Review
John L. Hubisz, Ph.D., Hubisz@unity.ncsu.edu

Foundations of Physical Science by Tom Hsu published by CPO Science, 26 Howley Street, Peabody, MA 01960, (866)588-6951, http://www.cpo.com

For the past year, I have used the materials from this program with elementary and middle school children. I have argued that many programs for middle school students do not use much of the advertised material developed by the publisher that appealed to those who selected the texts in the first place. Because of a shortage of funds, many schools do not even purchase them, so they are not available anyway. Many of them are worthless or inappropriate anyway. The cost of developing those materials is still borne by the purchaser.

Purchasing a classroom set of these materials from CPO Science will get you a set of equipment necessary for carrying out the investigations which are at the heart of this program. I have visited CPO Science on a couple of occasions and seen how they carry out their work. Their equipment is beautifully crafted, as one might expect when one learns that the genesis of the program and the construction of the first pieces came from a woodworking class.

I am going to start with Investigations: Foundations of Physical Science with Earth and Space Science by Tom Hsu because this is where I find the most significant part of a course that I would like to see in a Middle School physical science course. There is also a version of the text without the Earth and Space Science.

Investigations: … is just one component of this program. There is, of course, the equipment. Then there is the Text (either version), the Teacher’s Guide, Black Line masters, DVD and Video Series, Exam View Test Bank, transparencies, Skill and Practice Worksheets, and videos for professional development.

There are 11 Units (UNIT 3: Astronomy in the table of Contents is actually UNIT 11: Astronomy) paralleling the text. I was not the teacher and I had lots of flexibility as to what I could do always connecting what I did with their textbook (Science Voyages from Glencoe).

Because I wanted to get the students actively involved from the outset, I started with the lever. The text has very clear diagrams showing how to put the equipment together so you cannot go wrong. Even if you are using your own equipment in some instances, the diagrams will be helpful. The students enjoyed, at first, guessing how to make the system that I set up, balance. Very quickly, however, they were predicting accurately what it would take to achieve balance. They enjoyed being selected to come up and place the weights at their predicted spot, especially when they were correct. I should have let them set up the stand and lever, just to have the experience of following the diagrams. Later, the students did all the setting up.

Next, I went to swinging objects. The text does not handle this until UNIT 4: Sound and Waves. I find that this experiment has a wealth of opportunities for illustrating the scientific approach, getting the students to theorize about what will happen next, making good observations, and keeping good records. After several rounds of counting and measuring, I went back to UNIT 1 to introduce the timers and photogates. I do not like black boxes for students, but here we have a check on the students’ first experiments with swinging objects. Verifying results with the more sophisticated equipment sets the stage for recognizing that physical science often advances when new and better measuring instruments become available. Not only that, but the suggested experiments are fun to carry out. Students like to know their reaction times and competitions for catching dropped meter sticks catch their attention.

Precision and accuracy are simply presented. Both metric and English units are introduced. I would rather that English units were relegated to an appendix somewhere. The best way to learn the metric system or any system is to make measurements exclusively in that system to start. Later, if a situation arises where another system might be needed, fine. The abbreviation for second should be “s” not “sec” as is used in this text throughout. So far, graphing of data collected has been introduced slowly. Now the text gets a bit more serious with a car traveling down a ramp to introduce the concepts of speed and acceleration. To his credit the author makes certain that he does not fall into the trap of assuming that all motions start at t = 0 by always recognizing that it is the change in time or time taken that is important. The problem arises from the use of the word, “rate.” Phrases like, “rate of acceleration” or “rate” by itself are very confusing. Acceleration is the rate at which the speed changes with respect to time. Occasionally, “with respect to time” is left off. There is the possibility of other rates of change with respect to concentration, distance, etc. Bad habits often start early. Let’s not start one.

On page 16, the author asks that the reader, “Derive Newton’s second law of motion.” Newton’s laws are not derivable in the ordinary sense of the word. These are fundamental and consequences are derived from them. One might argue for the “truth” or usefulness of a law, which at this stage in the text, one could do. On page 18, the author suggests that one see if there is an additive combination of force and mass that could be tested. Force and mass are different concepts with different units and therefore are not additive.

Having students become familiar with various graphical relationships and get use to the idea of extracting information from tables and graphs is an excellent practice. Drawing some free-body diagrams (FBDs) would be a good idea along with the discussion of Newton’s Third Law.

Simple machines and gears are next on the agenda. Setting up the pulley systems and the gear machines is very straightforward. I can see very bright classes doing a lot more with these experiments, but slower classes will do fine and learn a lot.
At this point, the concepts of work and energy are introduced. It has to this point been a quick trip through the necessary experimental mechanics to get here, but the trip has been smooth.

I will continue with this review because I believe that this is a very good program that should be easily handled in the Middle School. A definite plus is the excellent material available to the teacher.