Despite efforts to attract a broader student population into physics, introductory physics courses remain a deterrent for many students. The motivation for this book is to make introductory physics more accessible and to increase interest in the subject by incorporating art-based teaching at the undergraduate level. By providing an alternate mental pathway to access physics, students can improve their understanding and deepen their personal connection with this often-impersonal subject. Additionally, by taking a visual approach to the study of physics, we can achieve a more inclusive way of teaching. This book focuses on the subject of electricity and is the first in a series of introductory physics topics. It is a collection of student-made artistic representations of physics concepts and accompanying student explanations of how the concept is explained more clearly through their art. Students were life-science majors enrolled in the introductory physics sequence at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Despite efforts to attract a broader student population into physics, introductory physics courses remain a deterrent for many students. The motivation for this book is to make introductory physics more accessible and to increase interest in the subject by incorporating art-based teaching at the undergraduate level. By providing an alternate mental pathway to access physics, students can improve their understanding and deepen their personal connection with this often-impersonal subject. Additionally, by taking a visual approach to the study of physics, we can achieve a more inclusive way of teaching. This book focuses on the camera obscura, a darkened room with a small hole at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall opposite the hole. Originally developed as a scientific instrument, the camera obscura appeals to artists who use it as an aid to draw. This book is the third in a series of introductory physics topics. It is a collection of group projects in which students were tasked with designing and building a camera obscura to capture a scene and document the process. The project includes student photographs of the scene, setup, and image. Students were life science majors enrolled in the introductory physics sequence at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The project employed inquiry-based learning, an approach to learning that encourages students to engage in problem solving and experiential learning. The basis of this method is to help students in “how to think” instead of “what to think.” Rather than presenting a set of recipe-like instructions to build a camera obscura, students were asked to choose from one of three hypotheses or to make one of their own, and to briefly design an experiment to test this hypothesis that accounts for the elements of experimental design. Students were transformed from passive consumers of facts and content into active contributors to the learning experience.

Blending physics with the study of ancient Chinese science, technology, and culture is a unique and highly effective way to present the fundamentals of physics to non-science majors. Based on the author’s course at Mercer University (Georgia, U.S.), The Art of Teaching Physics with Ancient Chinese Science and Technology exposes a wide range of students to the scientific method and techniques of experimental analysis through the eyes and discoveries of ancient Chinese “polymaths” long before the European concept of the scientific method was even considered. No other book so deftly makes the connections from ancient China to Ben Franklin to Michael Faraday while teaching physics at the same time. A distinctive characteristic of this book is the detailed hands-on laboratory experiments. This first includes making a simple magnetic compass and magnetometer. Students then use the compass/magnetometer to measure the strength of the magnetic field produced by a long straight wire. The second experiment covers two different methods of mining copper to introduce students to simple chemical principles such as displacement reactions, oxidation, reduction, and electronegativity. Originally developed for non-science students in an Asian studies environment, this book provides a valuable resource for science teachers who wish to explore the historical connections largely ignored in traditional texts. When paired with Teaching Physics through Ancient Chinese Science and Technology (Marone, 2019), these two texts provide a unique means of studying selected topics traditionally found in a two-semester Physics course.

Physics in the Arts, Third Edition gives science enthusiasts and liberal arts students an engaging, accessible exploration of physical phenomena, particularly with regard to sound and light. This book offers an alternative route to science literacy for those interested in the arts, music and photography. Suitable for a typical course on sound and light for non-science majors, Gilbert and Haeberli’s trusted text covers the nature of sound and sound perception as well as important concepts and topics such as light and light waves, reflection and refraction, lenses, the eye and the ear, photography, color and color vision, and additive and subtractive color mixing. Additional sections cover color generating mechanisms, periodic oscillations, simple harmonic motion, damped oscillations and resonance, vibration of strings, Fourier analysis, musical scales and musical instruments. Winner of a 2022 Textbook Excellence Award (College) (Texty) from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association Offers an alternative route to science literacy for those interested in the visual arts, music and photography Includes a new and unique quantitative encoding approach to color vision, additive and subtractive color mixing, a section on a simplified approach to quantitative digital photography, how the ear-brain system works as a Fourier analyzer, and updated and expanded exercises and solutions Provides a wealth of student resources including in-text solutions and online materials including demo and lecture videos, practice problems, and other useful files: https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals/book-companion/9780128243473 Supplies teaching materials for qualified instructors, including chapter image banks, model homework sets, and model exams: ttps://educate.elsevier.com/book/details/9780128243473

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales brings much-needed inspiration to teachers, and brings together great stories about teaching from the 2009 National Teacher of the Year and all the 2009 State Teachers of the Year, as well as other teachers and stories of thanks from students. A great teacher gift all year round. There’s always that one special teacher or student, and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales regales all educators with its heartfelt, inspiring, and humorous stories from inside and outside the classroom. Stories from teachers and students about their favorite memories, lasting lessons, and unforgettable moments will uplift and encourage any teacher. A foreword by Anthony J. Mullen, 2009 National Teacher of the Year, and stories from all the 2009 State Teachers of the Year.