Physics of Energy and Environment & PHYS 161 Autumn, 1999 Instructor: Dean Livelybrooks E-mail: dlivelyb@hendrix; 346-5855 Office: 144 Willamette Hall Office hours: U10:00, W14:00 TA: Klaus Engenhardt E-mail: kniesel@darkwing: 6-5853 Office: 154A Willamette Office hours: U, W 14:30-15:30

Scientific endeavor comprises our efforts to understand how systems&endash; be they the organisms and ecosystems found in our natural world, atoms or solar systems, or man-made devices such as automobiles&endash; function and interact with their environment or one another. A physicist’s definition for a system would include things that passively or actively change energy from one type to another&endash; the dark basalts that cap the Cascade Range lie passively in the sun, absorbing visible light and re-radiating some of that energy as "heat." Biological systems purposefully interact with their environment by exchanging energy with it to improve conditions for survival. For example the beaver fells trees and dams a creek to maintain an inhabitable pond. In Physics of Energy and the Environment we will restrict ourselves to examining physical processes; systems interacting with their environments; that are both technologically useful and potentially hazardous to humankind. Examples include the large-scale generation of electricity, and fossil fuel consumption and its relationship to global warming.

Of course the sun-warmed basalt re-radiates infrared energy ("heat") into the Earth’s atmosphere. Increasing concentrations of so-called "greenhouse gasses" prevent some of this heat energy from escaping into outer space. This extra heat could, however, enhance the atmosphere’s ability to bear moisture, perhaps resulting in more cloud cover which, in turn, could lower atmospheric, oceanic and land temperatures... Indeed the Earth as an environment is tremendously complicated, comprising poorly understood feedback cycles between many concurrently-active processes. Scientists attempt improve our understanding of how the Earth "works" by systematically observing and identifying of each underlying process, determining important variables, working out relationships between them, refining our understanding of these relationships through experimentation, and connecting these individual models together in a sensible way to simulate the workings of our complete environment. In Physics of Energy and the Environment we will pay particular attention to how these models are built and what specialized knowledge of physics forms their basis. In learning how scientists develop and improve these models of reality, we should be better equipped to make the important decisions we face when technology and the environment clash.

Objectives:	Improve scientific literacy including questioning and critical thinking skills in the areas of energy and the environment. Develop a conceptual understanding of certain physics principles including: energy- definitions, types, conversion, conservation of... the first and second laws of thermodynamics, heat engines weather, climate and global warming exponential growth- its basis and what it implies
Textbook	Energy, by Gordon Aubrecht. This book is required.
Web Page	http://hendrix.uoregon.edu/~dlivelyb/phys161/home.html
Math Requirements	Some simple problem-solving skills will be taught in this course, although this course will not, in general, be very technical. The level of the problems will be that of basic college algebra. Memorizing of formulas is not necessary; understanding where they come from and how they are used is.
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD’s)	Four, special "interactive" lecture demonstrations are scheduled for the term. These will involve making predictions for demonstrations and describing results. Handing in 3 out of the 4 completed ILD worksheets will replace your lowest-scored homework.
Homework	There will be four homeworks assigned during the term. These will focus on solving simple problems. Homework counts for 20% of the course grade.
Lab Days	There will be two lecture periods scheduled for students to undertake labs. We will break into two groups, with each spending one hour doing labs. The lab write-ups comprise 30% of your grade, and are required.
Quizzes	Three multiple-choice quizzes will be given during the term. These will focus on testing your understanding of physics concepts and their application to energy and the environment. Quizzes count for 30% of the course grade.
Final Exam	The final exam for this class will be given on Tuesday, December 7th at 1PM. It counts for 20% of the course grade.
Grading Summary	Homework 20% (3 complete IDL sheets count for one HW) Labs 30% (lab attendance required) Quizzes 30% (45 minute, multiple-choice quizzes) Final 20%

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