Initial Publication Date: September 5, 2024

Instructor Materials Overview

Course Learning Goals

At the end of this course, students will have:

  1. Developed content knowledge in the fundamentals of physics through the practices of science and engineering.
  2. Applied the fundamentals of physics to interpret the processes at work in Earth systems.
  3. Analyzed and interpreted real-world data to develop proficiency, confidence, and independence using mathematical concepts in physical science.
  4. Synthesized and communicated course concepts using the language of the NGSS (specifically cross-cutting concepts and science and engineering practices).
  5. Collaborated with peers to practice science and engineering skills while building an inclusive classroom community.
  6. Cultivated curiosity about the role of scientists in our modern world as well as an appreciation for the diversity of scientists who fill that role.

Course Outline

Unit 1: Motivation and Course Introduction

Throughout Unit 1, students are building toward a deep understanding of the motivating question and developing a sense of community through discourse, active learning, and getting situated in this course that is focused on engagement in investigation and design. Students study methods, attitudes, and mindsets (growth⟺fixed) about science, units and conversions, and how this course is aligned with NGSS standards/best teaching practices. This introductory unit is designed to be implemented over approximately one week.

Unit 1.1: Introduction to learning

Who are we, why are we here, and why is this course probably different than your past science courses? In this first class meet-up, students break the ice by reviewing survey data about their peers' attitudes about science and learning, evaluating growth v. fixed mindsets, and creating individualized goals for the course.

Unit 1.2: Introducing SEPs and CCCs

How is this class aligned in a way to help you with your future teaching? In this unit, we lay out the format of a class, how it aligns with NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards), and how students can use these materials in their own future teaching. An optional Bubbles lab asks students to engage in Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) as they discover the properties of soap bubbles.

Unit 1.3: Units and Conversions

Why do we care about units, anyway? In this unit, students are introduced to the concept of standardized units and given motivation for why a common set of units is desirable. Students are also introduced to some simple unit conversion/conversion factor exercises. Energy units and conversions are given priority because the next unit begins with energy. An optional Measuring Sticks lab asks students to devise and test their own measurement system, which further motivates the need for a standardized system of measurement.

Unit 2: Got that big, big energy

Unit 2 introduces students to waves, energy, power, heat, heat engines, and the first and second laws of thermodynamics. All materials have relevance to a central motivating question about a massive volcanic eruption (see below). Students engage with the materials through hands-on explorations, generation and analysis of their own data, system mapping, ocean buoy data, and more. Students will ultimately demonstrate their understanding of these topics when they create a lesson that focuses on one aspect of this unit.

This unit introduces a format that will be repeated in future units. Students complete (approximately) weekly reflections about their subject-specific learning, create science journals for all lab activities, and complete a short "Scientist Spotlight" to showcase a diversity of scientists who have all overcome some challenge in pursuit of their scientific passion. Quantitative skills are developed that include interpreting direct/inverse proportionality; calculating and interpreting mean and standard deviation; inserting a best fit line to data and interpreting the results as physically meaningful from governing equations; using simple equations to make predictions and draw conclusions about data; and performing unit conversions.

This material is suitable for any undergraduate level and no prior college-level coursework is assumed; if Unit 2.7 is completed (the lesson plan summative assignment), then students should be familiar with the NGSS's SEP (Science and Engineering Practices) and CCC (Cross-Cutting Concepts) from Unit 1.2 or through other coursework. Most of these materials work well as standalone experiences if the entire unit can't be completed.

Unit 2.1: Why are waves created and what is the point of them?

Waves are observable all over the place, so why do they exist? Students analyze properties such as wave speed, distance traveled, and time elapsed through their own explorations. They are introduced to new lab concepts (accuracy and precision) and new quantitative skills (interpreting graph data and proportionality). Students are also introduced to the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption, which sent a shock wave that encircled the globe about three times. This eruption will serve as a motivating question throughout the unit.

Unit 2.1 Extension: Wave Application to Hunga Tsunami Wave Data

Waves are observable all over the place, so why do they exist? Students conduct experiments to examine wave speed, then use data to analyze wave speed, distance traveled, and time elapsed for the tsunami wave created by the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption that occurred on January 14, 2022. In these follow-up extension activities to Unit 2.1, students are asked to complete the same analysis that they completed in the Unit 2.1 Slinky Lab, but this time with data from a real-world event.

