PHYSICS

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Physics is a laboratory course involving the scientific investigation of physical phenomena such as forces and motion, heat, sound, light, and electricity. A course in physics will give all students a conceptual understanding of physical events and will include opportunities to apply mathematical skills to solve problems for those students who are prepared to do so. The laboratory time will be used to develop concepts and understanding rather than as a means of verifying authoritative statements.

Critical Components

To satisfy the state graduation requirement, a physics course should deal significantly with:

I. Physics as an Ongoing Process of Improving Our Understanding of the Physical World
II. The Application of Physics in Resolving Personal and Technological Problems in Our Society
III. Physics as a Part of Our Culture
IV. Fundamental and Unifying Principles Common Throughout all the Topics in Physics
V. Problem Solving Skills
VI. Quantitative Laboratory Skills

These critical skills should be an integral part of the course and not treated as isolated topics. They can be taught via the topics listed in the last section of this document, titled: Topics in Physics.

I. Physics as an Ongoing Process of Improving Our Understanding of the Physical World

A. Goal:

Students will recognize that our understanding of physical processes is always tentative and subject to critical review and revision.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Develop criteria for evaluating the validity of physical theories and for distinguishing them from opinions.

2. Be able to explain the role of verification in science.

3. Recognize that scientific theories are based upon human interpretations of observable evidence.

4. Distinguish between observation and inference.

5. Be able to cite examples of change in our understanding of physical phenomena.

6. Be able to pose alternative interpretations of physical events.

II. The Application of Physics in Resolving Personal and Technological Problems in Our Society

A.    Goal:

Students will demonstrate an understanding of how physics contributes to the solution of current problems.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Recognize careers which rely on an understanding of physics.

2. Know that an understanding of physics can enhance one's understanding of other topics such as sports, medicine, art, music, architecture, and history.

3. Be able to cite examples of physics principles applied to technological problems.

III. Physics as a Part of Our Culture

A. Goal:

Students will realize that physics is a significant part of our culture.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Recognize that physics has aesthetic as well as practical value.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of how advancements in physics influence economic development.

3. Understand that governmental policies affect the direction and progress of physics and that the activities of physicists affect governmental policies.

4. Realize that rapid accumulation of scientific technical knowledge can create serious problems when society accepts new developments without anticipating the consequences.

5. Demonstrate an awareness of the role of physics in art, music, literature, and contemporary culture.

6. Know some facts pertaining to the role of physics and physics in the history and development of our culture.

IV. The Fundamental and Unifying Principles Common Throughout all the Topics in Physics

A. Goal:

Students will demonstrate that, as a result of their consideration of a variety of topics in physics, they have developed an understanding of the following principles in physics:

1. The relationship between forces and motion.

2. The application of conservation principles.

3. The interpretation of certain phenomena as waves.

4. The understanding of action at a distance as evidence of fields.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Make correct statements about the forces (including contact, gravitational, electric, and magnetic) acting on an object when given a description of the object's motion and vice-versa.

2. Be able to correctly describe conserved quantities (including momentum, energy, charge, and mass) during interactions.

3. Identify wave-like phenomena and their properties (including interference, diffractions, etc.) and discuss their similarities and differences.

4. Use popular (vernacular) terms such as force, pressure, velocity, work, energy, inertia, momentum, etc., with increased precision as a result of their increased understanding of the physics concepts described by these terms.

5. Be able to discuss different actions at a distance, such as gravity and magnetism as evidence for the existence of fields.

V. Problem Solving Skills

A. Goal:

Students will demonstrate an organized approach to solving problems in physics which can be generalized to approach problems in all phases of life.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Describe the problem: i.e., make a list of what is given, identity what is the desired unknown, and make a suitable diagram.

2. Be able to identity and state the physical principles involved in the problem.

3. Convert the physics principles to a mathematical expression.

4. Apply the mathematical expression of the physics principles to the problem at hand. This may include algebra and/or trigonometry as appropriate.

5. Identity the answer and judge it to be expressed in the right units and whether or not it is a reasonable result.

6. Write unit labels with all physical quantities and carry the units through any calculations.

VI. Quantitative Laboratory Skills

A. Goal:

Students will demonstrate the ability to use the quantitative laboratory skills associated with scientific investigation in physics.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Be able to directly measure and record in correct SI units: Distance, time, mass, temperature, volume and area.

2. Be able to make indirect measurements and record in correct SI units physical quantities such as force, voltage, amperage, electrical resistance, velocity, acceleration, energy, momentum.

3. Plot ordered pairs of data on a graph suitable for later analysis according to conventions established by the instructor.

4. Determine and draw the best single straight line or smooth curve for a set of plotted points.

5. Make predictions or inferences from the graph.

6. Keep clear and complete records of all laboratory data and calculations.

7. Analyze experimental processes to determine possible sources of experimental error.