Welcome to General Physics II! As you learn to view the world through a physics lens, it will become important that you learn to use the language of physics. There are some challenges associated with physics vocabulary because many of the words that are used in a technical sense in physics might also be used in everyday language; however, the meanings of the words in the two contexts can be very different. In the discussion questions for this course, we will practice using these terms and becoming comfortable using both their everyday and technical meanings. This week, consider the following terms:

• Capillary action
• Density
• Fluid dynamics
• Fluids
• Osmosis
• Pressure
• Specific gravity
• Viscosity

Choose at least 2 terms from the list and answer the following questions for each term:

• What familiarity and prior knowledge do you have about the term?
• What does the term mean in everyday language to everyday people? Use examples to help describe your thoughts. How do people use the word?
• What does the term mean in technical language to physicists?
• How is the term related to the course student learning outcome: Describe, qualitatively and quantitatively, the behavior of fluids?
• What are the similarities and differences between the everyday and technical meanings and uses of the term?
• How might the similarities and differences impact your learning of physics concepts in this course?