‘The Science of Ice Cream,’ an undergraduate, interdisciplinary, general education course taught in the physics program

Abstract

In our technology driven world today, it is extremely important to increase the science literacy of our non-science majors. At Stockton University, this goal is attempted to be accomplished through our General Studies courses. This paper describes a lab-based course in the General Studies curriculum, ‘The Science of Ice Cream’. At Stockton University, General Studies courses are interdisciplinary courses, designed for all students in four areas of study: general arts and humanities (GAH), general interdisciplinary skills and topics (GEN), general integration and synthesis (GIS), general natural sciences and mathematics (GNM), and general social and behavioral sciences (GSS). The GNM courses are designed to meet four main goals: to examine the broad concerns of science, to explore the nature of scientific process and practice, to provide students with an understanding of mathematics and the natural sciences, to acquire appreciation for how scientific knowledge of the physical and natural world is attained and evaluated. The topic of ice cream was chosen because it provides a rich environment, full of practical applications of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, as well as general concepts in physics, biology, food science, and chemistry. Since this course is designed for both science and non-science majors, it provides a platform to discuss applications of concepts learned in introductory physics. It is sometimes difficult to get non-science majors excited about science, but the laboratory exercises, where the students use the concepts learned in lecture to make ice cream, provide the students with interesting and approachable examples of the physical concepts.