Unit 2.2: Measuring and Analyzing Waves

This unit follows up and reinforces the topics introduced in the previous unit (Unit 2.1) about waves and wave properties. Multiple scaffolded extension activities and lab exercises build on similar concepts with increasing levels of difficulty and independence.

Unit 2.3: What is energy and how can we transform it?

What is energy and how can we transform and utilize it? Students have already touched on the idea of energy in a previous unit, but in this unit we investigate it more deeply through activities that connect different energy types, how energy is transferred, and applications of the law of conservation of energy.

Unit 2.4: Power

In this unit, students explore the relationship between energy and power when they design an experiment to measure and calculate their maximum power output by running up a staircase at a fast, medium, and slow rate. In a follow-up extension lab, students reinforce these concepts by building a small generator.

Unit 2.5: Applying what we've learned: How can a volcanic eruption or earthquake shake the whole world?

We're over halfway through Unit 2 and the students are now equipped with a more solid understanding of energy types and transformations, waves, power, and the fact that waves move energy from one place to another. In this unit we return to this unit's motivating question: "How can a volcanic eruption or earthquake shake the whole world?" Students will synthesize their understanding of course topics as they learn about how to create system maps.

Unit 2.6: Is heat always a dead end, or can it do something useful too?

Students focus on some thermodynamic aspects of energy: Heat, heat engines, and the second law of thermodynamics. We have already laid the groundwork for these concepts in Unit 2.3 (Energy Types and Transformations), when we noted that some types of energy (sound, wind, thermal energy) indicate that energy is dissipated. Now, it's time for students to look for real-world heat engines. In a jigsaw activity, students analyze data from a variety of real-world heat engines to assess how they are extracting useful energy as heat flows from hot to cold. In a hands-on lab, students build a heat engine boat.

Unit 2.7 Unit synthesis and lesson plan

This is the final module for the Unit and tasks students to apply their understanding of Waves, Energy, and Thermodynamics. In this summative assignment, students choose an activity that they have completed in Unit 2 and write this activity up as a NGSS lesson plan for an audience of their choosing. Students must integrate their physical science knowledge together with science and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts as future teachers. Writing learning objectives is treated as a focus point in pre-activity class discussions.

Unit 3: Destiny Density

Unit 3 introduces students to density through the cross-cutting concept lenses of patterns and structure and function across the gas, liquid, and solid components of our planet. Students investigate density, buoyancy, how fluids' behavior changes under different compositions (matter) and conditions (states of matter), and examine the role of density in fluids and fluid flow. Students will measure, calculate and compare the densities of different materials as well as construct and utilize models to examine the behavior of density differences of fluids in nature. Through these hands-on investigations and experiments, students use the knowledge they gain throughout the unit to explain structure and dynamic processes occurring in the natural world (e.g. weather patterns, atmospheric inversions, ocean circulation, plate tectonics). The unit culminates with students designing an NGSS lesson plan for their future classroom that focuses on one aspect of this unit using a scientific investigation.

The content and materials for this unit all connect to a central motivating question about the dynamic Earth system, from outer atmosphere to inner core. The motivating question prompts students to think about how, in order to identify and distinguish the different layers that make up the atmosphere, ocean, and Earth's interior, we must make observations from the invisible properties of temperature, pressure, and density.

Unit 3 follows a similar format to other units with students completing approximately weekly reflections about their learning for each specific subject and science journals for their lab activities. Students also practice their quantitative skills by collecting, graphing, and interpreting their own data, including applying proportionality of physical properties to natural systems and using simple standard deviation to evaluate experimental accuracy.

Most of these materials work well as standalone experiences if the entire unit cannot be completed and this unit is written with several extension labs and activities identified for classes that do not have lab sections. All extension activities are designed as deeper explorations of the prior unit materials.

Unit 3.1 How can we observe the unobservable?

Matter is made of atoms, but we cannot see them. How can we observe the "unobservable"? Students will use observations of the changing behavior of objects to make interpretations about the structure of atoms and practice "observing the unobservable". In the accompanying tape extension activity students will collect data from the interaction of objects to make interpretations about the structure of atoms and practice "observing the unobservable".

Unit 3.2 Why are there layers of the atmosphere?

We know that we have an atmosphere, that it is composed of gasses, and that it has a layered structure, but we can see none of these properties with the naked eye. Building on the idea of observing the unobservable, students will investigate air pressure, temperature gradient, and apply these concepts to explain natural phenomena.

