General Physics (Non-Calculus) is an educational science software title from MCH Multimedia. This TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award winning application is designed to be a comprehensive high school or introductory college level course, complete with instructional text and audio explanations by a professor. In fact, the software functions almost like a well-designed textbook—so that it seems natural to talk about each topic as a chapter. This is an introductory course, but the material is challenging and definitely designed for more advanced high school students. The course requires some background in math—at least a basic understanding of some algebra and geometry principles. One of the first chapters is a helpful review of the necessary math.
Instruction in MCH Multimedia's General Physics (Non-Calculus) is largely text-based. However, it does make good use of teaching tools that would not be possible in a traditional textbook. The screen is small and text is displayed in short, manageable chunks. In this way, students can easily focus on just one main idea before moving on to something else.
Most pages also have audio instruction. This audio is not simply a voiced version of the text, rather it's an additional explanation of the same topic. This feature simulates having a teacher or professor explain what you read in your textbook, which will be helpful for auditory learners. You can also choose to turn off the sound. Not every page has this audio instruction, and there is nothing to indicate which pages have audio available. It would be nice to see a graphic of some sort that alerts users to expect audio on a given page.
This application uses animations that vary from the simple to the complex. One of the more complex animations illustrates principles of general relativity by showing a single event (lightning striking a train) from two different points of view. Because physics is the study of matter and the forces of nature, the animations in the physics tutorials are especially plentiful and helpful. The program also makes excellent use of charts and graphs to illustrate ideas that are not obvious or concrete.
Most (but not all) of the sections include post-learning quizzes. In this way, students can check their own learning and see what topics they may not have fully understood. The quizzes generally have hints and explanations available if students get stuck.
Other tools include access to a basic calculator and online resources at MCH Multimedia's website, such as a periodic table, math principles and equations, and tables of handy information related to physics. The software also has a notebook feature. While the idea of an integrated note-taking tool is a good one, the virtual notebook is not as functional as a traditional notebook or word processor. You can't format the text, and once you enter a note, you can't edit it. This tool may be useful for some students, but others may find taking notes with a pen and paper an easier fit.
One of the stand-out tools in General Physics (Non-Calculus) is the Find feature. This is basically a searchable index that allows students to search the lessons for a certain word or phrase. From the search results, students can navigate to the found pages, and they will see their search term highlighted on the page.
This educational science software is designed to give in-depth instruction in physics. It covers the topics that you would generally expect to see in an advanced high school physics course or an introductory college course.
Topics covered in MCH Multimedia's General Physics (Non-Calculus) course:
- Math review
- Vectors
- Kinematics
- Projectile motion
- Frames of reference
- Forces
- Newton's laws
- Momentum and collisions
- Work and energy
- Rotational motion
- Gravity
- Thermodynamics
- Waves
- Sound
- Electrostatics
- Electromagnetic theory
- Pre-quantum experiments
- Quantum mechanics
- Special relativity
- Nuclear structure
General Physics (Non-Calculus) is fairly easy to install. You can purchase a physical disc or choose an internet download. We chose the download and found that installation was pretty straightforward. We did have a small problem in Vista, but an email to the company quickly solved the issue. Once you've installed the program, you'll need activation codes from MCH Multimedia to activate it.
Using this educational science software is also straightforward. There's a lot of information, and finding your way around can be challenging at first. However, once you get the hang of how the information is organized, navigation is pretty simple. On the right of the screen is a navigation bar which shows you where you are in each chapter. When you click on different chapter sections, you'll see different subheadings that you can access. There is also a toolbar on the far right of the screen. From here you can navigate to the main menu, chapter headings, the notebook and the table of contents. The table of contents marks the sections students have already visited with a check mark, helping them keep track of where they are. The Find tool and the quiz questions for the chapter can also be accessed from this toolbar. The last button on the toolbar will mute the audio.
The in-program help menu directs you back to MCH Multimedia's website. There you'll find a physical address and an email address to contact for technical support. In our email communication with MCH Multimedia, we found them to be helpful and responsive to our questions.
General Physics (Non-Calculus) is a comprehensive piece of educational science software. It is ideal for advanced high school students or introductory college students looking for a complete course in physics. The application might also be useful for students who want to supplement their school work, or for anyone wanting to brush up on general physics at that level. The depth of the content and the variety of teaching tools (text, audio, charts, graphs and animation) make General Physics (Non-Calculus) a great educational science software choice for students who want a stand-alone, in-depth science course.
