The course will cover the basic principles of scientific inquiry, and the fundamental concepts of Physics. The emphasis will be upon students developing an understanding of the ideas and languages of scientific thought.
The course will begin by considering the way in which Physics describes the everyday world: in Mathematics and English and through the use of models.
This will give a good grounding in classical mechanics and develop students’ problem solving abilities. Later we shall consider the way probability, relativity and quantum mechanics differ from the Newtonian ideal.
We shall also spend some time considering the historical and philosophical foundations of inquiry in Physics. During the four weeks students will prepare a presentation in an area of Physics that interests them.