PHYS 1201 - Why the Sky Is Blue: Aspects of the Physical World

(PBS-AS)

Fall. 3 credits.

A. Sadoff.

A descriptive physics course aimed specifically at the non-science student. This can be viewed as a “physics appreciation course” where the approach is initially historical allowing the student to understand the classical world we live in and, at the same time, see how these ideas lead to our more modern concepts of the Laws of Nature. The methodology of science and the nature of evidence are emphasized. An overriding theme is the unity and character of the physical laws we believe we have discovered . While a few computational problems may be assigned, the purpose is to help students to understand the concepts rather than to master problem-solving techniques.