Welcome to Physics 4A! Introductions  Fill out the survey  Meet neighbors  Meet me About this subject, and about science… About this class (syllabus, policies, etc.) Pre-class Assessment & Group Activities

Who Studies Physics? Why? Obvious Examples  Engineers, Chemists, Geologists, etc… Not-so-obvious examples Even less obvious examples! And even LESS obvious? Why study physics?

Examples of Physics in our World Scotland: Falkirk WheelFalkirk Wheel France:Millau ViaductMillau Viaduct China:Three Gorges DamThree Gorges Dam Germany:ProstheticsProsthetics Britain:Water-lens GlassesWater-lens Glasses South Africa:SALTSALT Geneva:Large Hadron ColliderLarge Hadron Collider

Examples of Physics in our World Scotland: Falkirk WheelFalkirk Wheel France:Millau ViaductMillau Viaduct China:Three Gorges DamThree Gorges Dam Germany:ProstheticsProsthetics Britain:Water-lens GlassesWater-lens Glasses South Africa:SALTSALT Geneva:Large Hadron ColliderLarge Hadron Collider What do these have in common?? What does that mean for you?

My goals for you Help you be competitive when you transfer to a 4-year university in your discipline … which means…. Equivalent Rigor Equivalent Expectations for Hours of Study State of the Art teaching with online tools

Challenges you face… Less time available to study  Outside work, family, commuting Lack of support network  No Fraternities, TAs, Dorms, Open Labs  Library closed early Fridays/weekends Less Advanced Lab facilities

…but what you DO have! One professor for Lecture/Lab/Discussion Small classes No grade curves – you control how well you want to do My promise - I’ll work as hard as you do I *love* this subject!

Welcome to Physics 4A! About this class – Syllabus & CalendarSyllabus Calendar Key Policies – Attendance & Exams Our Textbook  Great graphics  Wide variety of problems  Strong problem solving strategies

Mastering Physics! Online Learning Mastering Physics  Immediate check you are right/wrong  Answer feedback to help you  24x7 availability anywhere  Tutorials have multiple levels of hints  I can see what you got wrong & why  Great visual narrated tutorials and resources

Additional resources! Blackboard  Homework Discussion & Help  Group Lab report storage/work areas  Additional web resources for you TIPERS for discussions PhET and ActivePhysics tutorials

Welcome to Physics 4A! Group Work!  Introduce yourself again – names, majors, transfer intentions  Set up Mastering Physics access: Course ID: PHYSICS4AFALL2011HILDRETH  Try Introductory Assignment  Sig Fig’s exercise and challenge

The Scientific Method Richard Feynman: How not to be fooled…. Observing  Trends, Patterns, Singular Events Asking Questions  What? When? Where? How? … and WHY?  Researching prior explanations & models

The Scientific Method Observing Asking Questions Developing Testable Hypothesis  Karl Popper: “falsifiable!” Creating Experiments to TEST Hypothesis  Always uncertainty in every measurement & result  Building a model *can be* an experiment.

The Scientific Method Observing Asking Questions Developing Testable Hypothesis Creating Experiments Analyzing results  Anticipate sources of error  Refine or Discard Hypothesis  Develop further tests & Repeat!  Compare results w/ existing theories

The Scientific Method Observing Asking Questions Developing Testable Hypothesis Creating Experiments Analyzing results Sharing & Publishing results  Submit a paper to peer-reviewed journal  Ask colleagues for input  Present at conferences  Discuss, Debate, Defend results

The Scientific Method Independent confirmation of results  Other scientists, other experiments Revising Theories based on results Designing new equipment to test further An example of the process of science?

The Scientific Method Observing Asking Questions Developing Testable Hypothesis Creating Experiments Analyzing results Sharing & Publishing results Independent confirmation of results Revising Theories based on results Designing new equipment to test further

A not-so-linear model! Publishing Data Analysis Observation Past Research Modeling Developing Hypotheses Experiments Revision

A not-so-general model! Experimentalists Theoreticians Instrumentation Past Research Engineers Proponents of Established Theories Advocates of New Theories