Spring 2000: PHYSICS 150 SYLLABUS
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Classroom: Currens Hall, 205
Labroom: Currens Hall, 310
Textbook: Energy and the Environment, 1st ed., Ristinen
and Kraushaar.
Laboratory manual: Packet sold in Bookstore.
Instructor: Dr. Jim Rabchuk
Office: 316A Currens Hall
Office Phone: 298-2577
E-mail: ja-rabchuk@wiu.edu
Office Hours:
M 10-11 AM
Tu. 11-12 PM
W. 10-12 PM and by appointment.
I strongly urge you to take advantage of these hours.
Links to WEBCT, other useful web pages!!!
To Course Calendar
Course Objective:
Unlike most science courses, where the relevant issues and approaches have long ago been resolved, this course tackles an issue (energy and the environment) on which there are widely diverging opinions among experts as well as in society.
On the one hand, the great triumphs of our technological society, such as high speed transportation, communication and complex medical procedures, have given us a confidence that, if we try hard enough, we can solve any problem.
On the other hand, complex social ills such as poverty, racial prejudice, injustice, and human faults such as greed and selfishness make us fearful that technology cannot solve the problem when we ourselves are the problem.
Among the factors that has driven our technological revolution, for good or bad, has been the increased understanding and exploitation of energy. In this course, we want to understand the positives and limitations of energy use, and what kind of energy future we might see in the next fifty years. Some authors have claimed that because of the predicted peak in world population at about 11 billion people in the year 2050, the next 50 years are the most significant in terms of how we use or don't use the world's resources, energy being one of them.
This course is designed for non-science students to understand energy and energy use from a scientific point of view, and obtain the necessary skills and knowledge for making appropriate choices regarding his/her use of energy and effect on our environment, both as a person and a member of society.
Class Participation:
This class necessarily touches on many social and political issues related to the science of energy. Therefore, it requires the active input and attention of the students. Class attendance will be taken and will account for 60 points toward the final grade. An additional 60 points will be assigned for participation in class discussion and contributions to the discussion on the Bulletin Board on the WEBCT page for this course.
Homework and Quizzes:
There will be weekly homework assignments posted online on the WEBCT page. They will consist of multiple choice questions, some numerical, most conceptual. They will be related to text readings or material covered in lecture. You will be given 5 chances to complete the assignment. Your grade for each assignment will be the last score you achieve. Occasionally, I will give in class quizzes based on previous homework sets as well, to test your understanding of the material. Homework and quizzes together will account for 80 points toward your final grade.
Bulletin Board discussion:
On the WEBCT page, a bulletin board has been included which will serve as a place for you to engage in a dialogue with me and other students in the course regarding various topics related to energy use and the environment.
You are required to contribute to this board by providing two news articles as attachments, plus a short summary and questions for discussion related to the article, and also by responding to two postings initiated by others students. These postings will be graded for content and form. Additional postings and appropriate comments to others' work will count toward your participation grade.
The posted articles should be on topics concerning energy technology or energy and the environment found in web news services or magazines. The summaries should be a 1 or 2 paragraph description of the article's contents. Your questions or suggested themes for discussion should be thought provoking and based on the article's content plus the material discussed in class. The graded postings will account for 80 points toward your final grade.
Laboratory experiments:
This is a lab course that fulfills your physical science lab requirement for general education. The labs are simple and illustrate basic concepts relevant to the course. The lab handouts are pre-formatted so that you can turn in the lab at the end of the period. Lab attendance is required, and only one make-up lab (with excused absence only!) is permitted for the semester. Lab worksheets are worth a total of 80 points.
Examinations:
There will be 3 examinations given during the course of the semester. The first two will be in class exams, and the last will be a two hour final. The final exam will be cumulative. The exams will be multiple choice, drawn from the problems assigned in the text plus additional readings that will be assigned. The first two exams will each be worth 80 points, while the final will be worth 120 points.
The exams will be given on the following dates:
Exam I, Energy principles.
Feb. 17th, in class; covering Chs. 1 and 3, plus additional material given in class
Exam II, Energy sources and technologies.
