Rationale
In the curriculum unit I developed there are connections to space and technology through out the study of Newtonian Mechanics and in the study of Wave Mechanics and Electromagnetic waves. My goal is to integrate space and space technology throughout the Physics 1 curriculum to help the students become more knowledgeable of the connections between the study of physics and the understanding of the Universe.
In the Newtonian mechanics portion of the unit the student will have to solve problems related to travel in space, escape velocities for different planets, and energy requirements for space explorations. There will be class discussions on how human activities are changed due to the "weightless" environment of space, and how astronauts work in the space environment. There will be discussion on the hazards of human space travel. The unit will conclude with a design cycle inquiry lab on rocket science.
In the Wave Mechanics portion of the curriculum I am going to include a lesson on spectroscopy and how it is important in the study of Astronomy. I will include in my Doppler Effect unit problems on the wave length shift of light from stars and galaxies. In my optics unit I will include information about telescopes, and discuss the Hubble equation and how it is used to determine distances in the Universe.
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