A New Algebra-Based Introductory Physics Curriculum

Beth Ann Thacker

Physics Department

Texas Tech University

The student population:

• High percentage intend future careers in the health sciences (may major in biology, English or zoology)

• Highly motivated

The student population:

• High percentage intend future careers in the health sciences (may major in biology, english or zoology)

• Highly motivated(to make A’s)

The student population:

• High percentage intend future careers in the health sciences (may major in biology, English or zoology)

• Highly motivated (to make A’s)

• ~ 50% female, 50% male

• Many have poor mathematical skills

Very little attention has been paid to the needs (physics content) of these students –

What physics topics will be useful to them in their future careers?

Why do they need to learn physics?

“Workshop Physics with Health Science Applications”

NSF grant to “redesign” Workshop Physics for this population by taking into account their learning needs (math skills, learning styles, context…)

It is a major redesign,

• not just teaching the physics in a standard manner and adding some homework or other problems that relate the topic to the human body, but learning the physics in the context of experiments that have to do with human motion and other topics of interest to these students

• not just removing the calculus

As a first attempt…

I wrote Physics by Inquiry1 for these students

1Lillian C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, “Physics by Inquiry,” John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.

• Students develop concepts based on experimentation

• Materials are on the computer (no text)

Suppose you had an object that had a positive charge of 100C. For the following questions we will use the following formula: F=(KQ1Q2)/r2

a. If there were an object with 5C of charge 5m away from the 100C object, what would be the magnitude of the force that object would experience? What value do you get, if you divide the magnitude of the force the object experiences by the charge of the object? The magnitude of the force would be 1.8 x1011. If we divided the magnitude of the force by the charge of the 5C object we get 3.6 x1010.

b. If there were an object with 15C of charge 5m away from the 100C object, what would be the magnitude of the force that object would experience? What value do you get, if you divide the magnitude of the force the object experiences by the charge of the object? The new magnitude of the force would be 5.4 x1011. Then if we again divide the force by the charge of the 15C object we get 3.6 x1010. c. If there were an object with 1C of charge 5m away from the 100C object, what would be the magnitude of the force that object would experience? What value do you get, if you divide the magnitude of the force the object experiences by the charge of the object?F= 3.6 x1010 and this force divided by the 1C charge is 3.6 x1010.

d. If there were an object with 20C of charge 10m away from the 100C object, what would be the magnitude of the force that object would experience? What value do you get, if you divide the magnitude of the force the object experiences by the charge of the object?F= 1.8 x1011 and this force divided by the 20C charge is 9.0 x109. e. If there were an object with 4C of charge 10m away from the 100C object, what would be the magnitude of the force that object would experience? What value do you get, if you divide the magnitude of the force the object experiences by the charge of the object?F= 3.6 x1010 and this force divided by the 4C is 9.0 x109.

h. Add the results for an object with 10C of charge at 15m from the 100C object. Predict the results for the magnitude of the force on the object divided by the magnitude of the charge of the object for a 2C charge at the same distance.F= 4.0 x1010 We predict that the force divided by the charge of the object for 2C charge at the same distance would be 4.0 x1010. We made this prediction because we noticed that no mater what the charge is, at a given distance the force divided by the charge will always be the same. i. What observations can you make about the magnitude of the force on the object divided by the magnitude of the charge of the object?As we stated above, we noticed that no matter the charge, for a given distance, the force divided by charge would be constant.

Obtain an EKG sensor, EKG electrodes, and a LabPro computer interface. Open the LoggerPro software. Under File select Open, then select Probes and Sensors, then select EKG sensor and then select EKG sensor again. You may also want to use the EKG strip chart selection. Follow the direction on page 5 of the EKG instructions for connecting the EKG sensors to a person. Record the EKG for each person in your group. Save your EKG to a file, so you can print it out.  c. Go back the EM Field program and set up the electric dipole as in part a. Then try to move the charges in such a way as to reproduce your EKG reading, by recording and plotting in Excel, the difference of potential between two points.

The students loved it.

They learned physics concepts well.

It takes too long.

This is disappointing to me.

We can’t cover all of electricity and magnetism and waves in a semester teaching by inquiry with all concepts developed in class.

Get over it!

Next attempt will be to make materials to take home – that are still by inquiry (that don’t need equipment) and some readings. These are in addition to homework.

There are many things to report about this course –

--how it runs

--physics education research

--addition of health science applications

For more information

Workshop: A New Algebra-based Introductory Physics Curriculum

Philadelphia, Winter 2002 AAPT (NSF grant 9981031with Ann Marie Eligon,

Grand Valley State University)

Website http://www.doane.edu/hpp (NSF grant 0088780, University of Nebraska,

Doane College, Mercy College)