Welcome to Phys 605, How Things Work I. This is a
web-based college-level Physics course for teachers offered
during the Fall 2004 semester. This is a course in conceptual physics
that focuses on objects that involve motion, mechanics, liquids,
heat,
gases, and sound. It considers objects from our daily environment
(baseballs, frisbees, roller coasters, vacuum
cleaners, rockets, clocks
and much more!) and focuses on their principles of
operation, histories, and relationships to one another. Students
will be sent a set of CD's, which contains edited lectures of PHYS 105
as taught at U.Va
by Professor Lou Bloomfield. Homework sets will be submitted via
WebAssign, a computer based homework and test taking delivery system.
The lectures are
not rehearsed, but are edited versions of live lectures given in Phys
105 at UVa. Assignments and administrative information related to the
course have been edited from the CDs. You will find the lectures
and demos interesting and stimulating. Other forms of communication
will
be through a Yahoo chat room, Blackboard listserve, and regular email.
It
will be the responsibility of the student to have sufficient computer
capability
to meet the requirements of the course. Most of the
lectures start with a question and proceed to discuss the physics
surrounding
the question. From the discussion of specific applications we arrive at
the general physics principles. The case studies assigned for homework
are
quite informative and provide an excellent way to study and learn
physics
concepts. More details about the course and additional resource
information
can be found on the course website.
After I get confirmation that you have registered, I will set up a user
name and password on WebAssign for you. I will notify you by email and
you will be able to log on to WebAssign. You then should learn how to
submit homework and take exams on WebAssign. The CD's will be sent by
UPS to the address on your registration form. Please RSVP via email
when you have received the CDs.
The recommended text is the second edition of How Things Work, ISBN
0-471-38151-9. You are welcome to buy the book online
such as at Amazon.com. You may also get it from the UVa book store. The
phone number is 434-924-3721. In the second edition the chapter
on water, steam, and ice is on the website and not in the book. You
will
need access to the website material, which is located at
http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/book.html.
Note that in the table of contents you can click on the blue type,
which is the material not in the book, and it will come up on the
website. This material is actually contained in the longer first
edition.
To view the Lectures and Demonstrations on the CDs in real media
format with your computer, you will need RealOne Player. You can
download it from the internet for free. The website is at
http://www.real.com/realplayer.html.
To view or read the Lecture Slides and notes, which are in
PDF format, you will need the software program Acrobat Reader. You can
download Acrobat Reader for free from
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Please click on the other links and learn more about the details of
this course.