Rebuilding Physical Science II at the University of Texas at Austin

Physical Science at the University of Texas at Austin is an inquiry-based laboratory physics course for non-technical majors. It spans two semesters with motion and matter being covered in the first and electricity, magnetism and light being covered in the second. The course is primarily intended for students with little or no mathematics background and is a very popular choice for students fulfilling their science requirements. Unfortunately, it is also notorious for the poor state of its lab equipment and lab manual. The central goal of Physical Science is observation. With our equipment we strive to maximize observable effects while minimizing complexity and sacrificing quantitative accuracy. In this talk, I will discuss some recent changes to our electricity and magnetism equipment that help us achieve this goal. These changes include redesigning our equipment to increase its durability and simplicity, and rewriting the lab manual to focus on central concepts and make it more engaging.