The Northwest School's 12th grade Physics Curriculum: Geoscience enrichment

Physics classes at The Northwest School in Seattle, Washington are integrating current ideas in earth and ocean sciences into the 12th grade physics curriculum. These are applications of concepts that the students encounter in the normal physics sequence, but serve as enrichment as well as serving as examples of how these skills are actually used. Most high school physics students will not have careers in physics or oceanography; however, all will be taxpayers. Their enhanced understanding of how physics and math relate to the environment and earth science will help them make intelligent decisions in the future.
The first part of the year is spent covering the basics of Newtonian mechanics.

The following sequence of topics, following Paul Hewitt's Conceptual Physics high school textbook, is covered in the spring at The Northwest School, and is most closely aligned with oceanography and earth science topics:

Regular physics curriculum	Oceanography/ Earth Science Applications and Enrichment
Gravitation Inverse-square law of gravitation Satellite orbits Tides	Tides (greater detail) Homework on some math underlying Tides
Properties of Matter Pressure Density Sink or Float	(pressure in ocean) Salinity and temperature variations create stable and less stable stratification. Ocean density structure changes through seasons. Series of documents on Archimedes' Principle, drawing on the REVEL experience: Archimedes' Prin. Entry from REVEL '98 web page Archimedes' Principle Background Real-life scenario Classroom activity
Heat and Temperature Specific Heat Water's high specific heat	Ocean's high specific heat affects local weather
Thermal Expansion Solids Liquids: Water	Thermal expansion & density modifications Background activities introducing expansion, and thermal expansion Steric height changes as seen by satellite
Heat Transfer Conduction; convection; radiation Newton's Law of cooling Adiabatic cooling Greenhouse Effect	Conduction Convection: Series of worksheets Pre-Instruction Quiz on weight in water Worksheet on Pressure Worksheet 1 on convection: Heating consequences Worksheet 2 on convection: Pressure & connecting adjacent tubes Worksheet 3 on convection: Establishing classic convection cell Radiation Misconception: Pressure accounts for earth's internal heat
Vibrations and Waves Simple Harmonic Motion Traveling waves, traveling pulses Transverse & Longitudinal Interference Standing waves Bow & Shock waves Reflection: Free and fixed ends	Activities for studying the Propagation of Rossby in the ocean, measured by TOPEX satellite: Background lab activity: propagation of objcts as function of (time & distance). Study propagation by analyzing two Rossby wave profiles Worksheet on how lon. degrees scale with latitude Analyze a Rossby wave over many weeks Analyze (time,lon) images of Rossby waves: How does velocity change with latitude? Standing waves & harbors Seiches
Two dimensional waves Propagating 2-D plane waves Reflection Refraction	Rossby waves seen in TOPEX data Beach processes: Erosion of spits

High School Curriculum Example:

Concept: Thermal Expansion
Existing High School Curriculum	Thermal expansion of metals and other solids Bi-metallic strip; use in thermostats; "ball-and-ring" demonstration Expansion of liquids: How thermometers work
New Connections	Seasonal height variations of ocean. Pre-Quiz: Students predict what will happen when part of ocean expands Lab: Download TOPEX height data time series for a location and estimate annual change. Other activities: Coriolis force demonstration (water doesn't run away "downhill," even after heating)

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