Transcript Developing a One-Semester Introductory Laboratory Course

Effects of Integrated Science
Courses on the Physical Sciences
Presented at the Chesapeake Section of the
American Association of Physics Teachers
held at Lynchburg College
11-13 March 2005
by Harold Geller
George Mason University
What I’m Talking About
Honors Program at GMU
General Education Requirements
Integrated Sciences
Physics in Integrated Sciences
The Good
The Bad
The Ugly
Future Hopes
Science in General
Education at George Mason
Program for Alternative General Education
(PAGE)
Incorporation into Honors Program in
General Education
first 2 years
concentrate on interdisciplinary subjects
• “The Honors Program in General Education provides
highly qualified students with an integrated foundation
for their future studies. It consists of a challenging
interdisciplinary curriculum that satisfies general
education requirements for graduation and prepares
students for their majors.”
Standard Approach to Gen Ed
Requirements
Students choose from among natural
science classes with lab
Presented in order of popularity
Biology
Astronomy
Geology
Chemistry
Physics
Apparently the less math, the more popular
Integrated Science
Approach
“Introduce a course that presents a coherent and
clear picture of all science disciplines - an
interdisciplinary approach - which helps students
confirm and calibrate the big picture with the real
world.”
“Interdisciplinary science is an attempt to broaden
and humanize science education by reducing and
breaking down the barriers that enclose tradiational
science disciplines as distinct subjects.”
[Source: Tillery, Enger and Ross (2001) p. xiii]
Why Integrated Sciences?
As early as 1996 the National Research
Council of the National Academy of
Sciences recognized problems with
science literacy in the U.S.
They recommended that the problem may be
addressed by introducing integrated science
courses for non-science majors
i.e. integrated science courses versus single
discipline science courses
Topics in Teaching Physics
within Integrated Science
 Units of length, mass and time, and metric Prefixes
 Density and its units
 The Scientific Method
 Speed, velocity, acceleration
 Forces
 Falling objects, Newton’s Laws of Motion and Gravity
 Work, Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy
 Conservation of Energy, Types/Sources of Energy
 Kinetic Molecular Theory, Temperature and Heat
 Phases of matter and Thermodynamics
 Forces, Vibrations and Wave Motion
 Sound, Waves, Reflection, Refraction, Resonance
 Electricity and Magnetism
A Quick View
Following are samples from Powerpoint
presentations that I use incorporating
material that the publisher (McGraw-Hill)
provided with the textbook (Integrated
Science by Tillery, Enger and Ross)
Question for Thought
A spring clamp exerts a force on a stack of
papers it is holding together. Is the spring
clamp doing work on the papers? Explain.
If the spring clamp does not cause the
paper to move, it is not acting through a
distance and no work is done.
Question for Thought
A lamp bulb is rated 100 Watts. Why is a
time factor not included in the rating?
Because a time factor is in the rating. A
watt is a unit of power, and power is work
per unit time. A 100 W light bulb uses
energy at a rate of 100 J per s.
Question for Thought
Does the person standing motionless in
the aisle of a moving bus have kinetic
energy?
Relative to the bus, the person has no kinetic
energy because the person is at rest relative to
the bus. Relative to the ground, however, the
person does have kinetic energy because the
person is moving with the same speed as the
bus.
Question for Thought
Compare the energy needed to raise a
mass 10 meters on Earth to the energy
needed to raise the same mass 10 meters
on the Moon. Explain the difference, if
any.
 The energy required is less on the moon because the weight of the
object (the downward force due to gravity) depends upon the force
of gravity, which is less on the moon than on the earth. Less energy
is needed to do the work of raising the mass on the moon, and the
elevated object on the moon has less potential energy as a
consequence of the work done.
Question for Thought
What happens to the kinetic energy of a
falling book when the book hits the floor?
The energy is converted to heat and
sound.
Question for Thought
Why are petroleum, natural gas, and coal
called fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels contain energy from plants or
animals that lived millions of years ago. These
plants and animals are known from the fossils
they left behind, and the energy in the fuels
represents energy stored from these ancient
organisms.
Sample Question
A) What is the kinetic energy of a 30.0
gram bullet that is traveling at 200.0
meters per second?
B) What velocity would you have to give a
60.0 gram bullet to give it the same
kinetic energy?
Sample Question
6.
(a)
KE 
1 2
mv
2
2
1
m

