PHYS-N 190 (VT: Physics of Sound) w/ New Optional Lab

We’ve been offering a 3-credit general-education course on sound for the past several fall semesters: PHYS-N 190 (VT: Physics of Sound).

We use an Open Educational Resource (OER) as a textbook, and it is freely available via the web: Sound: An Interactive eBook. The book includes many interactive simulations which we use, along with other physical and software-based explorations, in class.

For Fall 2022 the class will be offered in the same 3-credit lab-free format as before, but we are going to add a 4-credit option that will also include a two-hour lab component and therefore meet the CLAS Science w/ Lab requirement for B.A. students in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

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3-Credit Option without Lab:

• MW 2:30 – 3:45 PM, Class # 18616

4-Credit Option with Lab:

• MW 2:30 – 3:45 PM & W 4:00 – 6:00 PM, Class # 34195

Note that the lecture component (i.e., MW 2:30 – 3:45 PM) will be combined for both options and that students need to use only a single Class # to enroll based on their choice regarding lab.

The course will be taught in a collaborative format by Professors Monika Lynker and Henry Scott, both from the Department of Physics & Astronomy, with Prof. Scott taking the lead role for the lectures and Prof. Lynker taking the lead role for the lab.

Class Description:

This course will cover physical phenomena in sound production, propagation, and perception, and it will include the standard terminology and fundamentals of the physics of sound. Specific topics include waves and vibrations, perception and measurement of sound, and the acoustics of musical instruments, speech and singing. The course will provide the scientific foundation for more specialized courses such as speech & hearing and music theory, but it will also have interdisciplinary components, and students will be guided to make connections to their own areas of specialty and interest. The course will make extensive use of in-class, computer simulations, smart-phone data collection, and demonstrations for a hands-on approach to learning about the physics of sound.