🚀 go-pugleaf

Judy,

Amazing!  I am all for curriculum integration and cooperating with
other disciplines, but since when does the math department (or any
other for that matter) dictate how we teach science??  My first
inclination would be to remind the math teacher that much of the
math was developed with a purpose, not just for the fun of it.
Remember Newton and the calculus?  Is this person operating under the
assumption
that physics is a course designed to meet some of the goals of the math
curriculu
m?

Does the math department teach calculus to all
the students in physics before the get to physics?  If you have
that situation you are probably unique.  My students normally have
only algebra and a little geometry by the time I get them.  I have
to teach the trig functions before I can teach physics.  I'd love
to use calculus sometimes, but I'd have to teach that first!  If I
did I would never get around to teaching any physics.  Even if
they do have calculus I'd be concerned that the fundamental
principles of physics would get so lost because the students would
be struggling with the math and would lose sight of the physics.
Few high school students are prepared or mature enough to deal
with things at the intellectual level required by a calculus-based
physics course.  For most high school students, the less math the
better.

I would also be concerned about the methodology.  The way I
learned it, and the way I teach it, is to study linear motion
first.  Then 2- and 3-dimensional motion is treated by breaking it
down into several 1-dimensional problems - very logical and
functional.  The law of sines and cosines does not cut it in this
approach.  It is a nice short cut when adding two vectors, but
what happens when you have more that two?  Using components
always works and introduces some concepts fundamental to the rest
of mechanics.

It comes back to one basic question to me -- who is the math
chairperson to be telling the science department what to do?
Sounds to me like there are some politics going on here!  If
anything I would suggest that the science department should be
suggesting to the math department what math skills the students
need in order to be prepared to take science courses!!

Hank Deemer