UC Merced

This dissertation consists of three distinct projects: optical trapping, parametrically-driven oscillator, and physics education research. We trapped trap poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microspheres using radiation pressure forces when the refractive index ratio between the particles and the liquid medium suspending them was nearly one. This contrast resulted in a unique trapping landscape which was verified through our simulations. In the case of our parametrically oscillating pendulum, we modulated a parameter of the system, in this case the length of the pendulum, which gave rise to an instability which gradually increased the total energy of the oscillating pendulum. This system is an upper-level undergraduate laboratory experiment, where students would explore mechanical parametric oscillations and extract key linear pendulum features, such as the damping constant and the quality factor, and nonlinear dynamical features, such as frequency shifts and bistability. In the physics education research, I tested whether students would improve their ability to understand the material in the first semester of general physics (the majority of which are related to forces) if they were constantly required to develop robust solutions with low-stakes assignments. The results presented show that a positive correlation existed between implementing class presentations where students are required to solve problems robustly in groups and with both low and high stakes assignments.