PHYS 1001w -- Changes

Thu Apr 8 12:28:40 2010

Criteria for
Theme Courses:
Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed theme requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or methods.

Theme courses have the common goal of cultivating in students a number of habits of mind:
  • thinking ethically about important challenges facing our society and world;
  • reflecting on the shared sense of responsibility required to build and maintain community;
  • connecting knowledge and practice;
  • fostering a stronger sense of our roles as historical agents.


New:  This class satisfies the University of Minnesota Liberal Education requirement of the Environment Theme.  Informed decisions regarding the environment cannot be made without an understanding of the scientific issues related to the transformation of energy from one form to another.

The physical principles associated with energy transformation in human society, including the release of chemical energy in the combustion of fossil fuels, and in nuclear power plants will be elucidated.  These processes involve by-products that have a significant impact on the environment and raise serious human health issues.  By addressing the physical mechanisms by which these reactions are involved in the generation of electrical power, students will improve their understanding of the costs and benefits of these methods of energy production.

Students will be able to assess the costs and benefits of a wide range of energy alternatives and their impact on the environment.  Electrical power is created in direct response to human needs, and issues such as the transmission of electrical power from the point of production, and the physical constraints that determine where the power is created, to the end user will be addressed.

The basic science associated with human energy transformation and utilization, and the resulting impact of these mechanisms on the environment, will be described.  Topics to be covered will include classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics and phase transitions, meteorology, basic modern physics as it relates to chemical reactions and solar cells, and atomic and nuclear physics.  Any credible approach to addressing environmental issues associated with energy production will require a working knowledge of these scientific principles.     

The technology underlying alternative energy production by solar cells and wind power will be examined and their benefits and limitations will be discussed.  Scientific issues related to electric power transmission via power lines, climate change and the hazards of radioactivity will be examined.  The ability of public policy to address environmental issues arising from energy production, and the physical constraints associated with differing means of energy production, will be discussed.

The laboratory associated with this class is an important component of illustrating how scientific knowledge is created and the accuracy and uncertainties associated with measurements.  This instruction of the physical science ¿ways of knowing¿ will be reinforced through the classroom lectures.  In this way students will be better able to assess claims of scientific study of the impact of various means of energy production, and its impact on the environment.  

This class will provide students with an introduction to fundamental principles that will enable them to critically evaluate public debates concerning energy and the environment, giving them the foundation on which informed decisions concerning the environment can be made.  Ethical issues, such as in the treatment of acid rain, where the environmental impact occurs some distance from the energy production point, will be addressed.  How we as a society will balance the costs and benefits of generating electrical power, and the criteria on which such decisions can be made, will be explicitly discussed.

Old:  This class satisfies the University of Minnesota Liberal Education requirement of the Environment Theme.  Informed decisions regarding the environment cannot be made without an understanding of the scientific issues related to the transformation of energy from one form to another.
By addressing the basic science associated with human energy transformation and utilization, students will be able to assess the costs and benefits of a wide range of energy alternatives and their impact on the environment.
The physical principles associated with energy transformation in human society, including the release of chemical energy in the combustion of fossil fuels, in hydro-electric dams, in geothermal or nuclear power plants will be elucidated.  The technology underlying alternative energy production by solar cells and wind power will be examined and their benefits and limitations will be discussed.  Scientific issues related to electric power transmission via power lines, climate change and the hazards of radioactivity will be examined.  This class will provide students with an introduction to fundamental principles that will enable them to critically evaluate public debates concerning energy and the environment, giving them the foundation on which informed decisions concerning the environment can be made.
Provisional
Syllabus:
Please provide a provisional syllabus for new courses and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed that include the following information: course goals and description; format/structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (texts, authors, frequency, amount per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated.

The University policy on credits is found under Section 4A of "Standards for Semester Conversion" at http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/senate/documents/policy/semestercon.html . Provisional course syllabus information will be retained in this system until new syllabus information is entered with the next major course modification, This provisional course syllabus information may not correspond to the course as offered in a particular semester.

