Effects of Integrated Science Courses on the Physical Sciences
Presented at the Chesapeake Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers
held at Lynchburg College11-13 March 2005
by Harold GellerGeorge Mason University
What I’m Talking About
Honors Program at GMUGeneral Education
RequirementsIntegrated SciencesPhysics in Integrated SciencesThe GoodThe BadThe UglyFuture Hopes
Science in General Education at George Mason
Program for Alternative General Education (PAGE) Incorporation into Honors Program in
General Educationfirst 2 yearsconcentrate 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
BiologyAstronomyGeologyChemistryPhysics
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 majorsi.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 ThoughtDoes 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 Question6. (a)
KE1
2mv2
1
20.0300kg 200.0
m
s
2
12
0.0300kg 40,000.0m2
s2
1
20.0300 40,000.0 kg
m2
s2
600kgms2
m
6.00102Nm
6.00102J
Sample Question(b)
KE1
2mv2 v
2KE
m
2600J 0.0600kg
2600 0.0600
Nm
kg
1,200
0.0600
kgms2
m
kg
20,000kgm2
s2 1
kg
20,000m2
s2
141m
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 Question10. (a)
WFd
mgd
50.0kg 9.8ms2
1.5m
50.09.81.5kgms2
m
735Nm740J
Sample Question
(b)PEmgh
100kg 9.8ms2
15m
50.09.81.5kgm
s2 m
735Nm740J
(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
1 6 . ( a )
P mgh
t h
Pt
mg
10 . 0 hp 550
f t l b
s1 . 00 hp
30 . 0 s
2 , 000 . 0 s
82 . 5 f t
( b )
v d
t v
82 . 5 f t
30 . 0 s 2 . 75
f t
s
Upside
Exposure All students must learn some physics
MechanicsHeatWavesSoundElectricityMagnetism
Downside
Length of time spent on physics Limited lab time for physics
Use of computer “simulated laboratory experiments”
Limited lecture time for physics4-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 scienceThere 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?
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