<p>Most colleges have two distinct year-long physics sequences; an algebra-based General Physics sequence, and a calculus-based Engineering Physics sequence. There is also typically a one-semester (or quarter) Introduction to Physics that tends to be more conceptual and less quantitative. This is the course commonly derided as, “Physics for Poets”, and is the course that I presume the OP is teaching. Both the General and Engineering Physics sequences have a generally agreed-on series of topics that must be covered, but that is not necessarily the case for the Intro course. A such, teachers have much more latitude in the pedagogy and content of the Intro course.</p>
<p>I’ve been in the science education field for 30 years, and during that entire time, every Physics, Chemistry and Engineering professor that I have met wrings their hands over the poor math preparation of their students. I encountered the same problem when I taught my classes (Oceanography & Meteorology). It is my opinion that most students are reasonably capable of performing algebraic operations, but they never really learned how to apply those skills to the real world. Sure, they can calculate when two trains traveling in opposite directions at different speeds will meet, but they can’t seem to figure out the air temperature at the top of a particular mountain, given the local lapse rate ([NOAA’s</a> National Weather Service - Glossary](<a href=“http://www.crh.noaa.gov/glossary.php?word=lapse%20rate]NOAA’s”>http://www.crh.noaa.gov/glossary.php?word=lapse%20rate)). This is an easy calculation, but many students can’t seem to set it up.</p>