The aim of this study is to compare the effects of three methods: problem-based learning (PBL), PBL with lecture method, and conventional teaching on the understanding of thermodynamics, group work and self-directed learning skills among physics undergraduates. The actual sample size comprises of 122 students, who were selected randomly from the Physics Department, College of Education in Iraq, for academic year 2011-2012. In this study, the pre and posttest were done and the instruments were administered to the students for data collection. Inferential statistics were employed to analyze data. The independent variables were the PBL, the PBL with lecture method, and the conventional teaching. Dependent variables of statistical analysis were

     In this work, lead oxide (PbO) thin films were deposited using D.C. sputtering method on a surface of glass substrates and then thermally annealed at a temperature of 473K with annealing times of (1,2 and 3) hours. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of films were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), FT-IR, and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The structure studies confirmed that PbO films are polycrystalline structures in an orthorhombic phase with average grain size (24.51, 29.64, 46.49, 16) nm with increasing annealing time. From AFM, the roughness of the film surface  (3.26, 1.76, 1.61, 1.79) nm as the film annealing time increases. The optical band gap values of the PbO thin fi

Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) is one of the important dental temporary filing materials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of adding 3, 5 and 7 wt. % of TiO₂ microparticles to conventional GIC powder (Riva Self Cure) on mechanical properties and its effect on absorption and solubility processes. TiO₂ particles additives improved compressive strength and biaxial flexural strength, where the compressive strength increased with increasing in the added ratio, while the highest value of the biaxial flexural strength was at 3 wt.%. The addition of TiO₂ particles improved the surface Vickers microhardness values, with highest value at 5 wt. %. On other hand TiO₂ addition im

In this paper, Zinc oxide were deposited on a glass substrate at room temperature (RT) and two annealing temperatures 350ºC and 500ºC using laser induced plasma technique. ZnO nanofilms of 200nm thickness have been deposited on glass substrate. X-RAY diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy and UV-visible spectrophotometer were used to analyze the results. XRD forms of ZnO nanostructure display hexagonal structure with three recognized peaks (100), (002), and (101) orientations at 500ºC annealing temperature. The optical properties of ZnO nanostructure were determined spectra. The energy gap was 3.1 eV at 300 ^oC and 3.25eV at 500ºC annealing temperature.

The technology of subsurface soil water retention (SWRT) uses a polyethylene trough that is fixed under the root zone of the plant. It is a modern technology to increase the values of water use efficiency, plant productivity and saving irrigation water by applying as little irrigation water as possible. This study work aims at improving the crop yield and water use efficiency of a cucumber plant with less applied irrigation water by installing membrane trough below the soil surface. The field experiment was conducted in the Hawr Rajab District of Baghdad Governorate in Winter 2018 for testing various trickle irrigation systems. Two agricultural treatment plots were utilized in a greenhouse for the comparison. Plot T1 has used a subsurface t

Acrylic polymer/cement nanocomposites in dark and light colors have been developed for coating floors and swimming pools. This work aims to emphasize the effect of cement filling on the mechanical parameters, thermal stability, and wettability of acrylic polymer. The preparation was carried out using the casting method from acrylic polymer coating solution, which was added to cement nanoparticles (65 nm) with weight concentrations of (0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 wt%) to achieve high-quality specifications and good adhesion. Maximum impact strength and Hardness shore A were observed at cement ratios of 2 wt% and 4 wt%, respectively. Changing the filling ratio has a significant effect on the strain of the nanocomposites. The contact angle was i

The   mechanical    properties   of   fiber-reinforced-polymer   (FRP)

composites are dependent on the type amount, and orientation of fiber that is selected for a particular service. There are many commercially available reinforcement forms to meet the design requirements of the user. The ability of failure in the fiber architecture allows for optimized performance of a product that saves both weight and cost ( 12).

A modem technology is adopted to produce fibers (glass, kevelar,

and carbon) reinforced composite by using unsaturated polyester, where different volume fraction  of these fibers are used  (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8,  I)

reinfor