Physics Dome Project
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This fall students at Sidney High School have a new opportunity in STEM education. Three students have enrolled in a dual credit physics course earning five semester credits of physics through Iowa Western Community College while gaining a science credit toward their high school graduation. The course is simply called Physics 156/157 and includes both lecture and laboratory experiences.
In this semester’s first unit of study, students learned basic principles of kinematics such as velocity, acceleration, force and mass. Students investigated the basics of how things move. In the second unit of study, “Statics”, students learned about approaches engineers and architects take to make stable structures that don’t move. They studied various types of stresses, materials and their properties, and mathematics of design in an effort to balance forces. Incorporated in their studies were the watershed concepts developed by Buckminster Fuller to construct geodesic domes. Included in this unit’s work was the application of these concepts with the design and construction of a geodesic dome. Using only tubes of rolled newspapers and a few stove bolts, students assembled from the ground up a self-supporting dome.
Other topics to be studied this semester include mechanics and the relationships of work, energy and power.
Sidney students enrolled in Physics 156/157 this semester are Sarah Welch, Cody Heming and Tyler Richards. The physics course is made available to Sidney students through a joint undertaking of Iowa Western Community College, Noble Township Educational Services and the Sidney Community Schools. The instructor is Steve Baier.