Physics: The First Science

Additional Notes, Primarily for the Instructor

Additional Notes, Primarily for the Instructor We want to change the way physics is taught and the way it is perceived. We think there is too much rote learning, too many formulas, with too little thought, meaning, and overview. There are too many problems that have no existence outside the elementary physics class, too many that are more like games that the instructors like to play than searching investigations . We want students to see the subject as a vital part of their world, and as a foundation for all of the sciences. Physics: The First Science is an algebrabased text that is both research based and different from the many textbooks that are currently available. Our book is less than half as long as the tomes that have become the norm, and correspondingly less expensive. It is designed to be read by the students, we hope with interest, and even with pleasure. We would like the students to think of it as contributing to their learning and outlook in an important way, and to remember it long after the course has ended. The book is supported by the website rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/physics.html. It allows us to post comments, additional material, and corrections, as well as answers and solutions to some of the questions and problems. We hope that our book will lead to new patterns of teaching. The best courses are transforming experiences. We want to help to create such a course, where the student’s view of the world is enriched by a new awareness and understanding of its phenomena. Some cherished topics are not there. In particular , we have tried to leave out problems that might be called “puzzles.” We believe that the teaching of physics should be clear and direct, and we have made great efforts to keep it so. The topics follow the usual sequence reasonably closely, but we have approached them with a fresh mind, asking ourselves why each is included and how it should be presented. Most topics are there because we think of them as fundamental physics; sometimes because of their importance for technology, their societal relevance, or their historical significance; occasionally we add something that we find beautiful and illuminating, or fun and surprising. MCAT Many of the students will want to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). According to the website of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which administers the test, it not only asks for mastery of basic concepts in subjects including physics, but also “assesses capacity for problem solving and critical thinking ”, and “evaluates your ability to understand, evaluate and apply information and arguments presented in prose style.” We have kept the requirements of the test in mind, and believe that our text provides excellent preparation for it. Examples and end-of-chapter material The worked examples are an essential part of the reading. They are part of the story line and can’t be skipped. They are linked to the Guided Review at the end of the chapter, which consists of problems that are alternate versions or minor extensions of the examples. They are fairly simple to do if you read and work through the examples. In that way the Guided Review really forces the student to take the examples and the associated sections of the book seriously . It guides the students’ reading and helps them focus on the important concepts. The Guided Review was a very popular feature with the students of the class in which the text was tested. The end-of-chapter material includes questions beyond the Guided Review in sections called “Problems and reasoning skill building,” xii / Additional Notes, Primarily for the Instructor “Multiple choice questions,” and “Synthesis problems and projects.” These sections provide plenty of practice. Some of the questions also require thought and creativity well beyond the typical array found in most textbooks and test banks. Note that all quantities in the examples and problems are assumed to be known to three significant figures unless otherwise noted. Many simulations are incorporated in the text, as examples, as parts of the development, and in the end-of-chapter questions. They provide an excellent way to bring the concepts to life. They were produced by the PhET (Physics Education Technology) project at the University of Colorado, initiated by Carl Wieman, a physicist who decided to devote himself to education after winning the Nobel Prize for his work on atomic physics. Accessing the simulations is quite straightforward, but the...