Rick's Office Hours:
Monday 11:00am-11:59am
Thur 2:00-2:45pm and 5:45-6pm in 810
Do you learn by doing, touching, experiencing and observing first hand? Then you're a natural scientist and you're going to love this course!
Maybe you've heard that “physics is hard” or that only “math and science types” should tackle physics. While it is true that physics is challenging at advanced levels (after all, understanding our universe and ourselves are probably mankind's greatest intellectual challenge), you will find that learning how the world works in a lab environment is exciting, fun and much easier than trying to “learn by being told.”
What really makes this course great is that you will be doing real science: hands-on experiments to test your mental models (i.e., your ideas about the way the world works) against reality so you can discard the models that don't work and solidify those that do. To make this learning process work most effectively, I will be asking you in each week's experiments to:
* Use your own ideas to predict in writing what will happen in a given experiment before you actually do it.
* Discuss and compare your predictions and ideas with those of your lab partners.
* Make careful observations when you do an experiment, write down the important details, and compare them with your predictions.
Note that “getting your prediction right” is not necessarily the best outcome of an experiment--in fact, the most interesting experiments are often those in which your observations do not match your predictions. These experiments force you (like all scientists) to seek better models of reality― models that often lead to new insights into your world.
Physics is a Game
Physics is a game. Any number may play. The object of the game is to discover the rules of nature. The playing field is the entire universe. Any device, physical, conceptual, or computational may be used. Players may score points but can never win. The game is never over. Players score points by discovering a Rule of Nature. The greater the number of phenomena explained by a proposed Rule of Nature, the greater the number of points awarded. Bonus points are awarded if the proposed rule predicts previously unobserved, and especially unexpected, phenomena. Any player may challenge any Rule of Nature at any time. All disputes will be settled by experiments, mutually agreed upon by the players. The decisions of Nature, as revealed through experiments, are final. As even Elon Musk has said (whatever his mixed reviews may be...)
"Physics is the Law. Everything else is Just a Recommendation" - Elon Musk
This is my first semester teaching Physics 10 L. The course is designed to be much like the Montessori approach to education. Learn by doing, watching, pondering, making conclusions, testing them, all in an environment with fellow students to share and collaborate to reach answers. We have a different lab each week. The labs have lab sheets filled with questions and activities to help you understand how the laws which govern physical reality work. If you've had friends who have taken Phys 10L before, the activites are essentially identical. I'm changing only one lab - substituting a lab on how the sun looks and behaves - rather than the radioactivity lab taught in the past. Your grade will essentially be your active participation and answers on the lab sheets which you'll work out during the lab. There is no actual homework, except reading from the textbook (Hewitt, from Physics 10. It's available for looking through in the STEM room library) although reading and query'ing other resources is always encouraged. You'll see below the lab sheets for each week, in order, and so you might want to look at reserved material ahead of time. However, the labs are relaxed, and it's very typical that students finish up their lab sheets well ahead of the official end of the class.
I'll start each lab period with a general explanation of the physics of what we're exploring in the lab process, and how to use the equipment to help you with the questions you'll see on the lab sheets. I want your written responses, live, from your actual brain (!). No A.I. is to be used in making your answers. You may discuss what you learn with your lab partners, but your answers must be your own, from what you've learned by pooling and sharing your experience and understandings.
Click on each link below to access the lab question sheet. We'll have prints of these Word files for you to physically write on, handed out at the beginning of each week. You can find these labs linked also on the Cabrillo website, in their original form. I've made small changes, usually very minor, in the versions I'll be giving to you.
Cabrillo Physics 10L Webpage on the Cabrillo Website - the link version was written by Physics instructor Joe McCullough. I don't want to alter the version he would like to retain, so the link just done above is his unaltered lab work kpages. However, I have made mostly minor tweeks to each of these lab write-ups and will allow for more tweeks as we get into it, and so I (Rick) made copies of the labs, again as MS Word files, linked below. It is these below which will be your work sheets each week.
