Re: Teaching E&M before Mechanics

[Ed Schweber <edschweb@IX.NETCOM.COM>]

Owen von Kugelgen wrote in part:

> We are exploring the possibility of changing the sequence of the
> 9th grade course: teaching Optics and E&M before mechanics.
>
> I would appreciate hearing from those who have tried this before.
>   Can it work well?
>   What are the pros & cons?
>   What are some of the potential pitfalls?
>   What sequence of topics do you recommend?

     Let me, if I may, reverse the question. What do you hope to gain?

   I can see possible benefits in teaching F= ma before kinematics to make
the need for defining acceleration more concrete. But teaching E&M first
would leave students without much of the prerequisite knowledge about forces
and energy that they would need to know. How would you explain voltage?

    The earlier editions of the PSSC book taught geometric optics first on
the assumption that this would be an interesting and easy introduction for
the students but they later dropped this approach for being too intrusive on
the normal sequence.

    Just my two cents worth.

Ed Schweber