General Physics Curriculum
Last modification July 31, 2008 5:05 PM by Adrian O'Keefe
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Department Mission
Our mission is to teach students the scientific method so they can understand modern scientific descriptions of the universe and come to objective conclusions about the natural world. Like all members of the SI community we aim to educate the whole person, emphasizing the academic, extracurricular, and spiritual development of our students.
We would like to see graduates of SI ...
- knowledgeable about a broad range of scientific topics
- confident and proficient in the use of the scientific method
- able to use core science knowledge to assimilate new ideas and discoveries
- aware and appreciative of the universe and its inhabitants
- effectively able to communicate scientific principles, theories, and historical discoveries
- comfortable with laboratory techniques and experimental apparatus
- conscious of the environmental and ethical consequences of scientific progress
- dedicated to acting as a "person for others" in accordance with Catholic faith, Jesuit tradition and our school's mission
- well prepared for future study in any academic discipline
- ... and eager to continue to enjoy, learn about, and practice science throughout their life.
To this end, we strongly advise students to take all three of our core classes (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) as well as a 4th year elective course.
Course Outcomes
Wiggins and McTighe describe four criteria which “serve as filters to select ideas to teach for understanding. The idea, topic, or process (1) represents a big idea with enduring value beyond the classroom, (2) resides at the heart of the discipline, the ’doing’ of the subject in context, (3) requires uncoverage, and (4) offers potential for engaging students.” One can also ask: suppose in twenty years our students have forgotten specific pieces of content -- what should they remember?
Course-wide topics for enduring understanding
- Physics is the study of the most fundamental laws of nature. Physicsts are concerned with the behavior of the universe and its constituents ranging from the smallest subatomic particles up to enormous galaxy clusters.
- Physics is an experimental science, meaning that all theories -- no matter how elegant -- can be rejected if in conflict with the results of a single experiment. To quote Karl Popper: "Science may be described as the art of systematic over-simplification...In so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable; and in so far as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality."
- Physicists should "get their hands dirty." Laboratory work allows us to interact with the world in a simplified, controlled way. There is a place for calculations and abstract mathematical manipulation, but this kind of effort should lead to a deeper understanding of the real world.
- As important as the content of physics is the method: students with a physics education are expected to repeatedly ask and answer the fundamental question 'How do we know?'. Physics is not a dogmatic discipline: everything is up for grabs.
- Physics is more than just the memorization of content: it is a framework for understanding the world as it is. To quote Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman: "You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing — that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."
- The rational world-view taught in a physics class will be more important to our students in their future lives than any specific course content.
Wiggins and McTighe describe essential questions that “(1) have no one obvious right answer, (2) raise other important questions, often across subject-area boundaries, (3) address the philosophical or conceptual foundations of a discipline, (4) recur naturally, and (5) are framed to provoke and sustain student interest.” What questions might our students still be grappling with twenty years from now?
Course-wide essential questions
- Galileo Galilei once said "Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe." Some modern physicists are proposing that the universe is "made of mathematical equations." Is it true? Is the universe made of math?
- Are all the physical laws in the universe potentially understandable by humans? In other words: dogs will never understand algebra; is there some theory out there we ourselves could never understand? Or is the scientific method sufficient to understand everything we want?
- Will physicists announce a complete "theory of everything" in your lifetime?
- Is there more than one complete, consistent description of the laws of physics? Could an alien civilization create laws of physics as good as ours at describing the behavior of the world but which is fundamentally different in its approach? Do we ourselves work with more than one set of separate & consistent laws of physics?
- Is there a "center" of the universe, or any absolute reference frame or priveleged position?
- How predictable is nature? Are unpredictable events simply too complex, or does nature exhibit fundamentally random behavior?
Important resources
- Matt Stecher's Course Outline & Lesson Plans
The People's Physics Book (this is the course textbook for Honors Physics at SI) -
Physics Laboratories -
California state physics standards (for comparison) -
Conceptual Physics 9th Edition by Paul Hewitt / 8th / 7th (this is a recommended text for the course) - The Cartoon Guide to Physics
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YouTube: SI Physics (please add your own physics-related videos) - Understanding by Design (this is the design method for this curriculum)
Course Framework
The course consists of 6 core units & 4 optional units. An additional "Methodology" section frames the entire course and applies to all units.
- Core Units -- these units are taught in all general physics classes. Typically, core units are taught in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th quarters.
- Optional Units -- these are taught at the discretion of the instructors of the course depending on time, resources, student interest, etc. Typically, optional units are taught during the 3rd quarter.
Simple Harmonic Motion & Sound Waves
Topics
- We will study the ways in which the analysis of motion invented by Galileo allows us to deeply understand everyday experience. At the same time we’ll learn the vital skills needed for problem solving: a clear understanding of the question being asked; an interest in drawing sketches & making notes whenever they are needed; the ability to perform proper unit analysis; and familiarity with basic algebra and trigonometry.
