  We propose an unconventional description for the ground state and collective
oscillations of the two-component normal Fermi gas with two-body zero-range
interactions. The many-body problem can be accurately reduced to a linear,
one-dimensional Schroedinger equation in a single collective coordinate, the
hyperradius R of the N-atom system which is the root mean square radius. The
calculated properties of the Fermi gas ground state are shown to agree
accurately with results from the Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation over a wide
range of interspecies scattering lengths. The breathing mode excitation
frequency deviates qualitatively from HF predictions, but we show that this
reflects a failure of the HF approach for this observable.