New:  Physics 1001W:
Energy and the Environment



Instructor: James Kakalios

Office:  344 Tate Laboratory, 116 Church St. SE

Office Phone:624-9856

e-mail:  kakalios@umn.edu

Class Web Page:  http://www.physics.umn.edu/classes/f1001W



Books:

Energy: Its Use and the Environment, (Third Edition) Roger A. Hinrichs and Merlin Kleinbach (Brooks/Cole) 2002

Energy and the Environment, Physics 1001W, Lab Manual


Goals of this class:


1.        Learn basic physics principles and exercise critical thinking


2.        Learn how basic scientific principles underlie everyday experience


3.        Learn how the physics principles that underlie energy production and transmission also impact the environment, and be able to assess the benefits and limitations of each method of energy generation in the context of their influence on the environment.

4.        Obtain through hands-on experience a familiarity with basic laboratory technique.


5.         Explore the basics of energy production, usage, and conservation as they relate to environmental science





Work Load:

About 20-40 pages of reading each week (mostly from the textbook).

A total of about 40 (lab reports plus final paper) pages of writing for the course.

Three in-class exams and a comprehensive Final Exam

Twelve (short) laboratory reports (details from lab TAs)

Eight homework assignments

Extra Credit in-class quizzes as required.

Note:  Please put your name, student number, and lab section number of each paper that you turn in. Thank you.

No Early, Late, or Make-Up Exams Will Be Given.

Grade Determination:

Strictly on a point system. Keep track of your points, and you¿ll know your grade.


Exercise     Points     Total

12 labs     8 points for report; 2 points for preparation             120

in-class exams     50 points each             150

final     100 points             100

8 homeworks     10 points each     80

Four Short papers        20 points each        80



    ----

    maximum     530+

Additional opportunities for points may exist.

Final Grade Assignment:


Total Score  > 450 points = A-/A

Total Score = 375-450 = B-/B/B+

Total Score = 300-375 = C-/C/C+

Total Score = 225-300 = D/D+

Total Score  < 225 = F


Labs:

Labs are a very important part of this class. Everyone is expected to own a lab notebook (of some sort, nothing very formal is required, but it should include everything you do for the labs in a single bound book) and read through the laboratory descriptions in the lab book for each week¿s lab. You are expected to write down a little bit of preparatory material in your lab notebook before you enter the lab. This might be addressing some of the following questions: What is the purpose of this lab? What are we testing? What do we expect for a result? Nothing long is necessary, just a quick check that you have prepared for the lab.


Student Conduct:

The Institute of Technology assumes that all students enroll in its programs with a serious learning purpose and expects them to be responsible individuals who demand of themselves high standards of honesty and personal conduct. The Institute of Technology expects the highest standards of honesty and integrity in the academic performance of its students. Any attempt by a student to present work that he or she has not prepared, or to pass an examination by improper means, is regarded by the faculty as a serious offense, which may result in the immediate expulsion of the student. Aiding and abetting a student in an act of dishonesty is also considered a serious offense.

Use of Class Notes for Commercial Purposes:

Students may not distribute, via the Internet or other means, lecture notes or instructor-provided materials for compensation or for commercial purposes.  This policy is enforced as University rules under the University of Minnesota statement of standards of Student conduct and violations may result in sanctions ranging from a warning to expulsion.


Course Schedule


Week 1:     Introduction, Units, Measurement         Lab 0 - FCI in lab

The Basic language of Science will be introduced, and used throughout the semester as the science of energy production and its impact on the environment is explored.

    
Week 2:     Kinematics, Newton¿s Laws         Lab 1 ¿ Statistics

Basic definitions of Energy and Work are defined and employed.  This continues are examination of the basic language that will be used in the class.

    
Week 3:     Energy, Work, Power         Lab 2 ¿ Dynamics ¿ I

The relationship between power generation and energy use, illustrated through considerations of an electrical power plant and the use in a residential household, will be explored.


Week 4:     Electric Charge and Currents         Lab 2 ¿ Dynamics ¿ II

The basic physics that underlies electrical currents, and electrostatics that influence particulate dynamics in the atmosphere, are described.

