ES 2: Introductory Physics

Course Description: Empirical Science 2: Introductory Physics incorporates math, history, and epistemology, making it the perfect text to draw students upward into the adult world of scientific investigation. The primary goal of the course is to imbue the students with real mastery of the method and established concepts of physics. This is achieved by following the guidance of the Novare philosophy, embodied in their excellent books (see below): mastery, real robust labs, depth over breadth, and a Christian worldview. A secondary goal is to imbue the students with the attitudes of the true scientist: wonder, curiosity, humility, and to relish truth. This is taught most fully through the example of the instructor. Finally, a last goal is to clearly present the limits of empirical science, so that the students are prepared to grasp how it fits into the larger schema of wisdom presented in the TPT course sequence.

Labs. A laboratory component is essential for every high-school level science class. Not only does a lab practicum give students direct knowledge and experience that are virtually impossible to obtain from a text, but the report writing component of lab work provides a rich enhancement to the overall learning objectives for the course. The students will be required to write full-length lab reports from scratch for some labs and short form reports for others.