Brasil Final Report - Department of Physics - The Ohio State University

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We do not have the results yet. I will describe the group who is expected to take the exam and the
recommendations of the Commission.
There are 88 courses in the whole country granting physics degrees, of which 24 are Science
Teaching with major in physics (Licenciatura em Ciências com Habilitação em Física); these
courses have very little physics content and are usually offered at small colleges or smaller towns.
Because of this, the exam must be able to assess also students with relatively little knowledge of
physics.
The total number of students who took the exam was 1529, probably larger than the number
who will actually graduate in 2000. The number of graduates in these courses in 1998 has been
1059, of which 269 were bachelors degrees, 429 teachers (Licenciados em Física) and 361 science
teachers with major in physics. The proportion of degrees , approximately 3 : 5 : 4 , was probably
similar to this year.
The Commission Report states the objectives of the exam for the physics courses, the
objectives for the graduating students, the desired profile and abilities of the graduates. It
recommends an exam in two parts:
I - Common to all degrees and worth 80% of the total score: 40 multiple choice questions about
basic or introductory physics , such as taught in the first two years of most college or university
courses.
II - Specific for either A)Bachelors or B)Teachers (both kinds), each consisting of five questions to
be answered in writing in a few lines, worth 20% of the final score.
5. Public Image of Physics
To most people physics is difficult, mathematical, abstract, complex, has many formulae and is
not attractive, rather boring. This probably mirrors most teaching. The general public does not see
the beauty of our beloved subject. How can we show how interesting it is? The answer transcends
the classroom and concerns Science Popularization and the media, particularly television, which is
at present by far the most influential media in Brazil. I will now show some short video films
produced for open channel TV by the educational channel in São Paulo, TV Cultura, and Estação
Ciência, a science center at the University of São Paulo. There are ten one minute clips, each one
about one physics concept, such as: Theory of Relativity, Black Holes, What are we made of?
(Elementarty Particles), Cosmic Rays, How Long is One Minute? They are made for the general
public, including children, and aim at catching the viewers interest. It is surprising how much
information you can transmit in one minute of television. These films were made by a professional
TV team, directed by Cao Hamburger; scientists only suggested and checked the contents. The
clips were quite successful and received several national and international prizes, and are an
example of the kind of thing you can do to awaken interest in physics.
Brazil is one of the top countries in the world in football association. However, in science,
and physics in particular, it is quite good, but not outstanding. One of the reasons for this
difference in status in Science and in Soccer is that every young boy (in recent times, also girls) in
Brazil plays soccer in his youth and, if he is interested and has talent, he can go on to become a
professional player: the best players are selected from practically the whole population. To
become a scientist, on the other hand, the young man or woman must have finished fundamental
and middle school and entered a university before making the career choice, which reduces the
sample to about one percent of the age group.