KAMSC Physics
Welcome to KAMSC Physics, the toughest science class you're ever going to love (. . . and occasionally hate). This website is designed to assist you in working your way through the junior year here at the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics & Science Center.
Enjoy!
By the way and as a point of reference, I should point out that I think bunny rabbits, Alaskan malamutes, dragons, and bobcats are all cool . . . and if you don't like them as much as I do, then that's just too bad!
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There's nothing like a set of physics problems to set your heart all a'fluttering. So here's where you find them. I've arranged them in the sequence that I typically follow in my teaching, so you can download them at your convenience (and as many copies as you need).
By the way, as fair warning, you may discover some problems require knowledge yet to be learned . . . in other words, there is the occasional question in which you'll want to come back to and solve, since they involve concepts you'll be covering at a later date. I know; it would be so much easier if I just gave you problems in a nice linear system, but that's not the messy way physics works.
So . . . give it your best shot and do some physics!
Introduction
So every once in a while, you're going to run into something you don't quite "get". And that's when a little outside help might be necessary. Of course, outside help could include . . . oh . . . meeting with your instructor?! Or perhaps looking for some conceptual assistance on-line.
Therefore, in the spirit of collaboration, here are some links to useful (and hopefully, interesting) sites about physics.
Just in case you have a question . . .
A very brief history of me: I have been with KAMSC since 1988. I earned two baccalaureate degrees in science education and psychology from Montana State University and a master's degree in mathematics from the Ohio State University. I've also completed post-graduate work in physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Prior to my employment at the Center, I taught at Mattawan High School in Michigan and Mountain View High School in Wyoming.
Over the summers, I have worked at the National Solar Observatory at Sunspot, New Mexico, at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a U.S. Department of Energy Teacher Researcher, at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, and at the University of Notre Dame and Kalamazoo College as a Teacher Research Associate. I also worked on the Systemic Initiative in Montana Mathematics and Science project and participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities Great Theorems in Mathematics program at the Ohio State University.
I am a past president of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society and a member of the Astronomical League, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the National Speleological Society, and a Life Member of the Ohio State University Alumni Association.
In 2013, I was named one of six teachers nationwide as a Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher awardee and was the 2006 Michigan High School Science Teacher of the Year. I have also received an Outstanding Alumni Award from the West Michigan chapter of the Ohio State University Alumni Association, was a recipient of a RadioShack National Teacher Award in 1997, the Hans Baldauf Award from Great Lakes Region of the Astronomical League, and have been recognized with 50 Kalamazoo County Excellence in Education Significant Educator Awards over the past 25 years. I was one of the top 200 teachers selected as a finalist for the NASA Educator Astronaut program in 2004. Finally, I earned National Board Certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2007.
In my so-called spare time, I enjoy reading, writing (and am the author of "The Hammer of God", a work of self-published speculative fiction and am currently very, very, very slowly working on a second novel), and doing serious amateur astronomy. I am also the proud owner of an Easton carbon nanotechnology baseball bat or, as it's better known by my students, the "nurture stick".
And, last but not least, I am the one and only KAMSC Cricket Team coach and a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan.