- We also set the tone for the manner in which the class will be taught. A variety of novel experiences we associate with high school physics – the physics demo, the hand-waving derivation, “two trains approach each other” problems – are introduced in this early unit.
Questions
- What is physics?
- How do math and physics relate to one another? How are conceptual physical ideas translated into the language of math?
- How do we understand motion in our universe? How is the “Galilean” idea of motion – concentrating on position, velocity, acceleration, and important acts of observation & measurement – better than the one our naïve experience has taught us?
- What is a ‘dimension’ – how can we tell we live in three dimensions? How do the dimensions communicate with each other? Is time a dimension?
- What is the procedure for studying physics? How do I approach lectures, labs, problem sets, reading assignments, and exams so I end up understanding everything and achieving a good grade?
Knowledge and Skills
Performance Tasks
Newtonian's Laws of Motion & Gravity
Topics
- A physicist sees everyday motion as understandable and predictable. He or she also knows that the Galilean and Newtonian ideas of motion are exceptionally accurate in predicting what is happening in most of the universe. In this unit, we explore the central notion that acceleration is caused by forces and resisted by mass. Underlying our study is the space-time concept of the inertial frame.
Questions
- What gives rise to motion?
- How are Newton's Laws of motion better than the what our naïve experience has taught us?
- How can we say what is moving and what is not? How can we feel that we are not moving, but at the same time know we are rotating about the Earth, orbiting the Sun, and flying through the Milky Way galaxy? Is there an "absolute" frame of reference from which we measure all motion?
- Why do things fall? Why do only some things break when they hit the ground? How can a bird fly? How does my heart pump blood through my veins?
- What does it mean to be in orbit? How do satellites orbit planets and how do planets orbit the Sun?
- Are Newton’s Laws “right” in the sense that they actually exist in the universe, or are they just a useful description? Is there such a thing as physical law, or physical truth?
Knowledge and Skills
Performance Tasks
Topics
- “You can’t get something for nothing.” There are things in the universe that seem to stay the same no matter what happens. We study two of these “conserved quantities” in this unit. One is a simple number – the total amount of energy in an isolated system. The other is a vector quantity – the total momentum of an isolated system.
Questions
- What is energy? How many different forms can it come in? Are there more efficient and less efficient ways of transforming energy from one type to another?
- Why is energy conserved? Who says? Are there any branches of physics where the law of conservation of energy seems to be violated?
- What is momentum? Do all things have momentum? Does the momentum of something depend on your inertial frame?
- Why is momentum conserved? Who says? Are there any examples of violation of this law?
- How, specifically, can I use energy and momentum conservation to my advantage when solving physics problems? Under what conditions is a conservation approach preferable to a Newtonian approach?
- How do we describe motion? Why do we have two ‘kinds’ of motion: kinetic energy and momentum? Why use a scalar and a vector, at different times, to describe motion?
- Does energy “really” exist or is it some kind of accounting system with no actual attachment to the real world other than its usefulness?
Knowledge and skills
Performance tasks
Topics
- Of the four fundamental forces, the most important (and strongest) in our everyday lives is the electrostatic force. This is the mutual repulsion and attraction of subatomic particles. We feel this force whenever we attempt to put one solid object through another.
- Most macroscopic objects (like a table) are electrically neutral, but only because huge numbers of positive and negative electric charges are in balance.
- Electric forces bind electrons to protons to form atoms, bind atoms together to form molecules, and bind molecules together to form solids and liquids.
- In this unit, we also introduce the abstract concepts of vector and scalar fields, which are important for further study in this domain.
Questions
- How does matter hold itself together? Why can’t I pass my hand through a table?
- What is electric charge? Is it something an object “obtains” or is it more fundamental?
- Why do mathematical models work so well in describing the physics of electricity?
- How can I produce a large electric spark? To what uses can I put this spark?
- How is electricity stored?
Knowledge and skills
Performance tasks
Topics
- The motions of charged particles give rise to magnetic fields. These fields can, in turn, affect the motion of charged particles. The tiny, aligned motion of electrons within atoms can generate macroscopic magnetic fields.
- Magnetism bears a special relationship to electricity. Changing electric fields give rise to magnetic fields, while changing magnetic fields give rise to electric fields.
- A wave (or quantum, really) of mutually inducing electric and magnetic fields is called a light wave.
- Electric motors convert electricity into motion; electric generators to the opposite; both rely on the principle of electromagnetic induction.
Questions
- Why are some objects magnetic and others are not?
- What is the relationship between magnetism and electricity? Are they just two different aspects of a single entity?
