Science RWLO Template Title Placeholder

Can you hear me now?SM (a service mark of Verizon Wireless) Project Overview

Students will access the Library of Congress to view Alexander Graham Bell’s original scientific notebook. Based upon Bell’s notes, students will recreate the seminal tuning fork experiment.

1 Student Learning Objectives

Can you hear me now?SM (a service mark of Verizon Wireless)

Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to: 1. Access and navigate the Library of Congress’ American Memory collection. 2. Read and comprehend scientific writing. 3. Replicate Bell’s tuning fork experiment. 4. Document experimental activities in proper scientific format.

2 Procedure

This activity is designed for an introductory physics and physical science courses with the main topics of electricity and magnetism. It could be used for a middle school science class, a high school or college conceptual physics or physical science course, as well as high school and college algebra-based physics courses. The instructor can vary the activity by adjusting the depth of explanation required of the student.

The online exploration can be conducted in class (with appropriate computing resources) or assigned as an out-of-class activity. The tuning fork experiment will likely work best in a laboratory environment. However, if the course is structured in a project-based format, the experiment can also be conducted out of class and then demonstrated in a subsequent class presentation. Regardless, the experiment should allow for inquiry rather than following a step-by-step approach. Students could do this individually, but data suggest that collaborative activities can make learning richer. If conducted as a collaborative activity, roles should be assigned. Any typical collaborative learning role assignments would work or you could use engineering team roles (project manager, chief engineer, lead technician, technical writer).

The Antique Telephone Collectors Association has a simple experiment that will allow instructors to guide students to a solution. It would probably be best to vary the materials so that students come up with varied models.

Here’s a basic list of required materials:  Metal measuring cup  Tuning fork  6-V lantern battery  Wires  5% white vinegar  Small speaker (cannibalized from headphones, telephone, radio, etc.)

Here’s the link to the ATCA experiment: http://atcaonline.com/phone/sciencefork.html

3 Content Material

You will follow in Alexander Graham Bell’s footsteps along the way to developing the first patented telephone. Starting with Bell’s original experimental notebook, you will read about the famous tuning fork experiment. Then you will replicate the experiment using contemporary materials. Along the way, you will keep an experimental log of your efforts, much like Bell used nearly 130 years ago.

The Bell family made many of Alexander’s documents available to the US Library of Congress. The LOC has digitized these materials and offers them through their American Memory project. This is a fabulous resource for so many important documents and you should familiarize yourself with this national treasure:

On October 10, 1876, Bell placed the first call using his liquid transmitter configuration. Two days earlier, he initiated a set of experiments using a tuning fork. He ultimately was able to place a vibrating tuning fork in an acidic liquid and hear the vibrations transmitted to a relay. This success provided a proof of concept that allowed him to quickly replace the tuning fork with a means for his voice to cause the vibration and the Bell phone was born.

As a side note, you may notice that this lesson doesn’t assert that AGB was the inventor of the first phone. His design was the first to be patented, but there were numerous other worthy contenders for the title of first phone inventor. The Antique Telephone Collectors Association provides an interesting set of links that may prompt you to ask, “Who really invented the telephone?”

Procedure: 1. Read AGB’s entries for March 8-10, 1876, paying particular attention to how he didn’t leave blank spaces and how he signed and dated each day’s entry (required for patent documentation). 2. Begin your own experimental record in a laboratory notebook with the date. At any point(s) that you cease working on this experiment for the day, sign and date the entry. Be sure that you begin the next entry with the new date and do not leave blank space between the entries. If need be, draw a bold “X” through the space and initial it.

4 3. Optional: maintain an electronic version of your experimental efforts (in addition to the written version, not in place of) in a blog, available to the rest of your classmates. 4. Transcribe AGB’s March 8 th , 1876 entry into your lab notebook. Be sure to use appropriate on-line citation procedures. 5. Using your own words and diagrams, explain your theory of how this system works. 6. Obtain or develop a list of available materials. 7. Design an experiment with these materials that would replicate the tuning fork experiment. 8. Conduct the experiment. 9. BE SURE TO DOCUMENT EVERYTHING YOU DO IN YOUR NOTEBOOK (and Blog)! 10. Reflect on the successes/failures of experiment. 11. Provide suggestions as to how the experiment could be improved. 12. Design an experiment that would extend this to a voice telephone. Optional: create your own liquid transmitter telephone!

5 Assessment

The primary assessment for this activity will come from the evaluation of the written lab notebook. Actual success in the experiment(s) and the inclusion of a blog might also be considered.

Activity Points Points Po Ass ssi ign ble ed Followed proper notebook format 10 Completed accurate transcription 10 Used proper citation protocol 5 Developed cogent theory 10 Developed appropriate experiment 15 Reflected on experiment 10 Provided useful suggestion for improvement 10 Designed appropriate experiment 10

6 Links to Course Competencies

This activity fits with two Maricopa Community College courses and most of the competencies for each course are applicable: PHY 101 A survey of physics emphasizing applications of physics to modern life. 1. Apply appropriate problem solving techniques to physical phenomena to develop hypotheses, design experiments, collect and analyze data, and to draw inferences from the evidence. 2. Effectively communicate qualitative and quantitative information orally and in writing. 3. Explain historical and current contexts for the principles and applications of physics. 4. Explain the application of fundamental physical principles to various physical phenomena. 5. Estimate realistic values for practical problems. 6. Work effectively in collaborative groups to solve practical and meaningful problems.

PHY 112 Includes electricity, electromagnetism, and modern physics. 1. Effectively communicate qualitative and quantitative information orally and in writing. 2. Explain the application of fundamental physical principles to various physical phenomena. 3. Apply appropriate problem-solving techniques to practical and meaningful problems using graphical, mathematical, and written modeling tools. Work effectively in collaborative groups.

7 Supplementary Resources

History of the telephone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell http://www.att.com/history/inventing.html http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelephone.htm http://www.digitaloutrider.com/html/bell/inventor.html http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/telephone.html http://www.gizmohighway.com/history/telephone.htm

How telephones work: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/telephone.htm http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/learningcenter/articles/displayarticle 1/0,1727,1082z1,00.html http://atcaonline.com/phone/telworks.html

8 Recommendations

As stated in the Procedures section, this RWLO would lend itself well to a collaborative learning activity. Furthermore, the hands-on portion of the experiment should be structured in an inquiry lesson.

If internet resources are not available, the following images can be used: (from Alexander Graham Bell’s laboratory notebook, October 8-10, 1876) pps 34-35 pps 36-37 pps 38-39 pps 40-41 pps 42-43 pps 44-45