Schottenbauer Publishing

Schottenbauer Publishing
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

The World in a Graph

What is more entertaining than learning science and math from the real world? Combining STEM education with fun, The World in a Graph by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., is a curiosity piece for educators and students alike. This concise anthology of 28 graphs presents a spectrum of interesting topics from sports, transportation, construction, environment, music, and entertainment. Graph topics, in the same order presented in the book, include:

  • Sports
    • Baseball 
    • Tennis
    • Ice Hockey
    • Snow Skiing
    • Running
    • Walking
    • Biking
    • Weightlifting
    • Gymnastics
    • Track & Field
    • Figure Skating
    • Ballet
  • Transportation
    • Wheels
    • Cars
    • Planes
    • Trains
    • Boats
  • Construction
    • Material Strength Testing
    • Electricity
    • Indoor Lighting
  • Environment
    • Natural Light
    • Natural Water
    • Wind
  • Music
    • Vibration
    • Sound Waves
  • Entertainment
    • A Moving Block
    • A Falling Domino
    • A Rolling Marble

These topics provide a rich selection of concepts from physical science and physics education, including:


  • General Mechanics 
    • Force 
    • Friction 
    • Material Strength 
    • Collisions 
    • Energy 
    • Momentum 
    • Free-Fall 
    • Projectile Motion 
    • Motion on a Plane 
    • Motion on an Inclined Plane 
    • Rotational Motion 
    • Harmonic Oscillation 
  • Electromagnetism 
    • Electric Potential 
    • Current 
    • Power 
    • Light 
  • Acoustics 
    • Vibration 
    • Sound Waves 
  • Biophysics 
    • Electromyogram (EMG) 
    • Range of Motion or Joint Angles (Goniometer)


 These topics provide a variety of important concepts from math, including the following types of mathematical functions:

  • Math Topics
    • Straight Line
    • Curve
    • Parabola
    • Exponential Function
    • Sinusoidal Function
    • Integral
    • Derivative
    • Damping Function
    • Random Error

 The World in a Graph by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D. is available from multiple internet retailers, in paperback and Kindle digital editions, as well as wholesale.
Schottenbauer Publishing offers a wide selection of books, featuring over 8.000 graphs from sports, transportation, construction, environment, music, entertainment, and general physics. Additional information is available on the blog Science and Math Education.
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Monday, July 27, 2015

Physics Theory vs. Physical Reality

The theories of physics consist of neat, clean, mathematical formulas, derived from laboratory conditions. Although these formulas apply to all real life, the data collected from the real world demonstrates much more complexity, resulting in messy graphs.

 Consider the following two neat, simple graphs, taken from simple laboratory experiments:


Discussion Questions for Each Graph
  1. Describe the graph in words. 
  2. What phenomena is demonstrated? 
  3. What physics theory or theories apply? 
  4. Is the graph consistent with theory?

 Now, consider the two graphs below. These graphs show real-life conditions which are mathematically messy.



 Discussion Questions for Each Graph
  1. Describe the graph in words. 
  2. What phenomena is demonstrated? 
  3. Why is the graph messy? 
  4. How can the graph be analyzed with theories from physics and/or math?

In elementary and high school classes, emphasis is often on the clean, neat graphs which perfectly illustrate theory. Including messy graphs from real-life conditions can provide a segue into the advanced physics and mathematics topics which are required for working in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields as a career scientist.

 Over 8,000 graphs from Schottenbauer Publishing provide real-life topics for student learning, including sports, transportation, construction, environment, music, entertainment/toys, and general physics. 


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Saturday, July 18, 2015

Considering Sources of Error in Graphs

The topic of error is essential when teaching graphs. Error describes inaccurate data, resulting in a graph which does not match the real-life phenomena it intends to measure. Error may occur at one or more points on the graph, which may be found in one or more segments of the graph.

Graphing errors may occur when the measurement device is not accurate, or when data is not properly recorded. Not all errors may be what they seem, however. Sometimes graphs accurately portray an inaccurate performance. Is it possible to determine the source(s) of error from a graph alone? 

Consider the following two graphs, excerpted from the book series The Science of Home Construction from Schottenbauer Publishing:






Discussion Questions
  1. Does either graph contain error? Why or why not?
  2. Does either graph show error due to the measurement device? Why or why not?
  3. In either graph, does the real phenomena provide an unexpected contour? Why or why not?
  4. For either graph, would changing the perspective increase/decrease the apparent error? Why or why not?
  5. Redraw these two graphs, eliminating the likely error(s).

Schottenbauer Publishing offers over 100 books with graphs of popular topics, including sports, transportation, construction, environment, music, entertainment/toys, and physics. Free samples from these books are featured in the following free blogs, which contain graphs, videos, and discussion questions:


Blogs with Free Graphs
  • Sport Science


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          Sunday, April 26, 2015

          Upgrading Physical Education with Graphs

          Physical education classes can easily be upgraded to "high-tech" status by incorporating graphs into lesson plans. As early as fourth grade, students are taught graph-reading skills in math and language classes. These technical skills can easily be applied to physical education topics. 

           Graphs relevant to physical education include:

          • Trajectories of Human Motion & Sports Equipment
            • Position
            • Velocity
            • Acceleration
          • Direct Measurement of Physical Variables
            • Force
            • Acceleration
            • Altitude
          • Biophysics Data
            • Joint Angles
            • Breathing
            • Heart Rate
            • Electrical Activity of Heart & Muscles

           How can these data be used in class? One example is found in the blog article Comparing Graphs of 24 Sports Balls Bouncing, Rolling, & Flying. This article describes how to use a set of three free YouTube videos from Schottenbauer Publishing along with a book of graphs, Bounce, Roll, & Fly: The Science of Balls: Sampler Edition, to compare the performance of 24 popular sports balls.


          Discussion Questions
          1. How many times does the baseball bounce?
          2. From what height is the baseball dropped?
          3. Write one or more equations describing the motion of the ball.
          4. What is the potential energy of the baseball in the beginning? At the peak of each bounce? In the end of the graph?
          5. What is the maximum velocity of the ball? The maximum momentum?

          Additional sample graphs and discussion questions pertaining to physical education are available on the following free blogs:


           Over 5,000 sports graphs are available in science lab manuals from Schottenbauer Publishing. Additional information is available on the blog Sport Science Education. Books can be purchased online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other internet retailers, and wholesale through CreateSpace.
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