- How can I harness electricity to make a useful, moving object?
- How can I harness motion (or other forms of energy) to make electricity?
- What is the nature of light? If light is a wave, what exactly is waving?
Knowledge and skills
Performance Tasks
Topics
- Electric circuits are practical applications of the theory of electricity and magnetism developed in the previous two units. A source of electric potential generates a current through objects that depends on their electrical resistance.
- DC circuits can be analyzed by breaking them into idealized components: voltage sources, current sources, resistors and capacitors. AC circuits display different behavior.
- The power dissipated in a resistive light bulb is related to its brightness, thus one can learn about simple circuits by studying bulb-and-switch circuits.
Questions
- How is electricity generated, transferred, and employed to do useful work?
- Under what circumstances am I safe from electric shock? How do I determine how dangerous a circuit is? What is a safe way to experiment with live circuits?
- What principles should I use to analyze complex circuits? If I find myself faced with an electric circuit, how can I reduce its complexity?
Knowledge and skills
Performance Tasks
Topics
- Until now, the class has focused on the physics of solid objects. We aim to extend this understanding to the physics of liquids and gases – fluids. We have to move our attention from individual things to large collections of things. We will study fluid mechanics (fluids at rest) and fluid dynamics (fluids in motion). We will study the practical applications, including engines that convert thermal energy to useful work and refrigerators wherein work can be done to reduce temperature.
Questions
- What is matter and how are solids, liquids, and gases similar and different?
- How do things float? Why does putting helium in a balloon make it buoyant? How can a submarine control its depth?
- How can we extract random thermal energy and use it to do work? That is, how do engines work?
- How do refrigerators and air conditioners work? How can we do work on something in order to change its thermal energy?
- How can an airplane fly? What properties of a wing allow it to do so?
Knowledge and Skills
Performance Tasks
Simple Harmonic Motion and Sound Waves
Topics
- Oscillatory (back-and-forth) motion helps to explain much of what we see, hear, and feel. A familiar example is ocean waves. It is important to realize that waves are not ‘things’ like electrons or cars. Waves are oscillatory phenomena; when sound or water waves carry energy from one place to another, it is not necessary that any matter moves between these locations.
- In this unit we’ll study, in depth, the motion of sound waves after building some conceptual experience using ropes, pipes, springs, and water.
Questions
- What is a wave?
- When a water wave travels through a pool, how does the water itself move?
- How does the study of wave motion relate to our previous study of Newton’s Laws and the conservation laws?
- How can we tell that something (like sound) is a wave if it is invisible, or too small for us to see?
- How can we predict how an object can resonate, and to what uses can we put its resonance?
- How do musical instruments work? What’s the difference between a woodwind and stringed instrument?
Knowledge and skills
Performance tasks
Topics
Questions
- What is light? How does it relate to energy and waves?
- In what ways does light behave like a wave? In what ways does light behave like a particle?
- How is one color of light different from another color of light?
- How are radio waves, x-rays, and UV rays similar to and different from visible light?
- How does a laser work? What’s the difference between regular light from a light bulb and laser light?
- How does my reflection in a mirror (or image through a lens) depend on the shape of the mirror (or lens)? How do I design a mirror or lens system that magnifies something so I can study it in more detail?
Knowledge and skills
Performance tasks
Topics
- Despite the variety we see in our everyday lives, only four fundamental forces dominate the universe: gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. These forces and the fundamental particles that experience them follow the seemingly bizarre rules of quantum mechanics.
- Scientific research into the nature of the atom has led to a profoundly dangerous world-wide proliferation of nuclear weapons. Physics has therefore become a political and moral, as well as scientific, subject of study.
Questions
- What is matter? How can matter have both wave and particle properties? How can energy have both wave and particle properties?
- Is there an objective reality?
- How are matter and energy related?
- How does the sun shine? How do nuclear weapons and reactors work?
- Can science harness the power unleashed by study of the nucleus without risking the destruction of civilization?
- How will the Standard Model be modified or scrapped in the future? What theories will dominate 21st century physics? String theory? Something totally new?
Knowledge and skills
- By the end of this unit, students will be able to
- By the end of this unit, students will understand that
- By the end of this unit, students will be familiar with the following vocabulary words
Performance tasks
Instructional methodology
- Instructors will use a variety of methods in order to achieve the highest and broadest possible understanding among the students. The methods can include, but are not limited to: standard lecture, problem set assignments, standard quizzes and exams, discovery and formal laboratory exercises, long and short-term projects, multimedia presentations, computer simulation, demonstrations, one-on-one instruction, peer instruction, “studio”-based instruction, and “Modeling” of the sort David Hestenes has promoted at Arizona State University.
