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[Phys-l] real-world exercise : AB 306



Recently there was some discussion as to what constituted a "real
world" exercise.

I have a modest proposal for a real-world assignment. Ask each
of your students to evaluate AB 306.

I emphasize that in the real world, that would be the entire
assignment: "Evaluate California Assembly Bill AB 306". That is
to say, there would be no explanation of what it means to evaluate
something, there would be no information provided beyond the name
of the bill, and there would be no hints as to the method of
solution.

If all of your students can handle such an assignment and get
the right answer, congratulations.

OTOH in my experience, there is a distinct possibility that
more than a few students would be dumbfounded by such an
assignment.

IMHO this is a wake-up call. We need to arrange things so
that every student -- and every alumnus -- is able to analyze
a proposal such as this. That includes analyzing it instantly
and correctly.

===========

Note that there are two topics on the table here:
1) The physical principles.
2) The broader notion of how to handle open-ended questions.

It is a truism that item (1) must in some sense precede item (2),
because you analyze the question by applying the principles you
know ... but this truism is of no importance in this example,
because the principles involved are at the third-grade level.