Author Description

The Workshop Physics Activity Guide is a set of student workbooks designed to serve as the foundation for a two-semester calculus-based introductory physics course. It consists of four Modules, with a total of 28 units, that interweave text materials with activities that include prediction, qualitative observation, explanation, equation derivation, mathematical modeling, quantitative experiments, and problem solving. The modules help students understand the basis of knowledge in physics as interplay between observations, experiments, definitions, and mathematical theory. The inquiry-based activities in the modules give students the opportunity to work collaboratively to solve problems, while thinking critically to make predictions and observations. Students use a powerful set of computer tools to record, display, and analyze data, as well as to develop mathematical models of physical phenomena. The design of many of the activities is based on the outcomes of physics education research. Module 3 Unit 16 Heat and Temperature Unit 17 Principles of Thermodynamics Unit 18 Thermodynamics Processes and Heat Engines Unit 28 Radioactivity and Radon