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Re: Starting out with waves (originally Intro Physics Text/Course)



Daniel S. Price wrote:

This is the second year in which I have begun the introductory
(algebra-based) physics course with waves (progressing to
wave-related topics such as sound and light, then venturing
into electricity and magnetism), reserving mechanics for the
second semester.

I've considered this but held back mainly because I am at a
college and it would cause problems with transfer to/from
other colleges. I might consider it again if I were at the
high school level...

I am looking to carry this restructuring still further,
beginning with forces at the start of the second semester,
*then* introducing kinematics once the basis for motion and
acceleration has been established. I should like to hear
from anyone with experience in such a "force-first" curriculum.

What you describe is very close to how I currently do it
(first semester of our algebra-based course). I don't cover
kinematics until about half way through the semester. I like
it not only because it allows students to develop an
intuitive feel for the difference between accel and velocity
but also because it allows me to focus, right from the first
day, on the value of using Newton's laws (rather than a
separate relationship for each situation we come to). I keep
that same focus throughout the entire text.

I use my own text, which is still under development. If you
are interested in looking at a copy, let me know.

____________________________________________________
Robert Cohen; 570-422-3428; www.esu.edu/~bbq
East Stroudsburg University; E. Stroudsburg, PA 18301