Instructor |
Rick Nolthenius - rinolthe@cabrillo.edu |
Text |
The textbook from the Physics 10 lecture, Hewitt’s Conceptual Physics, offers excellent preparation. You do not need to register for the lecture to take the lab, and you do not need to sign up for the lab to take the lecture. They're independent courses. |
What We Do Each Class |
♦ Lab sessions begin with a review quiz on the previous lab. You may discuss the quiz questions with your friends and use your notes. We review the quizzes right away. ♦ A short lecture and demonstration follows. We show you the equipment and offer ideas. Vital safety information is presented here. ♦ Most of the lab time is spent exploring nature using the equipment provided. Your job is to discover patterns and then make predictions that can be tested. This is science. ♦ You record your process and your observations. We oversee your work during the lab and offer help as needed. Don’t rush. Plan to explore the equipment for the full 3 hours. ♦ Your lab work is for YOU. PLEASE NOTE: There is no substitute for attendance at every lab session. If life requires you to miss a lab, the loss is yours—we cannot offer makeup sessions since the lab set-ups must be changed each week. |
Objectives |
1. Predict the behavior of physical systems based on conceptual models. 2. Make and record careful observations of the behavior of physical systems. 3. Compare the predicted behavior of physical systems with observed behavior and interpret the results. 4. Draw conclusions regarding the validity of conceptual models based on experimental results. |
Content |
Motion Force Chaos Energy Atoms & Fluids Radioactivity Electricity Circuits Magnetism Vibrations, Waves & Resonance Sound & Music Light & Color Reflection & Refraction Heat |
Learning Outcomes |
Investigate physical phenomena experimentally using appropriate equipment and methods, and make valid comparisons with theoretical predictions. |
Week |
Date |
Lab Title |
Reference |
1 |
Jan 29 |
Intro party: Physics is a Game |
Chapter 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
2 |
Feb 5 |
1. Motion |
Chapters 2-4 |
3 |
Feb 12 |
2. Newton’s Laws & Chaos |
Chapters 4, 5 |
4 |
Feb 19 |
3. Energy & Power |
Chapter 7 |
5 |
Feb 26 |
4. Fluids |
Chapters 11, 14 |
6 |
Mar 5 |
5. Radioactivity |
Chapter 31, 32 |
7 |
Mar 12 |
6. Electricity |
Chapter 22 |
8 |
Mar 19 |
7. Circuits |
Chapter 23 |
Mar 25 |
* * * SPRING BREAK * * * |
||
9 |
Apr 2 |
8. Magnetism |
Chapter 24 |
10 |
Apr 9 |
9. Vibrations, Waves & Resonance |
Chapter 19 |
11 |
Apr 16 |
10. Sound & Music |
Chapters 20 |
12 |
Apr 23 |
11. Light & Color |
Chapters 26, 27 |
13 |
Apr 30 |
12. Reflection & Refraction |
Chapter 28 |
14 |
May 7 |
13. Heat |
Chapter 15-19 |
15 |
May 14 |
Final Lab *** Extra fun adventures |
*** Party !! |
Chapter references below are to Conceptual Physics by Paul G Hewitt, 13th Edition. Other editions may be substituted, but the chapter numbers may be different.
Aug 27 - Lab 0 (for the first week) - use the law of reflection to figure out the shape of a hidden object using beebees like in a particle accelerator! - Hewitt Ch 1
Sept 3 - Lab 1 - Linear Motion and Freefall - Hewitt Ch 2-4
Sept 10 - Lab 2 - Newton's Laws of Motion and Forces - Hewitt Ch 4,5
Sept 17 - Lab 3 - Energy and Power - Hewitt Ch 7
Sept 24 - Lab 4 - Pressure and Fluids - Hewitt Ch 11,14
Oct 1 - Lab 5 - Radioactivity - Hewitt Ch 31,32
Oct 8 - Lab 6 - Electricity - Hewitt Ch 22
Oct 15 - Lab 7 - Circuits - Hewitt Ch 23
Oct 22 - Lab 8 - Magnetism - Hewitt Ch 24
Oct 29 -Lab 9 - Vibration: Waves and Resonance - Hewitt Ch 19
Nov 5 -Lab 10 - Sound and Music - Hewitt Ch 20
Nov 12 - Lab 11 - Light and Color - Hewitt Ch 26, 27
Nov 19 - Lab 12 - Reflection and Refraction - Hewitt Ch 28
Nov 26 - Thanksgiving holiday
Dec 3 - Lab 13 - Thermodynamics; the flow of Heat - Hewitt Ch 15-19
Dec 10 - finals week, bring pot luck and let's party!