulino 2008;Erlichson 1997a;Sherman 1974).…”

Section: The Inclined Plane Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The end of the pipe is uncovered at the beginning of the required time interval and covered up at the end. The mass of water is the measure of the size of the time interval (Settle 1961;Drake 1973). …”

Section: The Inclined Plane Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations