Homework #13 – Phys 142 – Dr. Weeks

Due: Wednesday, April 25, 5 pm

Turn in either outside Rollins 1025 or outside of Emerson 309

Very last homework! Slightly shorter because of Exam #4 on Friday the 27^th.

(9 pts) For the reading from “Voodoo Science,” write two paragraphs that address at least one of the following questions. (1) What level of risk level is acceptable compared to the costs of reducing the risk? Was the amount of effort & money spent investigating power lines worth it? (2) What are your thoughts on avoiding conflicts of interest in investigating health risks, or reporting on them? (3) The end of the reading mentions lawsuits related to the health hazards of power lines. How do you think such issues should be handled in the courts? (4) How can the risks of power lines be effectively communicated to the public? How would you explain the risks of power lines to, say, your roommate who has not taken Physics 142?

The purpose of the paragraphs is to indicate to me that you’ve done the reading, and thought about it a little bit. Feel free to discuss anything in the reading you found particularly interesting, or mistaken, or whatever. This is a physics class so I will be grading these extremely leniently, based on content, rather than based on criteria you might be graded on in an English class. I am more interested in a thoughtful response to the reading, rather than merely a summary of the content of the reading.

Conceptual question: Chapter 31, #7

Problems: Chapter 30, #24, 34

Chapter 31, #22, 26, 40

Other problems to look at, but not to hand in:

Concepts: Ch 30, #5, 9, 11

Ch 31, #5, 6, 13, 15

Problems: Ch 30, #21, 25, 33, 51

Ch 31, #1, 15, 17, 19, 33