OCTOBEB 29, 1909] 



SCIENCE- 



579 



substance of which, with some added docu- 

 mentary matter, is here set down. My 

 excuse for narrating at such length the 

 history of college entrance requirements in 

 physics is my belief that college men, as a 

 rule, know very little of this history and 

 are therefore not in position to understand 

 fully the present condition of physics in 

 the schools or the possibilities of improving 

 and utilizing the work there done. 



In 1886 the Harvard University cata- 

 logue contained for the first time, in its 

 statement of the alternative requirements 

 in physical science for admission to the 

 freshman class, the following: 



A course of experiments in the subjects of 

 mechanics, sound, light, heat and electricity, not 

 less than forty in number, actually performed at 

 school by the pupil. 



In 1887 a pamphlet with the title "De- 

 scriptive List of Experiments in Physics," 

 giving detailed descriptions of apparatus 

 and detailed directions for forty exercises 

 to meet this requirement, was issued by 

 Harvard. 



In 1889, in response to complaints from 

 the schools that the pamphlet just described 

 was too restrictive, a new edition was pub- 

 lished giving forty-six exercises, of which 

 the candidate might omit any six. 



In the year 1897-98 the Harvard cata- 

 logue contained for the first time an 

 amended statement of the requirement in 

 elementary physics, much longer than the 

 original statement and with less exclusive 

 emphasis on the laboratory work of the 

 pupil. As this statem^t is still in force 

 at Harvard, and as the influence of Har- 

 vard on the teaching of physics in schools 

 is frequently spoken of as deplorable, it 

 may well be given here, lengthy though it 

 is. It reads thus : 



A course of study dealing with the leading ele- 

 mentary facts and principles of physics, with 

 quantitative laboratory work by the pupil. 



The instruction given in this course should in- 



clude qualitative lecture-room experiments, and 

 should direct especial attention to the illustra- 

 tions and applications of physical laws to be 

 found in every-day life. The candidate will be 

 required to pass a written examination, the main, 

 object of which will be to determine how much 

 he has profited by such instruction. This exam- 

 ination may include numerical problems. It will 

 contain more questions than any one candidate 

 is expected to answer, in order to make allowance 

 for a considerable diversity of instruction in dif- 

 ferent schools. 



The pupil's laboratory work should give prac- 

 tise in the observation and explanation of physical 

 phenomena, some familiarity with methods of 

 measurement, and some training of the hand and 

 the eye in the direction of precision and skill. 

 It should also be regarded as a means of fixing in 

 the mind of the pupil a considerable variety of 

 facts and principles. The candidate will be re- 

 quired to pass a laboratory examination, the main 

 object of which will be to determine how much he 

 has profited by such a laboratory course. 



The candidate must name as the basis for his 

 laboratory examination at least thirty-five exer- 

 cises selected from a list of about sixty described 

 in a publication issued by the university under 

 the title " Descriptive List of Elementary Exer- 

 cises in Physics." In this list the divisions are 

 mechanics (including hydrostatics), light, heat, 

 sound and electricity (with magnetism). At least 

 ten of the exercises selected must be in mechanics. 

 Any one of the four other divisions may be omitted 

 altogether, but each of the three remaining divi- 

 sions must be represented by at least three exer- 

 cises. 



The candidate will be required to present a note- 

 book in which he has recorded the steps and the 

 results of his laboratory exercises, and this note- 

 book must bear the endorsement of his teacher, 

 certifying that the notes are a true record of the 

 pupil's work. It should contain an index of the 

 exercises which it describes. These exercises need 

 not be the same as those upon which the candidate 

 presents himself for the laboratory examination, 

 but should be equivalent to the latter in amount 

 and grade of quantitative work. 



The note-book is required as proof that the can- 

 didate has formed the habit of keeping a full and 

 intelligible record of laboratory work through an 

 extended course of experiments, and that his work 

 has been of such a character as to raise a pre- 

 sumption in favor of his preparation for the 

 examination. But much greater weight will be 



