A Physics Laboratory Course improvement program has been developed by Physics faculty at Southwestern Oregon Community College to more closely align laboratory exercises and General Physics and Engineering Physics lecture topics for science and non science majors who transfer to university level programs. The principal goal is to increase opportunities for students to perform a wider variety of experiments using appropriate laboratory equipment and to enhance learning through physics simulations using microcomputers. The focus will be on single topic labs keyed to Physics lecture material. A commitment to new equipment, including computers, will update and enhance existing laboratory equipment. Computer simulations of various physics experiments enhance understanding of more complex general physics concepts which are not possible to investigate in the laboratory - such as the motion of many bodies under gravity, or electric fields in complicated geometrics - while introducing students to computer use in a scientific setting. The college with match the award with an equal amount of funds.
