PHYS 301 - Physics Connections

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UDB
Connections between Physics and other natural sciences and engineering with real-world applications and examples. Focus is on preparing to teach under the K12 Next Generation Science Standards with the goal of teaching science with confidence.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Areas B1-B3.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better; and either PHYS 115, PHYS 125, or PHYS 135.
Equivalent Quarter Course: PHYS 3011.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground, or Entirely Online.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UDB - Upper Division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Design a lesson for middle-school students connecting Physics with another STEM discipline
Relate the concept of forces acting on an object to the resultant motion, including motion diagrams, position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs
Compare the characteristics of sound, light and seismic waves
Use concepts of ray and wave optics to explain simple optical systems (the camera, telescope, microscope and eye) and the laws of reflection and refraction
Predict the effects on charged objects based on concepts of electrostatic and magnetostatic phenomena
Calculate power, voltage differences, current and resistance in simple circuits and in series and parallel circuits

UD-B. Upper-division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcomes

demonstrate advanced and/or focused science or quantitative content knowledge in a specific scientific field, using appropriate vocabulary and referencing appropriate concepts (such as models, uncertainties, hypotheses, theories, and technologies);
apply advanced quantitative skills (such as statistics, algebraic solutions, interpretation of graphical data) to scientific problems and evaluate scientific claims;
demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and the experimental and empirical methodologies used in science to investigate a scientific question or issue; and
apply science content knowledge to contemporary scientific issues (e.g., global warming) and technologies (e.g., cloning), where appropriate.