PHY110_Spring21_finalproject
Physics 110 Spring 2021 Final Project – instructions and evaluation ru
ic
The final project is a multi-part, multi-media activity with the following objectives:
(1) Learning an overview of the frontiers of modern and contemporary physics
(2) Exploring in detail one area or aspect of physics and how it connects to your life
(3) Expressing your comprehension and connections in a significant academic creative work
(4) Communicating that work to an audience that can then evaluate it critically and effectively
There are several components to this work, each with significant space for individual expression and
effort. Portions of the project will be due, in final or draft form, at different times, with the full project
due by 11:59pm, Monday, May 17, XXXXXXXXXXImportantly, the project is to be turned in by email to the
address wciworth at gmail.com, and must be an attachment at most 10 Megabytes in size. You are
welcome to link larger, supplemental materials from a publicly accessible online location, such as a
shared drive or YouTube channel, in which case a transcript or detailed description of that work must
e included in the project that is turned in by email.
PART ONE: The art of physics
Read the article “Mingling Art and Science Opens Minds” and experience its online supplemental
material about physics, art, and music, as published in the April 2021 issue of Physics Today (the
online links were provided in class). Write a two-page essay, approximately 600 words long.
- Summarize the content of the article and its supplemental information
- Choose one or two of the specific art projects described there in and critique it
- Discuss what kind[s] of art you might wish to connect with the physics in this course and how
PART TWO: The formulae of physics
(first section due 11:59pm Sunday, 5/2/2021; second section due 11:59pm Sunday, 5/9/2021)
Physics can be eloquently expressed using the symbolic language of mathematics. The core of this
course can be communicated through the following five formulae:
F = ma (Newton’s second law of motion)
dU = TdS – PdV (the thermodynamic identity)
v = f λ (the velocity of a wave)
VI = P (the electric power formula)
E = mc2 (the energy mass equation)
Like any language, mathematics can be simultaneously simple and confusing. For example, in the way
many English words can ca
y different meanings in different sentences, the letter “V” appears three
times in those five formulae, and means something different each time. So for each formula,
- Write a paragraph explaining what the formula means and what each term of the formula means
- Describe a question that relates to your life that uses the equation to calculate the answer
- Make the calculation and provide the co
ect solution
PART THREE: The frontiers of physics
(first section due 11:59pm Sunday, 5/2/2021; second section due 11:59pm Sunday, 5/9/2021)
Each of the short videos listed below tells a story of one area of physics that has been a modern or
contemporary frontier of human knowledge. For each video write one paragraph, XXXXXXXXXXwords long,
describing and summarizing the content of each video, and giving your personal reaction to the video
in terms of what it made you think about and what you found interesting. If the direct link to any video
fails, search YouTube on the title of the video or ask the professor.
Video 01 – youtube.com/watch?v=7pSqk-XV2QM (Veritasium: exposing the first atomic bomb)
Video 02 – youtube.com/watch?v=b22HKFMIfWo (Crash Course Astronomy #10: the sun)
Video 03 – youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZQ4JBv3-Y (Science Channel: how fusion powers the sun)
Video 04 – youtube.com/watch?v=6yLGeviU8FM (Matthew O’Dowd: we are star stuff)
Video 05 – youtube.com/watch?v=h8GqaAp3cGs (Amber Stuver: the twin paradox)
Video 06 – youtube.com/watch?v=ERgwVm9qWKA (Physics Girl: the twin paradox)
Video 07 – youtube.com/watch?v=ajZojAwfEbs (Brian Greene: LIGO & gravitational waves)
Video 08 – youtube.com/watch?v=iphcyNWFD10 (Veritasium: detecting gravitational waves)
Video 09 – youtube.com/watch?v=tQSbms5MDvY (Matt O’Dowd: Planck’s constant and QM)
Video 10 – www.pbs.org/video/physics-girl-quantum-crypt/ (Physics Girl: quantum cryptography)
Video 11 – youtube.com/watch?v=HneiEA1B8ks (James Gillies: dark matter)
Video 12 – pbs.org/video/how-the-edge-of-our-galaxy-defies-known-physics-tejjmc/
(Physics Girl: the Large Hadron Collider and our galaxy’s edge)
Video 13 – youtube.com/watch?v=TI6sY0kCPpk (Brian Greene: what is string theory?)
Video 14 – youtube.com/watch?v=DJUnw8CHzsk (Lisa Randall: dimensions beyond our own)
Video 15 – www.pbs.org/video/stephen-hawkings-final-theory-on-black-holes-loopdz/
(Physics Girl: Stephen Hawking’s final ideas about black holes)
PART FOUR: The fun of physics (Introduction due 11:59pm Monday, 5/10/2021)
Choose any topic, or set of related topics, discussed in the first three parts of this project that has
esonated with your interests and curiosity. Create and turn in an original work or product of any kind
inspired by this topic. Please remember to follow the project’s size limitations as described above.
Write an essay companion to the work, XXXXXXXXXXwords in length, using your best MLA-style writing
skills, about this topic and this work. If it is an artistic work, include all relevant supporting content
that would provide a viewe
eader with the appropriate context to appreciate this work. For example:
- if the work is a visual piece, provide a meaningful critique from an external point of view.
- if the work is performance, provide the transcript, lyrics, and/or instrumental notes.
- if the work is text such as poetry, drama, or short fiction, provide the meter, style, and/or annotated
ibliography of sources from which you derived inspiration.
By 11:59pm Monday, 5/10/2021, turn in a one-page informal introduction to this part of the project
that describes the topic, the work, and the essay.
Turn in this work, together with all other final parts of the project, by 11:59pm Monday, 5/17/2021.
Evaluation Ru
ic
Part One (up to 5 points)
1 point for turning in an assignment of the proper length
1 point for co
ect grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
3 points for effectively addressing each of the three required components (1 pt. per component)
Part Two (up to 5 points)
5 points for effectively addressing the 3 required components of each equation (1 pt. per equation)
Part Three (up to 5 points)
5 points for writing an effective paragraph for each of the fifteen videos (1 pt. per 3 videos)
Part Four (up to 15 points)
1 point for turning in the one-page informal introduction on time
1 point for effectively describing the topic, work, and essay in that introduction
8 points for a completed project turned in on time
5 points for a well-written, effective essay with all appropriate relevant supporting content
Please do not hesitate to ask the professor if you have any questions about the project and what you
should do or would like to do for each of the parts of the project. Thank you!