Because Bernoulli's principle is illustrated in museums all over the world yet is a conceptually challenging topic to grasp, we hypothesized that the addition of AR could help visitors build better knowledge of the science behind the floating ball.
In this study, we examine how the digital augmentations in "Bernoulli Blower" can serve as a scaffold for learning about Bernoulli's principle. Briefly, the exhibit features a physical plastic ball that is able to float in midair because it is caught between the fast moving air coming from a blower attached to the exhibit and the slow moving air in the room.
Two qualitative data sets were collected, coded, and analyzed to determine how AR impacted students' conceptual knowledge of Bernoulli's principle.
The fourth MC question could be considered a far-transfer question, as it asked students to select a real-world situation that illustrated Bernoulli's principle. The OE response question depicted a similarly constructed device using common household materials and asked, Why do you think the plastic ball floats in the stream of fast-moving air?
These responses demonstrate the affordances of the AR as well as students' ability to acquire an accurate understanding of how Bernoulli's principle works in the brief time they were exposed to the exhibit during their museum visit.
From the interviews, we can see clear evidence of students' reasoning accurately about the inverse relationship between fluid speed and pressure in Bernoulli's principle (Hewitt, 2004)--they recognized that slower moving air has higher pressure and faster moving air has lower pressure.
Demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle with this link: http://adamone.
Use the "wing on a string" as an instructional tool to demonstrate the concepts related to Bernoulli's Principle.
Have the students explain in their own words (and with a diagram) how Bernoulli's Principle helps create lift on an airfoil.