1739 - IPLS – the physics that life-science students want and need

Abstract

The traditional introductory physics course doesn’t work for life-science students. Life-science students don't find kinematics or Newton’s laws to be relevant to their interests. That, combined with the well-known conceptual problems associated with describing motion mathematically, suggests the need for a new starting point for the Introductory Physics for Life Sciences (IPLS) course. This presentation outlines a new pedagogical approach for life-science students. It starts with the “marble game,” which simulates diffusion – a topic students already know is fundamental to biology. Modeling techniques introduced with the marble game are then applied to drug elimination; radioactive decay; osmosis; the Boltzmann factor; ligand binding; thermodynamics, phase equilibrium and entropy; membrane voltage, RC circuits and the action potential; models of COVID-19; and yes, even Newtonian mechanics. I’ve been successfully using this approach with IPLS students for over 5 years. See http://circle4.com/biophysics for free textbook chapters and instructional videos.