    
Week 5:     Electromagnetisms         Lab 3 ¿ Electricity ¿ I

The fundamental symmetry between electricity and magnetism that allows for the generation of electrical energy in a power plant will be described.  The work of the preceeding four weeks all comes together in this week¿s topic.


Week 6:     Electrical Power; Hydro- & Wind-Power         Lab 3 ¿ Electricity ¿ II

Alternative methods for generating electrical power that do not involve the production of heat and resulting steam, and their impact on the environment, are described.

    
Week 7:         Heat and Thermodynamics        Lab 4 ¿ Electromagnetism ¿ I

In conventional power plants water is boiled to generate steam, which is then used to turn a turbine in an external magnetic field, thereby creating an electrical current, as described in week 5.  In this week¿s topic, the thermodynamics that underlies this phase transition, the necessary first step in conventional power plants, is explored, and the resulting environmental impact of various methods for heating water are explored.


Week 8:     Engines, Geothermal, Solar Power        Lab 4 ¿ Electromagnetism ¿ II

Alternative methods for generating heat are described, their basic physics principles are elucidated, and their environmental consequences are discussed.


Week 9:     Waves        Lab 5 ¿ Heat ¿ I

Proposals for generating electricity through tides and ocean waves are explored, the  environmental benefits and unintended consequences as this energy must be transmitted to the mainland, are described.


Week 10:     Atoms and Chemistry        Lab 5 ¿ Heat ¿ II

The basic physics that underlies the chemical burning of fuels, and that lead to pollutants is discussed.  Possible chemical means of alleviating subsequent pollution are considered.

    
Week 11:     Fossil Fuels        Lab 6 ¿ Waves

The mechanisms by which stored chemical energy in plants are transformed into petroleum, natural gas and coal are described.  The physical basis for harmful by-products released during the subsequent combustion of these fossil fuels are described.


Week 12:     Fossil Fuels and Biomass         Lab 7 ¿ Radiation ¿ I

A comparison and contrast between the energy released and environmental consequences of fossil fuels compared to other forms of biomass used for energy production.

    
Week 13:     Nuclear Physics         Lab 7 ¿ Radiation - II

The basic physics of nuclear reactions, radioactive decay, the concept of half-life and its relevance to the long-term storage of nuclear waste, and the methods by which these materials are mined and stored, and their impact on the environment, are described.

    
Week 14:     Nuclear Power

Alternative methods for generating electrical energy, from conventional fission reactors, to breeder reactors (and the implications for storage and security of the radioactive by-products, and fusion reactors (such as the ITER proto-type plant under construction in Europe) will be described.


Week 15:     Review

An overview of the semester¿s topics, the basic physics explored and the consequences for the environment, is presented.

