The investigators are writing laboratory materials for and team teaching an integrated three semester sequence of courses in calculus and physics. The sequence is covering the material normally developed during the first three semesters of the standard analytical calculus sequence and the standard engineering physics sequence taken by freshmen and sophomores. The core of the project is the creation of a series of mini- labs which develop analytical topics in tandem with physical principles using data-gathering equipment connected to personal computers. The investigators are considering the long-standing pair of problems in introductory science education: applications meant to motivate the calculus are often developed poorly and/or out of context by the calculus instructor, and mathematical tools needed in the physics course are often used by the physics instructor before they have been adequately developed in the calculus course.
