An Energy First Approach to Introductory Physics

ORAL

Abstract

While introductory physics texts and curricula vary in scope and sequence, there is one aspect that is particularly stable: the progression that begins with equations of motion, continues through Newto's Laws, and finally leads to work and energy. While this approach seems reasonable, it can lead to student misconceptions, and is not necessitated by the physics. In particular, it implies that energy is dependent on forces, rather than both being independently definable. In this paper, we discuss taking an Energy First approach, that begins with energy, and utilizes it as the core concept. We address both the pedagogical and conceptual reasons for this approach. Finally, we discuss its use in two introductory courses, one designed for elementary teachers and one designed for architecture majors. In each, we have focused on defining a scope and sequence that is appropriate and meaningful for that audience, rather than continue with a standard, generic approach to introductory physics.

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Authors

  • Christopher White

    Illinois Institute of Technology

  • Daniel Meyer

    Illinois Institute of Technology

  • Michael Turner

    Illinois Institute of Technology, Bettendorf High School, Bettendorf, IA, Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, Bettendorf, IA, Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA, Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Mikrostrukturphysik, Halle, Germany, CNRS, Universite Lyon I, France, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany, University of Jyvaskila, Finaland, Iowa State University/Ames Laboratory, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory and Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, Indiana University, Illinois State University, University of Iowa, Louisiana State University, University of Warwick, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Coe College, University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory, University of Illinois, Ames Laboratory, University of Florida, Tulane University, The Department of Physics and The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, Department of Physics, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD 57197, Intense Laser Physics Theory Unit, Illinois State University, Argonne National Laboratory, Dr, Drake University, Physics Department, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Physics Department, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA, NEST-CNR-INFM and Scuola Normale Superiore, I-56126 Pisa, Italy, University of New Hampshire Department of Physics, University of Chicago