One of the reasons that I use the 2nd semester of our General Education
sequence to do a course on Energy is that the topic is current, relevant,
interesting, and encompasses a great amount of physics. Thermo and
electricity are central, but there is also a healthy dose of nuclear and a
little modern physics (photo-electric effect) to throw in. To be sure, we
have done a more 'traditional' semester concentrating on motion, but the
energy semester really helps focus the 'utility' of science/physics. In
that light, I do a major class project (see web pages below).
Rick Tarara
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Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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FREE Windows & Mac Instructional Software
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
Energy 2100 project info: http://www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/ENERGY_PROJECT/ENERGY2100.htm
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