Problems Physics 132

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A major component of any successful physics course are the problems and activities. The problems and activities provided for the NEXUS Physics course include homework problems, problems appropriate for in-class group-work, and clicker questions. Below is the set of items delivered to the Introductory Physics for Biologists II class in the Spring of 2012. Note that for this first pass through the class, about half of the problems were problems previously constructed as "Thinking Problems in Physics". These homework problems were built to help students develop critical thinking skills and to make connections between the physics they were learning and their intuitive experience. These are given in the first column while the homework problems with more explicit biological context and motivation are given in the second column. The third column contains the problems and activities (of both types) that were used in recitation as group work, and the fourth column contains links to in-class multiple-choice clicker questions.

 

Standard Physics Homework Problems	Biologically Oriented Homework Problems	Recitation Problems	Exam Problems
Mathematics, Estimation, Dimensional Analysis
What if Greenland Melts  Swingin' in the rain  Equations for sinusoidal waves  Building a pipe organ	Population Growth I Capacitance Dimensions  Carbon Footprint  How much gasoline is in the food we eat?		Bacterial mass Retinal display
Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics
What's Conserved? The bulldog on the skateboard  The Gauss Gun  The isothermal atmosphere  How heavy is heat? Two equations with heat and temperature	Potential energy analogs for chemical reactions  Polymers and entropy  Enthalpy Calculation for a single molecule  Evolution and the Second Law  Evaporating a Membrane	How a Kinesin Walks - Revision   Insane in the Membrane part I Insane in the Membrane part II	Heat flow problem   Interpreting Boltzmann (MC) Energy levels of a diatomic molecule   Chemical bonds (MC)   Chemical bond essay question   Chemical reaction toy model
Electricity
Charges, fields, and potentials Points and sheets  Counting charges  The energy stored in a capacitor  Capacitors in series and parallel  Tracking round a circuit  Lots of batteries and a bulb  Three bulbs and two batteries	Analyzing dipoles Shielding DNA  Modeling a nerve membrane  Capacitance in nerve cells	Electrophoresis The Big Square DNA Salting Out Circuits	Charges, fields, and potentials (MC)   The infinite sheet model (essay)   Capacitance of a membrane   Cell membrane model Constant current source  Both ions moving
Oscillations and Waves
Online mass-spring lab  SHO Energies  Comparing mass on a spring and pendulum  Where's the force?  Graphing a pulse - 3  Sinusoidal wave on beaded string  Propagating a Gaussian Pulse  The resonance simulation  Without missing a beat  Modified Harmonics  Oscillating difficulties    Arranging patio speakers ?	Waves on an axon	Diatomic Vibrations Pulse Tutorial Ultrasound (Seeing inside the body) Spectroscopy: How does light interact with matter	Diatomic vibrations Standing and traveling waves (MC) Representations of elastic strings (essay)
Light
Possible Mirrors Finding your focus  The world in a spoon  Alice and Aslan  Choosing a lens  TV versus mirror  Hearing and seeing around a corner ? Interfering atoms ? Changing interference  Three models of light  Interstellar gas	The microscope X-ray crystallography  Breaking up is hard to do	Mirrors Models of Light Why do we see in the visible	Flame test Discrete state emission and absorption