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This Unit's

Homework Page

History Lecture

Science Lecture

Lab

Parents' Notes

For 2026: Please note that units are considered "under revision" until two weeks before the class date, and page content, web assignments, and exercises may change before that deadline.

Parent Notes for Unit 48: The Industrial Revolution and Power

Preparation

Below are notes on the main points of each assignment.

• History Web Lecture:

  Several centuries ago, Newton proposed that light was made of small objects (corpuscles) that were transmitted from a source to our eyes. Young's experiment challenged this idea by showing that at least under some circumstances, light behaves as a wave. Modern quantum mechanics talks about light waves and light "particles" or photons -- since neither theory is completely adequate to explain all of the phenomena. Students need to realize that to some extent, the issue isn't that we have two competing theories, but that we lack the analogies to explain what light really is, and we can only compare it to things we do understand -- waves moving through water, and particles collided.

• Science Web Lecture:

  The science weblecture is a complex website that students need to spend time exploring. Make sure that your student puts in the time necessary to develop answers for the discussion questions.

• Homework:

  Homework focusses on helping students articulate and explain basic light phenomena.

• Discussion:

  Discussion will focus on the problems with describing light phenomena, both for our historical figures of the 19th Century, and in modern light theory.

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