PHYSICAL SCIENCE

SC151

GENERAL COURSE SYLLABUS

Textbooks:

Issued to each student-
Hsu, Tom PhD (2002) Foundations of Physical Science. Cambridge Physics Outlet, Howley, Massachsetts

Classroom Set -
Maton, A., LaHart, D., Hopkins, J., Warner, M., Johnson, S., and Wright, J.D. (1997). Exploring Physical Science. Prentice Hall, N.J.

Course description:

*This course is an introduction to basic chemistry, physics, and mathematics concepts to lay a solid foundation for higher level science courses. This course will relate these concepts to daily activities and societal issues. It will also develop competency in scientific skills using cognitive skills, critical thinking and hands-on practice.

Course objectives:

Link to expanded objectives by chapter as a PDF file or a Word Document.

This course is designed to:

• Identify methods of scientific research and discovery
• Identify the steps of the scientific method, laboratory use, safety and equipment
• Describe forces, motion and energy
• Demonstrate the use of work, power and simple machines
• Discuss energy-- forms, transformations and uses
• Describe uses in electronics and computer science
• Identify wave characteristics
• Consider waves in light and in sound
• Develop an understanding on the impact of physical science in human life
• Recognize the uses of technology
• Explore career opportunities and note contributions to society
• Discuss the economic and political use of scientific knowledge
• Develop models of matter--basic building blocks and their combinations
• Describe properties of matter
• Reproduce the periodic table and note the natural family groupings
• Recognize common chemical formulas and compute reaction

PHYSICAL SCIENCE SYLLABUS

First Nine Weeks Outline

Laboratory Safety
Ch. 1: Scientific Inquiry - Scientific Method; Metric System; Measurement; Graphing
Ch. 2: Science and Measurement - Mathematical Models
Ch. 3: Forces - Force, Mass,& Acceleration; Weight, Gravity, Friction; Equilibrium, Action & Reaction
Ch. 4: A. Machines and Mechanical Systems - Forces in Machines
Ch. 5: Work, Energy and Power - Work; Energy Conservations; Energy Transformations
Ch. 6: Electricity and Electric Circuits
Ch. 7: Measuring Electricity - Voltage; Current; Resistance
Ch. 8: Electrical Relationships - Ohm’s Law; Work, Energy and Power
Ch. 9: Circuits - Series Circuits; Parallel circuits

Second Nine Weeks Outline

Ch. 10: Magnets and Motors
Ch. 11: Harmonic Motion
Ch. 12: Waves - Waves in Motion; Natural Frequency; Resonance
Ch. 13: Sound and Music
Ch. 14: Light and Color - Electromagnetic Spectrum
Ch. 15: Optics

Third Nine Weeks Outline

Ch. 16: Classification of Matter
Ch. 17: Properties of Matter - Density; Buoyancy;Viscosity
Ch. 18: Atoms and Elements - Atomic Structure; Periodic Table of Elements
Ch. 19: Molecules and Compounds - Bonding; Chemical Formulas
Ch. 20: Chemical Reactions - Chemical Changes; Chemical Equations; Conservation of Mass
Ch. 21: Types of Reactions

Fourth Nine Weeks Outline

Ch. 22: Chemistry and the Environment - Nuclear Reactions; Carbon Reactions
Ch. 23: Solutions - Dissolving Rate; Solubility
Ch. 24: Water Quality - The Water Cycle
Ch. 25: Acids and Bases - Acids, Bases and pH; Acid Rain
Ch. 26: Measuring Heat - Temperature Scales; Specific Heat
Ch. 27: Heat Transfer - Conduction; Convection; Radiation