Fösel A, Hager F (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Book Volume: 61
Journal Issue: 5
URI: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6552/ae99c3
Open Access Link: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6552/ae99c3
Ultrasonic distance sensors are widely used in school experiments and technical applications based on time-of-flight measurements. However, the influence of surface orientation on echo detection is rarely addressed experimentally, despite playing a crucial role in real-world acoustic systems. This article introduces a classroom experimental model set in an authentic and socially relevant real-world context: bat echolocation in urban environments. Smooth, vertical glass façades can suppress ultrasonic echoes during oblique approaches, potentially leading to fatal collisions. This scenario enables context-based physics learning by connecting geometric reflection principles to phenomena directly linked to students’ everyday environments. The presented setup, based on an Arduino and an HC-SR04 sensor, deliberately reduces the complex real-world phenomenon to its essential geometric mechanism. This reduction allows for a phenomenon-based and model-oriented investigation of ultrasonic reflection. The experiment is specifically designed for the lower secondary level, providing age-appropriate cognitive stimulation through a controllable and reproducible setup. Due to its low-cost and easily accessible components, the model offers a low-threshold opportunity for classroom implementation. It thus combines authentic framing, conceptual clarity, and practical feasibility, contributing to context-based physics education in secondary school settings.
APA:
Fösel, A., & Hager, F. (2026). Investigating ultrasonic reflection at perpendicular and oblique incidence: a context-based classroom model for understanding urban bat collisions. Physics Education, 61(5). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ae99c3
MLA:
Fösel, Angela, and Fiona Hager. "Investigating ultrasonic reflection at perpendicular and oblique incidence: a context-based classroom model for understanding urban bat collisions." Physics Education 61.5 (2026).
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