Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Hubris of physicists



school students take biology, 50% chemistry, and 20% physics. (Does
someone have a source for these numbers) Is this a result of our

Our program serves 34 public high schools with Physics labs. We know from
our counts that 100% of the HS students take Biology. Approximately 8%
of a graduating class takes physics (about 25% do not graduate). Chemistry
is 4 times the Physics enrollment in these 34 schools. Old state
requirements of 1 biology + 1 physical science left physics as a choice
among many. This has just changed this year to 1 bio 1 physical 2 elective
sciences.

Actually, there's a fellow in Farmington, CT who has convinced the
local board to try the sequence: physics, chem, and bio, starting in 10th
grade. It's been running for three years, and surprise surprise, the
success rate of the students going on to chem and bio is much higher than

That is a great idea. Likely that freshman level course is different but the
students have some exposure to what physics is about. It could increase
senior level enrollment in a later physics as well.

Tim Burgess




Mike Monce
Connecticut College