Course Overview and Structure
This is a self-paced version of Physics 162- Renewable
Energy Sources. The course is arranged as a series of modules with
homework assignments specifically related to the content of
the module. These assignments are due at specified times as shown
in assignments area on Blackboard.
This course will deal with the issues of alternative energy sources
and sustainable energy sources. The intent is to perform an objective
cost-benefit analysis on each form of alternative energy in order to
determine what is practical on a large scale, as well as on the scale
of the individual homeowner. We will pay particular attention to the
efficiency of each alternative energy source as well as what limitations
exist in terms of extracting usable energy. No textbook is needed
for this course as this field is changing so rapidly, any textbook
becomes quickly out of date. We will therefore make heavy use of
network resources (e.g. the Internet) for providing documentation and
guides to various forms of sustainable energy technology.
This is an interesting time in terms of energy issues. Energy deregulation
is in full swing across the nation and prices are starting to rise.
Shortages are beginning to occur due to lack of planning and a changing
administration will likely have different energy policies that more
closely focus on increased production instead of reduced demand. Hence,
this class is quite topical and relevant.
The course will start out covering solar energy but
will then move to other alternative energy sources such as, Wind, Tides, Hydroelectric, Ocean Currents, and
Geothermal.
The main goals of this class
are to:
- To gain an understanding of the cost-benefit ratio of various
alternative energy sources to see what is feasible on the large scale
and what is not.
- To understand some of the various obstacles associated with actual
implementation of production line alternative energy facilities.
- To do simple calculations regarding the cost of energy usage and
the required infrastructure to deliver a certain amount of power.
Course Overview and Structure |
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This is a self-paced version of Physics 162- Renewable Energy Sources. The course is arranged as a series of modules with homework assignments specifically related to the content of the module. These assignments are due at specified times as shown in assignments area on Blackboard. |
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This course will deal with the issues of alternative energy sources and sustainable energy sources. The intent is to perform an objective cost-benefit analysis on each form of alternative energy in order to determine what is practical on a large scale, as well as on the scale of the individual homeowner. We will pay particular attention to the efficiency of each alternative energy source as well as what limitations exist in terms of extracting usable energy. No textbook is needed for this course as this field is changing so rapidly, any textbook becomes quickly out of date. We will therefore make heavy use of network resources (e.g. the Internet) for providing documentation and guides to various forms of sustainable energy technology.This is an interesting time in terms of energy issues. Energy deregulation is in full swing across the nation and prices are starting to rise. Shortages are beginning to occur due to lack of planning and a changing administration will likely have different energy policies that more closely focus on increased production instead of reduced demand. Hence, this class is quite topical and relevant. The course will start out covering solar energy but will then move to other alternative energy sources such as, Wind, Tides, Hydroelectric, Ocean Currents, and Geothermal. The main goals of this class are to:
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Homework:ALL HOMEWORK SHOULD BE EMAILED TO: phys162@gmail.com Homework is graded on a level of effort scale as the assignments are open ended (to some extent) and will allow you to research a topic at the level of depth you want to to provide a reasonably complete view of the question/subject. The goal here is for you to access multiple sources of information and then synthesize a coherent point of view in responding to a particular question rather than to simply cut and paste information from some Web site. This will easily be detected and will detract from your grade. These assignments are supposed to supplement and compliment the course material and are designed to give you alternative avenues of exploration and learning. Sometimes the homework assignments contain questions pertinent to the material within the module and sometimes it contains questions relevant to future modules.
IMPORTANT: Failure to even do a homework assignment will result in a score of -10 points for that assignment Homework is weighted approximately equally with the exams in this course and its worth your time, if you want a decent grade, to do well on the homework. Preferred modes of homework submission are either a)plain text or b) a Microsoft word document. (preferably in Office 2003 .doc format) Course grades will be given on the basis of your cumulative weighted average which you can lookup on Blackboard. The points are as follows:
The final is optional and is a risk/reward exam. You should only take it if you think you have a reasonable chance of improving your grade. A poor performance on the final will definitely lower your grade. If you take the final, that grade will be averaged with your midterm grade to produce a composite point total (out of 150). After you have completed 3 homework assignments and taken the midterm, a new entry called Interim Grade will appear in the gradebook on blackboard. This interim grade will be based on your weighted average, which will be updated with each homework assignment submitted after the first 3. I have implemented this system to simplify your obtaining your target or acceptable grade for this course. The weighted averages that correspond to letter grades are as follows:
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A+