I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
XI Natural Sciences
Dept/Program
Physics and Astronomy
Course Title
Prerequisite
Course #
PHYS U 141N
Relativity: From Galileo to Einstein and Beyond
Working knowledge of high Credits
3
school physics & high
school calculus or consent
of instructor
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Phone / Email
Date
James Jacobs
4986
j.jacobs@umontana.edu
Program Chair
Andrew Ware
Dean
Gerald Fetz
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory
and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity is one of the great triumphs of the human mind in this century,
yet most people have only a vague notion of what relativity is and what it means. In this course,
industrious students with a working knowledge of algebra and trigonometry and a modest exposure to
calculus gain deep insight into the counterintuitive nature of space and time and will acquire a greater
appreciation for the power and beauty of theoretical physics. We begin with a brief historical view of
the study of motion including the works of Aristotle, Galileo, and Newton. We explore the necessity of
introducing relativity theory to match known experimental results. Einstein's special theory of relativity
is introduced from a modern, geometrically oriented perspective, using spacetime diagrams throughout,
and emphasizing the deep connection between time and space. We carefully develop the Lorentz
transformation equations and use them to explore several of the apparent “paradoxes” of the theory.
Finally, we apply the results of relativity theory to the practical real world problems of high-energy
particle physics, where the use of relativity is essential. Throughout the course, we emphasize the
logical structure of relativity to show how the unexpected and counter intuitive consequences of the
theory follow directly and inevitably from the principle of relativity (“the laws of physics are the same
in all inertial reference frames”). We are committed to the idea of bringing a 3-credit physics course at
the 100-level with broad intellectual appeal to students from all disciplines across campus.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
1. Courses explore a discipline in the natural
sciences and demonstrate how the scientific
method is used within the discipline to draw
scientific conclusions.
The study of Special Relativity encompasses
virtually all sub-fields of physics including
mechanics, electricity, magnetism, optics, and
high-energy particle physics. The course serves
as a nearly ideal general introduction to the
knowledge, process, interpretation, and
experimental verification of the natural sciences,
including both an historical perspective and
contemporary interpretations. Although we use
special relativity as a springboard, this course
examines general theoretical principles common
to all of physics.
2. Courses address the concept of analytic
uncertainty and the rigorous process required
to take an idea to a hypothesis and then to a
validated scientific theory.
In this course students solve real problems in a
variety of topics in modern physics. The intimate
connection between experiment and theory is
stressed in this course. Broad classes of
phenomena are distilled into general physical laws
on a weekly basis. The non-intuitive nature of
relativity helps reinforce the rigorous process
required to take an idea to a hypothesis and then
to a validated scientific theory.
This is not a lab course.
3. Lab courses engage students in inquirybased learning activities where they formulate
a hypothesis, design an experiment to test the
hypothesis, and collect, interpret, and present
the data to support their conclusions.
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
We explore the necessity of introducing
1. Students will understand the general
relativity theory to match known experimental
principles associated with the discipline(s)
results.
studied.
2. Students will understand the methodology and Special relativity has but one assumption. All of
the startling consequences of the theory follow
activities scientists use to gather, validate and
from that; this course emphasizes the techniques
interpret data related to natural processes.
3. Students will detect patterns, draw
conclusions, develop conjectures and
hypotheses, and test them by appropriate means
and experiments.
4. Students will understand how scientific laws
and theories are verified by quantitative
measurement, scientific observation, and
logical/critical reasoning.
5. Students will understand the means by which
analytic uncertainty is quantified and expressed
in the natural sciences.
used in all areas of theoretical physics, but in a
very self contained format.
Although direct experimental verification of
theory is difficult in the classroom, we study
several famous experiments that provide
verification. Also, the necessity of using
relativistic corrections to navigational and GPS
systems is stressed in the course.
Since this is mainly a theory course, we rely on
logical/critical reasoning the most, and students
are challenged to match hypotheses to
experimental results.
We examine the uncertainty in several famous
experiments that provide verification for
Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide
sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.