🚀 go-pugleaf

Mike
It sounds like you are looking for Fermi questions.  This was discussed
last year and lots of questions are probably in the archieves.  I haven't
tried to get those but it is possible.  Look in the info you recieved
when you first subscribed to find out how to get archieved info.  Send a
message to me if you want me to send you a few of these.
Al

On Thu, 4 May 1995, Mike Macallister wrote:

> In my AP physics class for the last four years I have been dutifully
> assigning problems from the text we use (Physics, Giancoli 3rd edition) for
> my students to solve.  I have also been getting increasingly dissatisfied
> with this.  The problems usually key in on a particular section of a chapter
> with its narrow focus of possible concepts to be brought to bear on the
> problem and their equation(s).  I don't disparage this.  I do, however, wish
> there was more.
> For example, I came across an interesting problem not too long ago which
> simply asked the following: "If two galaxies passed through each other, what
> is the probability that two stars would collide?  Or one Neils Bohr once
> proposed, "How many molecules does a car tire lose for each revolution of the
> tire.   To solve the problem there are estimates that have to be made and
> relevant quantities researched.  There  is a strategy to solving the problem
> that is not tacitly dictated by the section of the text the problem comes
> from.  And so on.
> Anyhoo, I am not terribly creative at making up my own such problems like
> this.  I also have not found any good sources as yet.  If you know of any
> such source, or have pet problems like this you wouldn't mind sharing, could
> you pass it along to me?
> Thank you
>
> Mike Macallister
> Central Catholic High School
> Portland, Oregon
>