104 Course Overview and Course Outcomes

Course Description

Physics 104 is the algebra/trigonometry based introductory Physics course focused on general principles of electricty  and magnetism, light, optics, and modern physics with applications to a number of different fields. The course consists of two 50 minute Whole Class Meetings, two 50 minute Disucssions, and one two hour Lab.

The course counts toward the University’s Natural Science requirements and counts as a Liberal Arts and Science requirement in the College of Letters and Science.

General Goals and High Level Outcomes

In general Course Goals are broad definitions of the overarching knowledge, skills, or ways of thinking students should be able to do as a result of the course.  These are challenging to measure.  High Level Outcomes are shared by Physics 103 and 104.  These are high level, action-based, measureable students are expected to achieve to demonstrate success in the courses.

Course Goals Students will apply physics to gain new insights and understanding about the universe. The course will help students achieve the College of Letters and Science Undergraduate Learning Goals

• Develop a level of proficiency in the different “ways of knowing” the world through the arts and humanities, and the biological, physical and social sciences, which will be reflected in an ability to communicate across the disciplinary boundaries, so as to interpret and investigate the complex world in which they live;
• Integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to bring novel perspectives to challenging social and technological problems;
• Communicate effectively, so they may share their knowledge, wisdom, and values with others across social and professional settings;
• Understand their own learning processes and possess the capacity to intentionally a) seek and evaluate information, b) recognize and reduce bias in their thinking, and c) build new knowledge for application in their personal and professional lives.
• Construct a worldview in which they accept the responsibility for civic engagement and appreciate the need to live lives of purpose and meaning.
• Students’ will actively engage in the learning process by participating in active learning opportunities.

Course Outcomes

To be successful in Physics 103 and 104, a student must be able to:

• Use physical principles and laws to explain classical, modern, and contemporary physical phenomena. A
• TO BE EDITED Describe some of the critical experiments in the historical evolution of physical science and the empirical basis for physical laws.
• TO BE EDITED Describe a few areas of active research and open questions in physics.
• Evaluate critically physical models of the natural world (i.e. clearly articulate the model, evaluate the evidence for it, recognize alternative explanations, and draw an overall conclusion). Identify conflicts between their existing knowledge and physical models and reconcile the two.
• Recognize and make sense of physics principles in daily life. Assess with audience response questions, discussion, quiz, and exam questions.
• Describe some examples of how physics principles can be applied to contemporary societal challenges (such as climate change, energy, technology, health care) and to other sciences.
• Solve problems:
  • Analytically and numerically analyze descriptions of a physical situation using idealization, modeling, and the application of logical and mathematical steps to derive parameter values and predict future evolution of the system. Critically evaluate those descriptions and the limitations of the analysis.
  • Judge the reasonableness of results with various techniques (e.g., order-of-magnitude estimates, comparison with other known phenomena).
  • Use units to link equations and the physical world and successfully manipulate units (e.g., convert between different units and apply dimensional analysis).
• Apply algebraic, geometric, trigonometric, graphical, numerical and statistical methods in modeling, and analysis related to real physical processes which are often encountered in physics.
• Perform experiments:
  • Make create hypothesis
  • Design simple experiements
  • Observe and analyze actual simple physical situations (e.g. interactive demo or lab) and identify and quantify the behavior of observations that do not agree with the analysis model.
  • Use basic statistics and significant figures to express uncertainties in measured physical quantities.
  • Take into account and take measures to mediate safety issues in the lab environment, and recognize how those safety issues translate into real-world safety situations.
•  Operate and understand the physical principles behind  instrumentation used to perform measurements.
• Create strategies for addressing physics problems and questions they have not seen before.
• Discuss physics and solve problems with their peers/instructors in a constructive way.
• Communicate clearly in prose, orally, and mathematically according to conventions in physics. Assess with short essay, discussion participation, and written (not multiple-choice) exam questions, lab.
• TO BE EDITED Access scientific news, monograph, journal/preprint publications, databases, and other information resources concerning physical processes and investigations.

Course Objectives

Course Objectives are specific content, skills, and ways of thinking students should be able to proficiently demonstrate.  These drive the activities and assessment.

• Find the magnitude and direction of the electrostatic forces between electric charges and describe how these forces affect the position, distribution, and motion of interacting charges
• Calculate the magnitudes and directions of electric fields created by systems of electric charges, and relate those fields to electrostatic forces felt by external charges
• Use the concept of electric potential (voltage) to determine how the electrical potential energy of and work done on an electric charge changes as it moves through an electric field
• Determine the flow of electric current through various combinations of conducting wires, resistors, and capacitors, and relate current to the voltage changes across electrical components through the concept of resistance
• Calculate the magnitude and direction of magnetic fields created by moving electric charges, describe the effects of those fields on external moving charges, and explain the relationship between changing magnetic flux and electric forces
• Describe the attributes of an electromagnetic wave and use those attributes to analyze the reflection and refraction of light, interference and diffraction, and the operation of mirrors and lenses
• Apply the insights of quantum mechanics to subatomic, atomic, and nuclear phenomena, and relate those phenomena to macro-scale measurements and processes