 0.0300kg 200.0 

2
s 
2

1
m

 0.0300kg40,000.0 2
2

s 
1
m2
 0.030040, 000.0 kg  2
2
s
kg m
 600 2  m
s
 6.00 102 Nm
 6.00 102 J
Sample Question
(b)
KE 
1 2
mv  v 
2


2KE
m
2600J
0.0600kg
2 600 Nm
0.0600 kg

kg m
m
1,200 s2
0.0600
kg

kg m 2
1
20,000

2
s
kg
m2
 20,000 2
s
m
 141
s
Sample Question
A) How much work is done in raising a
50.0 kilogram crate a distance of 1.5
meters above a storeroom floor?
B) What is the change of potential energy
as a result of this move?
C) How much kinetic energy will the crate
have as it falls and hits the floor?
Sample Question
10. (a)
W  Fd
 m gd
 m
 50.0 kg 9.8 2 1.5 m
 s 
 50.0  9.8  1.5
 735N  m
 740J
kg m
m
2
s
Sample Question
(b)
PE  m gh
 m
 100kg 9.8 2 15m 
 s 
 50.0  9.8  1.5
kg m
m
2
s
 735N  m
 740J
(c) Since the PE lost is equal to the KE gained, then KE = 740 J.
Sample Question
A) What distance will a 10 horsepower
motor lift a 2000 pound elevator in 30.0
seconds?
B) What would be the average velocity of
the elevator during the lift?
Sample Question
16. (a)
P 
m gh

t
h 
Pt
mg
550 ft lb 
s 30.0s
10.0 hp
 1.00hp 



2,000.0s
 82.5ft
(b)
d
v 
t
82.5ft
ft
 v 
 2.75
30.0s
s
Upside
Exposure
All students must learn some physics
Mechanics
Heat
Waves
Sound
Electricity
Magnetism
Downside
Length of time spent on physics
Limited lab time for physics
Use of computer “simulated laboratory experiments”
Limited lecture time for physics
4-weeks in 1-semester version; 8 weeks in 2-semester version
Depth that can be achieved
Little difference from high school physics?
Limited knowledge that most integrated science
teachers have in physics
More News from GMU
The Good and Bad (how’s by you?)
New research building; started construction in 2004
Includes observatory (maybe planetarium?) and labs for
remote sensing and visual technologies
Geology as a department is gone
split into environmental sciences and geography
Biology as a department is gone
split into environmental sciences and molecular and
microbiology
Disappointment with teachers teaching science
There may yet be future physicists
Educators’ View of Science?
A doctoral dissertation (in education) view
of science
“These theories prove that classical science is
oppressive, a dead machine.”
“Einstein’s work seems outdated”
“Scientific results are not predictable and
concrete.”
How does this get through?
What can be done?
Another Loss
Previous students of mine
Started to teach in Fairfax County and Prince
William County, Virginia high schools
Taught Earth Science and Physics
Discipline problems with students
Little teaching - mostly discipline and
administrative
Quit after one or two years of teaching in high
schools
Too many stories like this across country
Advertisement: The GMU Future Research
Building with Observatory/Planetarium(?) and
Center for Earth Observing and Space Research
(opening Spring 2006?)
Whither Physics in General
Education?
Will integrated sciences help or hurt?
Is exposure of students to physics wider?
Is less depth a problem?
Are instructors less experienced in physics?
Perhaps use more than one instructor?
Do individual science courses suffer (student
population wise)?
Is less really more, or is less really less?
Is discipline specific science approach to gen ed best?
Is “critical thinking” and “scientific reasoning” more important
than learning discipline specific facts?