Math, Science Disconnect

The first thing that the students have in physics is wave properties. Today I gave a presentation on light waves focusing on color, microwaves and cell phones; the purpose of the presentation was to identify connections between the classroom and daily life. In the next wave unit I think they'll cover light waves and the electromagnetic spectrum in more detail. It surprising how much math and science exist in a vacuum for most of the students. When the students have to use math in class they whine and complain about how their science class isn't their math class. They haven't done anything more complicated than arithmetic and basic algebra. This doesn't bode well for forces and motion where geometry is involved; the students might be so busy complaining about the math that they miss the physics. Can you learn physics without using math?

Physics

Second semester is underway and the curriculum has transitioned to physics. They've started by studying the physics of waves (wave properties, different types of waves, and the Doppler effect). It seems that the biggest problem that some of the students are having with the material so far is with retention. In some of the worksheets, a few students initially have trouble answering questions because the don't remember the wave properties. However, when I ask them to describe the waves in question they are then able to answer the questions.