Can understanding different scientific cultures and
practices in Biology and Physics lead to better teaching of
Introductory Physics to biologists?
1
Stevenson
2
Celli
Robert D.
and Jonathan
1Biology Department and 2Physics Department, UMass Boston, Boston, MA, 02125 U.S.A.
Steve Vogel is the
exception not the rule
among biologists. Most
biologists do not use
physics explicitly in their
everyday work.
Biologists are still unraveling the elements of
their systems. Their questions take the form
of YES or NO answers or they spend their
time counting. The complexity of biological
systems and their interactions are so poorly
understood that machinery of physics can not
be applied. Furthermore biological systems
are far from equilibrium, states relatively
unstudied by physicists and chemists.
Physics is not currently
a priority for students at
UMass Boston. They are
taking physics late in
their course of study.
35
30
Number of Respondents
From quarks to the cosmos and the Big Bang
to the End of the Universe, the spatial and
temporal scales of physics easily encompass
biology phenomena. There is no evidence that
life violates physical laws. In addition, the
tools and instruments of biology are often
derived from research in physics.
Furthermore, some of biology's most famous
scientists were originally trained in physics,
including more than one Nobel laureate.
1. Rate disciplines that are important to your research.
25
Never Used
20
Rarely Used
Used monthly
15
Used weekly
10
Used everyday
5
0
Among 10 science disciplines,
biologists ranked Mathematics,
Statistics, and Bioinformatics the
most important. Chemistry and
Computer Science were ranked
4th and 5th . Physics is not
regularly used by many
biologists. The four
environmental science
disciplines of Oceanography,
GIS, Geology and Atmospheric
Science are never used by 50%
of the respondents.
2. Increasing my knowledge and skill in this area
would make me a better scientist in my field.
35
Number of Respondents
The foundations of
biology depend on
physics. The
connections between
disciplines are strong.
Biology faculty and graduate responses about
discipline importance using an anonymous on survey
30
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Maybe
Agree
Strongly agree
25
20
15
.
10
5
0
Bioinformatics, Statistics and
Computer Science were
identified as the three most
important disciplines in which
scientists thought increased
knowledge and skill would
improve their research.
Chemistry and Mathematics
were followed. Physics was
ranked in the bottom half along
with the four environmental
disciplines.
3. Many undergraduate biology curricula, including our major, require
science courses outside of biology to complete a degree. If you had to trim
requirements by two classes, which ones would you remove?
Number of Respondents
Introduction
30
2nd course to remove
25
1st course to remove
20
15
10
5
0
1st sem 2nd sem 1st sem 2nd sem 1st sem 2nd sem
calculus calculus chemistry chemistry physics physics
Among the three courses,
Chemistry, Physics and
Calculus, often required for an
undergraduate college degree in
Biology, the second semester of
Calculus and and the second
semester of Physics were voted
the least useful for biologists
4. Assuming a person holds a BS in Biology, proficiency in what two additional
disciplines would improve their chances for employment, for admission to
graduate school, or for employment as a technician in your lab?
Part of the conversation
is to explore the
questions “What do
biologists think about
physics?
20
2nd recommendation
Number of Respondents
One aspect of changing the priorities of the
students is to make the introductory physics
course and the labs relevant for biology
students. To improve the chances of success
we have started conversations between the
biology and physics faculty.
16
12
8
4
0
1st recommendation
Consistent with their
previous rankings,
biologists rated
Bioinformatics and
Statistics expertise as the
most desirable when
hiring a technician.
Chemistry and computer
science were rated 3rd and
4th. Physics ranked with
Oceanography, GIS, and
Mathematics
Discussion and
Comments
Bioinformatics and Statistics
are important to Biologists
The biologists (faculty, n = 14 and graduate
students, n =17) at UMass Boston work
across all levels of biological organization,
from molecules to ecosystems. The survey
shows they value bioinformatics and statistics
as disciplines that can are important in many
subdisciplines of biology.
Chemistry and Mathematics are
valued more than Physics
In all four questions biologists ranked
Chemistry as more important than Physics.
Biologists also believe they use Mathematics
more than Physics (Q 1&2) and clearly value
many disciplines (bioinformatics, statistics,
computer science) that might be classified as
applied mathematics.
Next Steps
1. Are there other important questions to ask
of Biologists?
2. Do you have suggestions about how to
expand the survey to a range of
institutions?
The next generation
science standards’
Crosscutting Concepts
offer fruitful territory for
discussion.
The seven themes are:
1. Patterns.
2. Cause and effect.
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity.
4. Systems and system models.
5. Energy and matter:
6. Structure and function.
7. Stability and change.
These concepts cut across all science
discipline and are likely to be a good starting
point for physics and biologist to collaborate
on making introductory Physics more
valuable for biology students.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Rachel Skvirsky and Brian White
in our Biology Department and Bala
Sundaram an Steve Arnason in the Physics
Department for stimulating discussions.