COURSE FACT SHEET FOR PHYSICS DEPARTMENT PROGRAM REVIEW

1. Title, Course, Number, and Credit Hours. (Explain credit load of course if it is in some way unusual.)
Sound and Light, Physics 110, 3 credits

2. What is the catalog course description for the course?
Waves and oscillations, vibrating systems, hearing and vision, light, lenses, atmospheric phenomena, lasers, compact discs. For non-science majors.
Lectures and laboratory sessions.

3. What are the prerequisites or other background required of students for this course? Are these requirements adequate?
There are no prerequisites specified. It is assumed that students have had at least one course in high school algebra.

4. How does this course fit into the departmental program?
This is a service course offered by the department to enable students to meet the general
education requirements in science.

5. At what type of student is this course aimed? What gaps or needs in the curriculum is this course intended to fill?
This course is aimed at non-science majors who wish to meet the general education
requirements in science by taking a course in physics. There is material in the course which is
of special interest to students with majors in Mass Communications, Music and Art .

6. How is this course important to a particular field of study?
Although this is a general education science course, the course contains material which is of special interest to mass Communications, Music and Art majors. It is also of interest to majors in psychology who will be taking courses in sensation perception.

7. How is this course different from any other courses in the catalog or why must the material covered in the course be treated separately instead of being incorporated into another course?
This course teaches a more specific set of material at greater depth than can be accomplished
in survey type courses.

8. If this course is similar to another course in the catalog, explain why both courses should exist or suggest whether something should be dropped or changed.
The course is not similar to any other course in the catalog.

9. When, how and by whom is this course taught?
The course is taught every year by Dr. Burns. There are six or seven laboratory experiments
which are done in addition to the lectures.

10. Are the current holdings of the O'Keefe Library adequate to support this course or are additional materials needed?
There are several very useful films and AV materials which have been supplied by the
O'Keefe Library.