Five Easy Lessons

Randy Knight has taught introductory physics for more than 20 years at Ohio State University and California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where he is currently Professor of Physics. Professor Knight received a bachelor's degree in physics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty at Ohio State University. It was at Ohio State, under the mentorship of Professor Leonard Jossem, that he began to learn about the research in physics education that, many years later, led to this book. Professor Knight's research interests are in the field of lasers and spectroscopy. He recently led the effort to establish an environmental studies program at Cal Poly, where, in addition to teaching introductory physics, he also teaches classes on energy, oceanography, and environmental issues.

• Preface iiiI TEACHING INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS1. IntroductionDesired Student Outcomes Five Lessons for Teachers Toward an Active-Learning Environment Does it Work?2. Teaching Introductory Physics Things to Consider Laboratories and Recitations 3. Physics Education ResearchWhat is Physics Education Research?Summary of Findings from Physics Education Research Examples of Students' Alternative Conceptions Knowledge Structures and Problem Solving Implications for Instruction - The Five Lessons4. An Active-Learning ClassroomSo What's Wrong with Lectures?Active Learning A Dozen Things you can do to Change Physics Education Just the FAQsII TOPICS IN INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS 5. Introduction 6. Vectors and Mathematics 7. Motion and Kinematics8. Forces and Newton's Laws 9. Impulse and Momentum 10. Energy 11. Oscillations12. Waves 13. Thermal Physics 14. Thermodynamics 15. Electrostatics 16. Electric Fields 17. The Electric Potential 18. Current and Conductivity 19. DC Circuits 20. Magnetic Fields 21. Electromagnetic Induction 22. Geometrical Optics 23. Physical Optics 24. Quantum Physics References and Resources