Re: Birthday Wish

[Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

Brian McInnes (see below), responding to Brian Whatcott, asked:
"Wouldn't it be better if they showed discrimination between
the concepts of velocity and acceleration rather than ability in
choosing appropriate substitution and consequent algebraic
manipulation ..." ?

This remind me the old "dilemma". What comes first, love or
marriage? Is "real understanding" possible without "manipulative
skills"? How can we proceed with teaching such skills before
"they understand"? These two things mutually reinforce each
others, some kids will get much more from the same course
than others.

Happy birthday to Brian, and to all phys-L-ers born in April.
Ludwik Kowalski

> From one Brian to another,
> Brian, you worry me a little with your choice of outcomes
> from high school students.
>
> Wouldn't it be better if they showed discrimination between
> the concepts of velocity and acceleration rather than
> ability in choosing appropriate substitution and consequent
> algebraic manipulation in a set of formulas that have little
> direct relevance to the real world?  If more than conceptual
> understanding is desired, I'd ask for facility in describing
> and interpreting kinematic graphs.
>
> Similarly the thermal "equation" you quote ignores much of
> the real world, applying as it does to the interchange of
> thermal; energy between 2 systems completely isolated from
> their surroundings (including their containers).  Better
> would be an understanding of concepts such as thermal energy
> and temperature, their distinction and their relations.
>
> Happy birthday, anyway.
>
> Brian McInnes
>
> ----------
> > From: brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>
>
> > It's my birthday this month.
> > And I have a little birthday wish.
> > It's not much.    But you could make it happen.
> >
> > I wish that all high school physics students
> > could work problems using three equations of constant acceleration,
> > namely:
> > v = u + a.t
> > v^2 = u^2 + 2.a.x
> > x = u.t + 1/2 a.t^2
> >
> > AND
> > that they could work final temperatures of mixes of liquids or
> > solid and liquid using the relation:
> >
> > mass1 x specific heat1 x rise in temperature =
> > mass2 x specific heat2 x fall in temperature
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> > Brian