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Part I: General Information on Designing a How Things Work Course


Part II: Specific Information for the How Things Work Sections:

Component

Titlea

Hoursb

Demos

Lecture Slidesc

PowerPoint

Show

Print

Chapter 1

The Laws of Motion, Part 1

 

 

 

 

 

Section 1.1

Skating

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 1.2

Falling Balls

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 1.3

Ramps

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 2

The Laws of Motion, Part 2

 

 

 

 

 

Section 2.1

Seesaws

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 2.2

Wheels

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 2.3

Bumper Cars

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 3

Mechanical Objects

Section 3.1

Spring Scales

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 3.2

Bouncing Balls

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 3.3

Carousels and Roller Coasters

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 3.4

Bicycles

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 3.5

The Earth, Moon, and Sun

         

Chapter 4

Fluids

Section 4.1

Balloons

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 4.2

Water Distribution

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 4.3

Swimming and Scuba

         

Section 4.4

Elevators

 

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 5

Fluids and Motion

Section 5.1

Garden Watering

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 5.2

Balls and Frisbees

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 5.3

Airplanes

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 5.3

Rockets

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 5.4

Vacuum Cleaners

 

demos

     

Chapter 6

Heat and Thermodynamics

Section 6.1

Woodstoves

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 6.2

Incandescent Light Bulbs

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 6.3

Air Conditioners

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 6.4

Automobiles

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 6.5

Clothing and Insulation

 

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 6.6

Thermometers and Thermostats

 

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 6.7

The Atmosphere

         

Chapter 7

Resonance and Mechanical Waves

 

 

 

 

 

Section 7.1

Clocks

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 7.2

Violins and Pipe Organs

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 7.3

The Sea and Surfing

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 8

Electric and Magnetic Forces

Section 8.1

Electronic Air Cleaners

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 8.2

Xerographic Copiers

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 8.3

Magnetically Levitated Trains

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 9

Electrodynamics

         

Section 9.1

Flashlights

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 9.2

Electric Power Distribution

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 9.3

Tape Recorders

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 9.4

Electric Power Generation

 

demos

     

Section 9.5

Electric Motors

 

demos

     

Chapter 10

Electronics

Section 10.1

Audio Amplifiers

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 10.2

Computers

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 10.3

Telephones

         

Chapter 11

Electromagnetic Waves

Section 11.1

Radio

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 11.2

Television

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 11.3

Microwave Ovens

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 12

Light

Section 12.1

Sunlight

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 12.2

Fluorescent Lamps

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 12.3

Lasers

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 12.4

Paint

         

Chapter 13

Optics

         

Section 13.1

Cameras

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 13.2

Optical Recording and Communications

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 13.3

Telescopes and Microscopes

 

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 14

Modern Physics

         

Section 14.1

Nuclear Weapons

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 14.2

Medical Imaging and Radiation

2

 

ppt

html

pdf

Section 14.3

Nuclear Reactors

 

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 15

Phase Transitions

         

Section 15.1

Water, Steam, and Ice

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 15.2

Water Purification

         

Chapter 16

Materials Science

         

Section 16.1

Knives and Steel

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 16.2

Windows and Glass

1

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Section 16.3

Plastics

2

demos

ppt

html

pdf

Chapter 17

Chemical Physics

         

Section 17.1

Oil Refineries

         

Section 17.2

Laundry

         

Section 17.3

Batteries

         

aWhile most sections appear in the book, How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life (Wiley, New York, 2001), some sections are available on the web. Click on the active links to view those sections in pdf format.

bI have found that some sections require more than one 50-minute class period. Topics that can be covered adequately in one class period are marked with a 1 while those that may benefit from a second class period are marked with a 2.

cI have included my lecture slides in three formats: PowerPoint native format (ppt), html format (html), and Adobe Acrobat format (pdf). These lecture notes continue to evolve and I don’t claim that they are perfect. Feel free to use them or modify them as you see fit.


Part III: Line Art Figures from How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life for use in instruction


Part IV: Documents from my own course this semester, which you may find useful for creating a How Things Work course of your own:


Part V: Additional home assignments from recent semesters of my course:

Fall, 2000 Assignments:

Spring, 2000 Assignments:

Fall, 1999 Assignments

Spring, 1999 Assignments


Part VI: Examinations from recent semesters of my course:

Fall, 2000

Spring, 2000

Fall, 1999

Spring, 1999

Spring, 1998

Spring, 1997

Fall, 1996


Last Updated March 24, 2004
Copyright 1997-2004© Louis A. Bloomfield, All Rights Reserved