Old:  Physics 1001W: Energy and the Environment
Instructor: J. Woods Halley
Office: 350C Tate Laboratory, 116 Church St. SE
Office Phone:624-0395
Office hours: 4:30-5:30pm M, 2:30-3:30 WF
e-mail: woods@woods1.spa.umn.edu
Class Web Page: http://www.physics.umn.edu/classes/2009/spring
Books:
Energy, Its Use and the Environment, R. A. Hinrichs and M. Kleinbach, Brooks/Cole
Energy and the Environment, Physics 1001W, Lab Manual
Goals of this class:
1. Remember and understand what is meant by energy in physics and engineering as applied to technologies of energy delivery and use in today's world. The goal is to permit you think about, discuss and explain energy in terms which which are scientifically correct, though not necessarily as technically as detailed as an engineer or scientist might use.
2. Learn, at a similar level, the basic facts concerning energy production and use and their environmental consequences in society from a scientific and technical point of view.
To lead to these goals you will
1. Read and understand verbally, the concepts set out in the lectures and text.
2. Master the concepts quantitatively so that you can set up and carry out simple calculations at the mathematics level of arithmetic and very simple algebra which provide practise in achieving the goals listed above.
3. Carry out and critically evaluate laboratory experiments illustrating the principles and concepts you are learning in the course.
4. Write short essays demonstrating your understanding of the concepts and your ability to think logically about them. The essays should use language understandable to all college educated adults and should be scientifically correct as judged by a professional scientist.
Work Load:
About 20-40 pages of reading each week (mostly from the textbook).Explicit weekly reading assignments appear in the course schedule below.
A total of about 40 (lab reports plus final paper) pages of writing for the course.
Three in-class exams and a comprehensive Final Exam. Dates are listed in the course schedule.
Fourteen laboratory reports (details from lab TAs). Weekly, as listed in the course schedule.
Seven homework assignments. Due dates are listed in the schedule.
Two short papers and one final paper. Due dates are listed in the course schedule.
Extra credit for correct answers to in-class 'clicker' questions:
During each lecture, you will have an opportunity to answer questions
posed by the lecturer using a radio frequency 'clicker'. Answers are
recorded and you will get 2 extra credit points for each correct answer.
The number of possible extra credit points is not precisely determined
(because some of the questions will be chosen by the lecturer during
the course) but will be between 100 and 200.
Note: Please put your name, student number, and lab section number of each paper that you turn in. Thank you. Homework, inclass exams and papers are to be turned in at the beginning of lecture on Fridays, sorted by lab section. When these papers are graded, they will be returned
in lab sections. Lab reports are to be turned into lab section TA's. No papers or homework will be accepted by email.
No Early, Late, or Make-Up Exams Will Be Given.
Exam Schedule
In-Class Exams: 2/13, 3/13 and 4/24
Final Exam: Saturday, May 16, 2009, 1:30 to 4:30 PM
Grade Determination:
Strictly on a point system. Keep track of your points, and you will know your grade
Fourteen labs 8 points for report; 2 points for preparation 140
Three in-class exams 50 points each 150
Final Exam 100 points 100
Seven homeworks 10 points each 70
Two Short papers 20 points each 40
Final paper 100
Maximum total 600 (plus extra credit 'clicker' points)
Final Grade Assignment:
Total Score > 500 points = A-/A
Total Score = 400-500 = B-/B/B+
Total Score = 300-400 = C-/C/C+
Total Score = 200-300 = D/D+
Total Score < 200 = F
Labs:
Labs are a very important part of this class. Everyone is expected
to own a lab notebook (of some sort, nothing very formal is required,
but it should include everything you do for the labs in a single bound
book) and read through the laboratory descriptions in the lab book for each weeks lab. You are expected to write down a little bit of preparatory material in your lab notebook before you enter the lab. This might be addressing some of the following questions: What is the purpose of this lab? What are we testing? What do we expect for a result? Nothing long is necessary, just a quick check that you have
prepared for the lab.

Liberal Education Core Requirement
This class satisfies the University of Minnesota Liberal Education requirement of a physical science course with a laboratory component, as part of the Liberal Education Core.  Discoveries and inventions that have profoundly altered the course of human history arose from the physical sciences.  As citizens and voters (whether in the United States or in another country), today¿s students will be called upon to make decisions on such topics as global climate change, alternative energy sources and resource management.  A familiarity with the methods and findings of the physical sciences has never been more important and forms a crucial component of a common education.  

This class will expose the student to physical principles and concepts, demonstrate how these principles can be applied to quantitatively describe natural phenomena, and provide the student with an opportunity to perform hands-on experiments and measurements that replicate how physical knowledge is obtained.  All knowledge in the physical sciences is empirically acquired, and a proper exposure to the ways of knowing and thinking in the physical sciences requires a laboratory component to any formal coursework.  The lab component of the class will give you experience in making predictions based upon hypotheses, which are then empirically tested by experiment or observation, through which scientific knowledge is developed.  The language of the physical world is mathematical and students will be expected to employ mathematical reasoning in order to solve problems both qualitatively and quantitatively. Physics is a social endeavor, and the student will gain experience in cooperative problem solving, working in small groups with other students, in the laboratory sections of the course.

