Miami University Physics
Education Project
This effort deals with a revamping of the introductory physics course to include more modern topics. It entails 10 weeks of Newtonian mechanics from constant acceleration problems to waves, then 5 weeks of quantum mechanics, finishing with the infinite square well. The second semester involves 5 weeks of statistical physics and thermodynamics, 8 weeks of electromagnetism (with circuits done in the labs), and 2 weeks of special and general relativity. The motivation is to introduce more modern topics to hold the interest of physics majors, as well as more broadly educate the 96% of students in an introductory physics course that will never take another physics course. This project has been funded by the National Science Foundation Curriculum and Course Development program.
Other Web sites for Miami efforts in Physics Education
 
Materials available upon request.
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