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arXiv · 1510.00753

Vision and change in introductory physics for the life sciences

S. G. J. Mochrie
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Abstract

Since 2010, the Yale physics department has offered a novel calculus-based introductory physics for the life science (IPLS) sequence, that re-imagines the IPLS syllabus to include a selection of biologically and medically relevant topics, that are highly meaningful to its audience of biological science and premedical undergraduates. The first semester, in particular, differs considerably from traditional first-semester introductory physics. Here, we highlight the novel aspects of Yale's first-semester course, and describe student feedback about the course, including a comparison between how students evaluate the course and how they evaluate courses with a traditional syllabus, and how students' perceptions of the relevance of physics to biology and medicine are affected by having taken the course.

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S. G. J. Mochrie. 2016-02-15. Vision and change in introductory physics for the life sciences. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4947003

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