SCEN 102 - Discussion Section Activities
| Dates | Activity | Relevant Reading and assignments |
| 2/14 - 2/17 | Distance-time and Speed-time graphs (see discussion assignment below, for all discussion sections) | Tillery ch 2 (32-36),
ch 3 (48-50)
Assignment 1 |
| 2/21 - 2/26 | Balls and Ramps activity | Tillery ch 4 (pp. 68-80). Assignment 2 |
| 2/28 - 3/5 | Review for First Exam. Exam is on 3/6 | Assignment 3 |
| 3/7-3/12 | How Sound Systems Work | Web page: http://www.howthingswork.com (see assignment 4 for details) |
| 3/14 - 3/19 | Magnetism | Assignment 5 |
| 3/20 - | No discussion sections, Spring Break |
Discussion Section Assignments
These assignments are due at the BEGINNING of class. Most of the time, the assignments will count for 1 of the five participation points which you earn from participating in discussion. You will be given credit for a serious effort on the assignment; your effort need not be correct.
Examine the distance-time graph in Figure 2.3 of the Tillery et al. text (page 26). Would the speed-time graph which corresponds to this pattern of motion look more like Figure 2.6A or Figure 2.6B? Why? If it does not look exactly like one of these pictures, how would it be different?
Optional Extension: (you earn one additional participation point if you do this). Draw distance-time and speed time graphs for the four creatures described in the box on page 27.(These are the cheetah, peregrine falcon, dragonfly, and human.) It is up to you whether you put all four creatures on the same graphs or not; so you can turn in a minimum of two pictures and a maximum of eight. Write a short paragraph which answers the following question: If an animal is to be a successful predator, is speed the only important characteristic that it has, or are there some other characteristics?
In the apparatus which you have used in lab shown in Figure 3.3, suppose that the block at the end of the ramp is free to move, rather than fastened to the end of the track. What will happen to the block when a ball is rolled down a ramp? How will what happens be affected by the different variables which you can adjust in the experiment?
1. Draw a concept map which describes our understanding of energy, force, and motion. We will discuss concept maps briefly in the large class. For more information on concept maps, see http://users.edte.utwente.nl/lanzing/cm_home.htm. (Even though this page is maintained in Holland, the language of the page is English.) You can also go to a page maintained by Chemistry Professor Hal White which shows how he uses concept maps in the Chemistry Senior Seminar: http://www.udel.edu/chem/white/teaching/ConceptMap.html
2. For as many questions as you like (minimum of 2 to receive credit for doing the homework assignment), go to the page of sample exam questions, answer a question , and explain why your answer is correct in a sentence or two.
In case you didn't notice, these two assignments are very closely related to two strongly recommended study strategies for the exam. For more information on exam study strategies, see http://www.udel.edu/physics/scen102/studytips.htm
How do sound systems work? Go to the world wide web, find two web sites which can give you at least part of the answer, and bring in the first page of these web sites to your discussion. You will be responsible for handing in the URL and the first page of these web sites at the discussion section.
For a start, I'm providing you with one web site which contains a lot of answers to "how things work:"
You can also use your favorite search engine in order to find more web pages. You can get to a list of search engines from the University of Delaware's list of search engines:
http://www.udel.edu/main/internet/
You can also get an answer to just about any question from one of my favorite web sites, "Ask Jeeves."
(Incidentally, in the not too distant past, companies who occasionally wanted to know the answer to specific questions would hire specialists who would hang around the place and be able to supply the answer. Now a company in that situation will buy a computer connected to the internet and use this website. This is one more reason why team skills and the ability to solve genuine, complex, real-world problems - not the stuff at the back of textbook chapters - is important for a successful career in the 21st century. )
Assignment 5 (due 3/12 - 3/15)
1. Before you look at your textbook, think about what magnetism means to you. Write down the answers on a sheet of paper. These can be words, phrases, short sentences, whatever...
2. Now turn to pages 162-171 in the Tillery text. Skim the text to find out what topics it covers. (You don't need to read it in detail.) What parts of the text - if any - deal with the topics you mentioned in answer to question 1?
3. What topics should a textbook like Tillery's cover?