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Readings
[Read these as they are assigned. Don't panic simply because you see something here that you don't recognize. It may simply be the case that your instructor is planning ahead.]
- Popper (Readings 1)
- Feynman (Readings 2)
- Lightman (Readings 3)
- Kuhn (Readings 4)
Specific readings:
- McComas, "The Principal Elements of the Nature of Science: Dispelling the Myths"
- Kuhn, T. S. (1962). Historical structure of scientific discovery. Science, 136(3518), 760-764. (available as an ejournal via JSTOR)
- The "Straight Dope" on hand drying
- Energy resources, DOE
- "The New Age of Ignorance", The Observer
- "Blowin' in the Wind," Stanley Fish, Times Select
- "That's Life," E. O. Wilson, Times Select
- "The Future is Drying Up," Jon Gertner, New York Times Magazine
- "How to Cool the Globe," Ken Caldeira, New York Times
Assignments
- Rubric for response papers
- Response paper #1: The purpose of science
- Response paper #2: The meaning of science
- Investigation: Producing energy
- Response paper #3: Myths of science
- Lab: Energy and Electricity
- Midterm investigation
- Response paper #4: Thirsty
- Lab: Radioactivity
- Final paper
Notes
- A brief history of physics
- Newton's Laws
- Conservation of energy
- Electromagnetic induction (lab)
- Heat & temperature
- The nature of light
- Relative humidity, clouds, and precipitation
- Pressure
- Molecule measurement (lab)
- Nuclear physics
Interactive demos
- from PhET