GE Physics

What is color? Is color an intrinsic property of an object? Why is that your black screen turns colorful when it is on? In this course, we will investigate intriguing questions about colors through the lens of chemistry and physics. Using project-based and inquiry-based approaches, different mechanisms of having a color will be introduced, discussed, and analyzed, such as absorption, reflection, and emission. The mechanisms can then be used to explain and predict a wide range of color phenomena, such as green leaves, blue skies, red paints, orange carrots, and all the colors of the screen you are looking at. At the end of the semester, students will participate in collaborative projects to learn the science of color by doing it.

The physics of motion on earth and in the heavens is traced from ancient Greek times through the Dark and Middle Ages, to the Renaissance and Galileo, and to Newton and the Enlightenment. Humanistic, cultural, and historical perspectives are emphasized as is the scientific method/process. Science is shown to be inextricably linked to other human endeavors such as religion, art, politics, music, literature, philosophy, and commerce. High school knowledge of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and scientific notation would be helpful. Concurrently, we will explore physics after Newton and up to the contemporary frontier of string/brane theory, covering topics such as relativity and quantum mechanics and utilizing modern physics labs.

This heavily mathematical course with no lab requirement examines the changing conceptions of space and time from classical to modern to contemporary physics. Moving from Newtonian reality to Einstein’s relativity to quantum mechanics to current unification theories, we will explore mathematics as a tool to transcend our faulty perceptions and to reveal new phenomenal, though perhaps not narrative, truth.