A message from the instructor I want to offer some guidance to students who have a choice of physics classes or a choice of sections to take of this particular course (Physics 12). I take a somewhat unconventional approach to teaching this subject, and I think it is important that you know at the outset what you can expect and what you cannot expect.
Subject Content The official description of this course from the catalog is A non-laboratory course for the student whose interest or major calls for a course with a more conceptual and less mathematical approach to physics. It is a survey course introducing mechanics, heat, sound, electricity, magnetism, light and modern physics. The emphasis is on understanding of concepts and applying physics to life around us. I use this as a guideline for what we cover in the course, with one important difference. In the above list of topics, “modern physics” refers mainly to the two theories that revolutionized physics and all of science in the 20th century: relativity and quantum mechanics. In the course description, they are listed last. Instead, I treat them right up front, and base most of what we cover in the course on them. In my opinion, this is how to get a good foundation for what physics is and what physicists know about how the world works.
Pros and Cons The approach described above makes this class more challenging in some respects and easier in others. This class is difficult because I ask you to think about things that you may not have thought about before. For example, very early in the class, we talk about four-dimensional spacetime. You learn how physics explains the world from this perspective. You may have to bend your mind a little bit to get what we’re talking about. This can be hard, but it’s also fun. You will start to understand ideas you’ve heard about before and might have thought you could never understand. I believe you can understand them with some work. On the other hand, this class might be easier in some ways than other equivalents because we don’t do a lot of calculation. We do some, but a lot of the calculation you will need to do is intended to be fairly intuitive, stuff you can do in your head. For example, instead of learning to calculate the specific distance traveled by a starship, we’re more likely to talk about what changes could cause it to travel farther or less far, or whether a certain change makes it travel twice as far, or three times, or half as far. Note that there is a drawback to this approach, in that calculation is an important life skill. This is not just true for science majors but for anyone who buys things, goes places, or creates anything. I recommend that you do not use my class as a way of avoiding to learn the skill of calculation. Make sure you get that education in other classes you take. There are some other things about this class that will help you decide whether it is for you: - Fun. I love this subject, and you are going to know that from the first day of class. I love learning about it and I love talking about it. My fervent desire in this class is for you to get a taste of the excitement I feel about curved spacetime, snapping quarks, and evanescent atoms. To do this, I do everything I can to bring this subject alive for you. I show you things and ask you to do things yourself to get you involved.
- I want you involved. I want to hear from you and I want to know what’s going on in your mind. When you don’t understand, I want you to ask a question. If you’re not sure how to phrase your question, then just say you don’t understand. Conversely, I am going to ask you questions, and I want to hear your answers. If you are shy and retiring and prefer to hide in a corner and not be noticed, well, you won’t be able to do that here!
- We don’t know everything. I’m not here to BS you or convince you that I am the physics god. If you ask a question I don’t know the answer to, I will tell you so. If I think I may be able to get you an answer before the end of the course, I’ll tell you that. Likewise, if I ask you a question in class, I will never criticize you for saying you don’t know the answer. It’s when you say that that we can start looking at what I might be able to do to help you know.
- This course is under development. Since I take an approach that is not in any textbook that I know of, I am writing my own course notes for you. Maybe later these notes will become a new book on physics, maybe not. In the meantime, you should know that you are a “beta tester” (i.e., guinea pig) of my material. It’s not fully refined and there are going to be some errors. Be on the lookout, and please let me know whenever you see something you think is not right, from a spelling mistake to an error in logic.
What Other Students Say about this Course The table below shows what students in Winter 2001 had to say in their anonymous course evaluations at the end of the term just before the final exam. The evaluation was completed by nine out of eleven students in the class at the end of the term. It might be significant for you to know that 17 students started the class, of whom six dropped out during the term. Except where indicated otherwise, the scale is ‘5’ for excellent through ‘1’ for poor. | Question | Answer | No re-sponse |
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| 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | | The instructor’s organization of the course is | 2 | | 3 | 3 | | 1 | | The clarity of the lectures and explanations is | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | | | | The instructor’s respect and consideration for students is | 4 | 4 | 1 | | | | | The student’s opportunity to ask questions and/or make comments is | 7 | 1 | 1 | | | | | I would describe the instructor to other serious students as being | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | | | The difficulty of the class was (5=very hard, 1=very easy) | 5 | 2 | 2 | | | | | How interesting was the class? (5=fascinating, 1=boring) | 4 | 2 | 3 | | | | | Was the class fun? (5=barrel of laughs, 1=painful) | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | How important is what you learned for your career goals? (5=critical, 1=insignificant) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | | | Are you glad you took this class? (5=very glad, 1=“I regret it.”) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | | | | Totals | 33 | 24 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
So much for statistics. A number of students have taken time to send me comments on the class after it’s over and the grades are in. It’s always nice to hear from students in this way, and here is a selection of what I’ve received. From Serene:
Your class is very interesting because we could learn about things around us that we never noticed before, like sound, color and time. To me the most interesting were the causality cone and the twin trip. (Though they were really hard to understand!! :p) I talked about this with my mom and she's also interested in them!! :>
From Rachel:
First I want to thank you for your continued support and encouragement. This makes a huge difference because a lot of teachers don't really seem to care about the student as a person whereas you really do.
Your class was hard, there is no doubt about that, but one thing I realized in the end while I was reviewing for the final was that having time to let it all sink in and work through it in my head did wonders. As I reviewed, while there were still concepts that I found very challenging, a lot of the things that had once seemed to blow me away I really understood after having it in my head for a while.
I feel I took a lot away from this course, not only in regards to physics, but also in terms of my whole college experience. I am in school - this time - for me and that makes all the difference in the world. You pushed and pushed us to learn hard stuff and in the end I feel that much more confident about my ability as a student.
From Masako:
I really had a great time in your class...because you made me think why I am here.
From Emanuella:
Thanks for a wonderful, yet challenging semester. I really enjoyed the class because it really forces you to think logically. I hope you are enjoying your holiday!
From Janet:
Thank you very much for the class. Although I have been working 50-60 hr work weeks and didn't get to attend as much as I would have liked, I very much enjoyed your ability to humanize and demystify physics.
From Darren:
Thank you for your encouragement. Being honest, I felt very depressed at the beginning of the class, since it was not I expected. However, when we got into the spacetime ,veld ... sort of thing I felt very curious and eager to know more. Thanks for your teaching, you helped me understand things that I would like to know in my life.
I'll tell you a secret, the reason I came to the US to study was that I could not get into college in my country because I failed physics! Right now i feel very happy not only because I got an A , but also resolved my CONFLICT with physics.
From Meryl:
The Sunday, LA Times Magazine has an article on page 24 about the Nobel Prize winner Dr. Murray Gell-Mann and his discovery of Quarks. It was really cool to read that and understand a bit of what that is about.
From Maksim:
Before this class is over I just wanted to say that it is very interesting to watch the class grow as a whole and to watch you tumble through confusing topics. As a student I'm a bit inspired by the intensity and the challange of this course. ... Thank you for teaching what's not in the syllabus.
It might be significant to note that several of these students were among those who got an ‘A’ in the course. Others who didn’t do as well might not have written quite as glowingly about their experience.
So there you have it. Forewarned is forearmed. I’m not promising you an easy ride, but I can promise you a fun ride if you work hard and are excited about learning. If that’s what you’re here for, then let’s get started! Your instructor,
Marshall Burns |
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