March 30th, in class; covering Chs. 2,4,6
Final, Cumulative, but emphasizing the material on the atmosphere and pollution.
May 4th, 8AM; covering Chs. 7,9,10
Research Project:
Each student is required to complete a research project which will be handed in on April 13th. There are two general topics which your research might address.
The first topic is energy or environmental control technology. This might include a report on an alternative fuel and its uses, a new technology that promises increased energy efficiency, or a new technology that reduces the production of hazardous wastes.
The second topic is the national energy and environmental condition of a country of your choice. In this report, you should focus on the nation's energy needs and environmental problems. You should take pains to research both the nation's internal affairs, as well as its role in global energy and environmental issues.
The report should include at least 5 typewritten pages, 1.5" spacing, 12 pt font with 1 inch margins, plus additional figures, graphs, etc. The research must be fully documented, and properly cited.
The following schedule should be followed.
January 27th: Turn in a sheet of paper indicating the topic chosen for study and a representative bibliography of source materials (At least 5 sources, at least 2 of which are non-internet sources).
February 24th: Turn in outline of the report. The outlines should include a thesis statement. At this point I will make suggestions concerning the overall focus of your project.
March 16th: Turn in the rough draft (corrected draft with suggestions promised by March 28th). The rough draft must properly cite all researched material. At this point I will make additional suggestions regarding content, as well as the form and manner of citation.
April 13th: Final copy due in class.
The report will be worth 100 points toward your final grade.
Grading policy:
There will be a total of 760 points possible in the class. The project, journals, quizzes, labs and attendance will be graded on a strict 90,80,70,60 scale. The exams will be graded on a curve.
Calendar of Physics 150 Events: Jan 10, 2000 edition
| Jan. 10 |
11: Overview on energy and the environment NO LAB |
12 |
13: Preliminary skills: Research and measurement Rdg. 1.1,2,5,6 |
14 |
| 17: MLK Day |
18: Basic concepts of energy LAB 1 Rdg. 1.3,4 |
18 |
19: Forms of energy Rdg. 1.7,8,9 |
20 |
| 24 |
25: Heat and temperature LAB 2 Rdg. 3.1,2 |
26 |
27: Heat engines bibliography due Rdg. 3.3,5,6 |
28 |
| 31 | Feb 1: ASSESSMENT DAY | 2: |
3: Electricity Rdg. 3.4,7 |
4: |
| 7 |
8: Magnetism LAB 3 |
9 |
10: AC electrical
power |
11 |
| 14 |
15: Models of growth |
16 | 17: EXAM I | 18 |
| 21 |
22: Fossil fuels LAB 5 Rdg. 2.4-7;10,11,13,16 |
23 |
24: Wave energy outline due |
25 |
| 28 |
29: Electromagnetic spectrum Rdg. 1.3 and 4.2 |
Mar. 1 |
2: Solar Energy: Heating Rdg. 4.1,3,4 |
3 Spring Break |
| 13 |
14: Solar Energy: Electricity LAB 6 Rdg. 4.5,6 |
15 |
16: Nuclear Physics rough draft due Rdg. 6.1-3 |
17 |
| 20 |
21: Nuclear Energy: Fission LAB 7 Rdg. 6.4-7,12 |
22 |
23: Radioactivity in the environment Rdg. 6.8-11 |
24 |
| 27 |
28: ---- LAB 8 |
29 | 30: Nuclear Technology | 31 |
| April 3 | 4: Exam II | 5 |
6: Pressure and Density Rdg. 9.1 |
7 |
| 10 |
11: Heat and Buoyancy LAB 9 |
12 |
13: Our atmosphere Rdg. 9.2,3 |
14 |
| 17 |
18: Air pollution: Trends LAB 10 Rdg. 9.4-11 |
19 |
20: Global Environment |
21 |
| 24 |
25: Energy conservation: Rdg. 7.1-3 |
26 | 27: Review | 28 |
| May 1 | 2 | 3 | 4: Final 8AM | 5 |