MODERNIZING INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS

Since 1985 the Colgate University Department of Physics and Astronomy has been reshaping the first term of introductory calculus-level physi cs to answer the question: ''Why do we believe in atoms and the proper ties ascribed to them?'' This paper describes the new course, its 400- page text, its ten laboratories, its six computer exercises, and how t hese work together successfully to serve several purposes: For those s tudents who do not continue on with any more physics, it is a good int roduction to physics; for the many students whose quantitative skills need enhancing, it provides a better chance to improve those skills th an traditional introductory physics; by its emphasis on wave-particle duality and mass-energy equivalence, the course introduces students to important quantum and relativistic ideas that are fundamental to most of what contemporary physicists actually do. We also extract from our reform efforts some lessons useful to anyone undertaking to change in troductory physics. (C) 1995 American Association of Physics Teachers.