Liberal Education Theme Requirement ¿ The Environment
This class satisfies the University of Minnesota Liberal Education requirement of the Environment Theme.  Informed decisions regarding the environment cannot be made without an understanding of the scientific issues related to the transformation of energy from one form to another.
By addressing the basic science associated with human energy transformation and utilization, students will be able to assess the costs and benefits of a wide range of energy alternatives and their impact on the environment.


Student Conduct:
The Institute of Technology assumes that all students enroll in its
programs with a serious learning purpose and expects them to be
responsible individuals who demand of themselves high standards of
honesty and personal conduct. The Institute of Technology expects the highest standards of honesty and integrity in the academic performance of its students. Any attempt by a stAny attempt by a student to present work that he or she has not prepared, or to pass an examination by improper means, is regarded by the faculty as a serious offense, which may result in the immediate expulsion of the student. Aiding and abetting a student in an act of dishonesty is also considered a serious offense. All work you hand in must be your own work. Anyone copying from another student from material obtained from a website or book, and trying to pass this off as their own work, without providing citation and credit, will be penalized, ranging from a zero on the particular assignment to an a grade of F for the class. Cooperative discussion with laboratory partners concerning the performance of experiments and their interpretation is encouraged. However, your laboratory reports should be your own work in the sense described above. Similarly, discussion of homework problems is encouraged but the homework problem solutions you turn in should be your own work and should not be copied from anyone else.
Use of Class Notes for Commercial Purposes:Students may not distribute, via the Internet or other means,lecture notes or instructor-provided materials for compensation or for commercial purposes. This policy is enforced as University rules under the University of Minnesota statement of standards of student conduct and violations may result in sanctions ranging from a warning to
expulsion.
Course Schedule
Week 1(1/20-23): Introduction: Overview of energy flows on the earth
Reading: Chapter 1 of KH, No Laboratory
Week 2(1/26-30): Basic Language of Physics: space, time, velocity, acceleration
force, mass.
Reading: Chapter 2 of KH
Laboratories 1 and 2
1/30- Homework 1 due
Week 3(2/2-6): Kinetic Energy and Gravitational Potential Energy, Power
Reading: Chapter 2 of KH
Laboratory 3
2/6- Homework 2 due
Week 4 (2/9-13) : Thermal Energy and the First Law of Thermodynamics
Reading: Chapters 3 and 4, KH
Laboratory 4
2/13: First In Class Exam
Week 5: (2/16-20) Thermal Energy Transfer, Insulating Houses
Reading: Chapters 4 and 5
Laboratory 5
2/20- Homework 3 due
Week 6: (2/23-27) Solar Energy
Reading: Chapter 6
Laboratory 6
2/27 - Homework 4 due
Week 7: (3/2-6) Engines driven by Thermal Energy, Second Law of Thermodynamics
Reading Chapters 4,7
Laboratory 7
3/6- First paper due
Week 8: (3/9-13) Global Warming and thermal pollution
Reading: Chapter 9
Laboratory 8
3/13: Second in-class exam
Week 9: (3/23-27) Electricity, Circuits and Superconductors
Reading: Chapter 10
Laboratory 9
3/27- Homework 5 due
Week 10: (3/29-4/3) Electromagnetism and the Generation of Electricity
Reading: Chapter 11
Laboratory Laboratory 10
4/3- Homework 6 due
Week 11: (4/6-10)Electricity from Solar, Wind and Hydro
Reading: Chapter 11
Laboratory 10
4/10- Second short paper due
Week 12: (4/13-17) Basics of Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Reading: Chapter 13
Laboratory 12
4/17- Homework 7 due
Week 13: (4/20-4/24) Energy from Nuclear Fission, and, possibly Fusion
Reading: Chapters 14, 15, 16
Laboratory 13
4/24- Third In-Class Exam
Week 14: (4/27-5/1)-Other Possible Energy Technologies of the Future: Biomass, Geothermal energy, Ocean Waves
Reading: Chapters 17,18
Laboratory makeup
5/1 Homework 8 due
Week 15: (5/4-5/8) Review
5/8 Final Paper due
Final Examination is Saturday, May 16, 2009, 1:30 to 4:30 PM