- It is understood that physics needs to be fun, approachable, and interesting. Instructors will, from time to time, share new discoveries, old ideas, and stories that capture the history, mood, and excitement we associate with natural science.
- Instructors will deal head-on with student’s alternative conceptions of physics. As Randy Knight points out in his excellent book Five Easy Lessons,
“Students enter our classroom not as ‘blank slates,’ tabula rasa, but filled with many prior concepts…. Student’s concepts are rather muddled, not well differentiated, and contain unrecognized inconsistencies. By the standards of physics, their concepts are mostly wrong.” “Students’ prior concepts are remarkably resistant to change. Conventional instruction – lecture classes, homework, and exams that are predominately or exclusively quantitative – makes almost no change in a student’s conceptual beliefs.”
Knight’s solution is to follow the Five Easy Lessons: (paraphrased here)
- Keep students actively engaged and provide rapid feedback. A short list of active engagement methods includes interactive lecture demonstrations, nearest neighbor discussion activities, collaborative group activities, computer-based laboratories or other guided-discovery laboratories, and take-home experiments.
- Focus on phenomena rather than abstractions. Use experiential labs. Work inductively, from the concrete to the abstract. Ask the questions “How do we know …?” and “Why do we believe … ?”.
- Deal explicitly with students’ alternative conceptions. Students have to recognize and accept that there really is a conflict between their wrong predictions and reality. Left to themselves, many students will brush the conflict aside as of no relevance.
- Teach and use explicit problem-solving skills and strategies. These include interpretation, pictorial, graphical, and reasoning skills. Make explicit the assumptions, decisions, and reasoning that are part of an expert’s problem-solving strategy but which usually go unsaid.
- Write homework and exam problems that go beyond symbol manipulation to engage students in the qualitative and conceptual analysis of physical phenomena. Balance qualitative and quantitative reasoning. Emphasize reasoning, de-emphasize formulas and equations. Deal directly with phenomena and observations. Derivations have little efficacy for students at this level.
Common methodologies between general physics sections
- Instructors within general physics will agree to make a good faith attempt towards standard usage (for names, variables, quantities, and sign conventions) and codify this usage within this curriculum document.
- Instructors will demonstrate the importance of unit analysis, unit definitions, and unit cancellation throughout the course.
- Instructors within general physics will make a good faith attempt towards common exam outcomes with content that is varied between periods. One strategy is a system in which a common test bank will be agreed upon at the start of the unit and exam problems will be selected from this bank at random at the end of the unit.
- Instructors will conduct yearly blind studies of student progress through internal assessments as well as external assessments designed in the physics education research community, and make adjustments to the curriculum and instructional methodology based on the results of these assessments.
In their Understanding by Design Handbook, Wiggins and McTighe describe quizzes and tests as “simple, content-focused questions that assess for factual information, concepts, and discrete skills.” Academic prompts are “open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically, not just recall knowledge, and to prepare a response, product, or performance … under school exam conditions.”
Quizzes, Tests, and Prompts
- Students will be provided with a sheet that lists the important equations. This serves to emphasize to the student that knowledge of equations is not sufficient for understanding physics. For practicing scientists, memorization of equations happens naturally through use.
- Students will be given weekly or biweekly quizzes based on homework-type problems.
- Weekly quizzes and unit and midterm exams will include a variety of question cues in the vein of Bloom’s Taxonomy:
- Knowledge: list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc.
- Comprehension: summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend
- Application: apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover
- Analysis: analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer
- Synthesis: combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what if?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite
- Evaluation: assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize
- Homework problems, weekly quizzes, and unit and midterm exams will include a mix of pictorial and written representations of problems; multiple choice, short answer, and free response problems; written answers involving no equations and complex equation-based solutions; and laboratory-based questions involving error analysis
- Students will be asked to make predictions, hypotheses, measurements, and analyses in the laboratory. Some laboratories will be informal (or ‘guided discovery’-based). At least one laboratory exercise in each quarter will emphasize error estimation and written report skills.
- Homework assignments may or may not be collected and/or graded. Students will be provided with examples of excellent work.
- At least part of each test will require mathematical sophistication appropriate to the math prerequisites. Examples include using right-triangles or SOH-CAH-TOA to break a vector into x and y components; solving systems of two equations and two unknowns; using exponential, logarithmic, or trigonometric functions; converting units with multiple steps; solving a problem purely symbolically, with no reference to numerical values; sketching curves, drawing best-fit curves, and properly labeling x and y axes; and/or using scaling relationships and functional forms to predict ratios (i.e., using the inverse-square law to predict that at three times the distance, the force is nine times smaller.)
Bibliography
The Understanding by Design Handbook, by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (1999)
Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching, by Randall Knight, published by Addison Wesley (2004).
Particle Data Group website: http://www.particleadventure.org