Unit 3.3 What causes ocean stratification?

Students will use real world data to investigate the physical stratification of the ocean, measure the density of various fluids, construct and experiment with a physical model of the ocean's layers, and compare the relative scale of the real world data with the properties of the model.

Unit 3.4 What can we learn by mapping sea surface data?

What can we infer from mapping sea surface temperature and sea surface elevation? Students will use satellite data to make observations and interpretations about ocean circulation in the North Atlantic. Students will also explore how to communicate data with art, like the climate scientist and artist Jill Pelto. This unit is based on activities developed by the European Space Agency and Jill Pelto via Science Friday. This extension unit and activities are designed to give opportunities for students to explore the course content more deeply if there is sufficient time, but classes that are short on time can skip these with no loss of continuity.

Unit 3.5 How do the densities of Earth materials relate to the layers of the Earth?

How do we measure the density of Earth materials? Students will measure the density of solid materials and contextualize them within the layers of the geosphere and their mechanical behaviors.

Unit 3.6 Why do plates "tectonic"?

Students will apply their understanding of density and mechanical behavior of Earth's materials to design and build a model with which they can experiment with (and observe) plate boundary interactions.

Unit 3.7 Unit synthesis and lesson plan project

This is the final part for the density unit and tasks students to apply their understanding of density concepts to create an NGSS lesson plan for an activity and apply problem-solving skills to a film-inspired thought experiment as a summative assignment for this unit.

Unit 4: May The Forces Be With You

Unit 4 introduces students to position, velocity, acceleration, and Newton's three laws of motion. Students engage with the materials through hands-on explorations, generation and analysis of their own data, engineering and design of a Rube Goldberg machine, and more. Students will ultimately demonstrate their understanding of these topics when they create a NGSS lesson plan that focuses on one aspect of this unit and conduct analyses of obstacle courses such as American Ninja Warrior or Wipeout. All materials have relevance to a central motivating question and connections to previous units on energy, waves, density, and buoyancy are regularly introduced.

This unit follows a familiar format compared to previous units. Students complete (approximately) weekly reflections about their subject-specific learning, create science journals for all lab activities, and complete a short "Scientist Spotlight" to showcase a diversity of scientists who have all overcome some challenge in pursuit of their scientific passion. Quantitative skills are again reinforced and include interpreting direct/inverse proportionality; calculating and interpreting mean and standard deviation; inserting a best fit line to data and interpreting the results as physically meaningful from governing equations; using simple equations to make predictions and draw conclusions about data; and performing unit conversions.

Most of these materials work well as standalone experiences if the entire unit can't be completed. If all four modules are completed, then plan for this material to take about a month of class time. Materials that can be skipped without loss of continuity are noted throughout.

Unit 4.1 What is where?

The location of anything is determined by its position, but any "position" is relative and needs a frame of reference. In this module, students will track and measure simple trajectories of chosen objects to graph, and compare graphs of the objects' changing position, velocity, and acceleration as they move.

Unit 4.2 Why do objects change their motion?

In this unit, students discover force types and the connection between a force and an acceleration. In an engineering and design project, students will construct a vertically-launching rocket and analyze its motion. Armed with this knowledge, students will "derive" Newton's laws of motion, make connection to energy transformations, and better understand a collision as a transfer of energy that occurs because two objects exert forces on each other.

Unit 4.3 Nature and machine: implementation of forces

How do forces cause Earth's crust to collide and divide? Students plan, design, and construct a model of plate tectonics to further develop a concept that they began to investigate back in Unit 3. Then, students plan, engineer, construct, analyze, and synthesize the concepts of this unit (position, motion, forces) by designing and building a Rube Goldberg machine.

Unit 4.4 Unit synthesis and lesson plan

In this final unit for the course, students apply their understanding of motion and forces concepts to: 1. create an NGSS lesson plan for an activity that they have completed in Unit 4, and 2. conduct analyses of obstacle courses such as American Ninja Warrior or Wipeout. Writing engaging and relevant introductions is treated as a focus point in pre-activity class discussions.

Students also return to the course goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the course and complete the final Scientist Spotlight: YOU are the scientist!

Making the Units Work

To adapt all or part of the Phyiscal Science Teaching Unit for your course, you will also want to: