Physics 1

Announcements

• Midterm Exam 3 is Wednesday, Apr 23, during lecture hours
  • covers chapters 10-13
  • Please see exam rules. Exam questions will be based on the review questions.
  • If you have a question while studying, please post it to the General discussion forum.
• No lab this week.
• HW 13 due Sunday, Apr 27. Covers ch 13. This is due after the exam, but its content will be on the exam.

Week 1: Units and Measurement

• Monday – no class (MLK Jr Day)
• Wednesday (Jan 22)
  • Introduction to the course
  • Reading
    • Chapter 1: Units and Measurement
    • 1.1 The Scope and Scale of Physics
    • 1.2 Units and Standards
    • 1.3 Unit Conversion
    • 1.4 Dimensional Analysis
  • lecture slides (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – Why doesn’t the U.S. use the metric system? Pirates!
• Measurements Lab
• Friday – Homework 1 (including reading quiz) due.

Week 2: Vectors

• Monday (Jan 27)
  • Reading Quiz due before lecture. Sections 1.5 – 2.2
  • Reading
    • 1.5 Estimates and Fermi Calculations
    • 1.6 Significant Figures
    • 1.7 Solving Problems in Physics
    • Chapter 2: Vectors
    • 2.1 Scalars and Vectors
    • 2.2 Coordinate Systems and Components of a Vector
  • lecture slides (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – vector sim and videos
• Wednesday
  • Reading Quiz due before lecture. Sections 2.3 – 2.4
  • Reading
    • 2.3 Algebra of Vectors
    • 2.4 Products of Vectors
  • lecture slides (pdf) – dot product example
  • Supplemental Content – Jupyter notebooks for vector work
• Intro to Computational Physics Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 2
• HW 2 due Sunday. Covers sections 1.1 – 1.7

Week 3: One Dimensional Motion

• Monday (Feb 3)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 3: 1D Motion
    • 3.1 Position, Displacement, and Average Velocity
    • 3.2 Instantaneous Velocity and Speed
    • 3.3 Average and Instantaneous Acceleration
  • lecture slides (pdf) – Solving kinematics problems – kinematics example problem (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – kinematic equations
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • 3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration
    • 3.5 Free Fall
    • 3.6 Finding Velocity and Displacement from Acceleration
  • lecture slides (pdf) – example kinematics problems
  • Supplemental Content – jerk, snap, crackle and pop
• One-Dimensional Motion Lab
  • See Vernier and LoggerPro notes in the lab manual documents.
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 3
• HW 3 due Sunday. Covers sections 2.1 – 3.3

Week 4: Motion in Two and Three Dimensions

• Monday (Feb 10)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 4: Motion in Two and Three Dimensions
    • 4.1 Displacement and Velocity Vectors
    • 4.2 Acceleration Vector
    • 4.3 Projectile Motion
  • lecture slides (pdf) – example projectile problem
  • Supplemental Content – observe acceleration & velocity vectors in action
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • 4.4 Uniform Circular Motion
    • 4.5 Relative Motion in One and Two Dimensions
  • lecture slides (pdf) – example relative motion problem
  • Supplemental Content – circular motion & frames of reference
• 2D Motion Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 4
• HW 4 due Sunday. Covers sections 3.4 – 4.3

Week 5: Midterm Exam 1

• Monday (Feb 17)
  • Exam Review (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Midterm Exam 1 covers chapters 1-4. – solutions (pdf) – results (pdf)
• No lab this week.
• HW 5 due Sunday. Covers sections 4.3 – 4.5

Week 6: Newton’s Laws of Motion

• Monday (Feb 24)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 5: Newton’s Laws of Motion
    • 5.1 Forces
    • 5.2 Newton’s First Law
    • 5.3 Newton’s Second Law
    • 5.4 Mass and Weight
    • 5.5 Newton’s Third Law
  • lecture slides (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – a (possibly challenging) ramp puzzle
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • 5.6 Common Forces
    • 5.7 Drawing Free-Body Diagrams
  • lecture slides (pdf)
• Computational Dynamics Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 5
• Sunday – HW 6 due. Covers sections 5.1 – 5.7

Week 7: Work and Energy

• Monday (Mar 3)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 6: Applications of Newton’s Laws
    • 6.1 Solving Problems with Newton’s Laws
    • 6.2 Friction
    • 6.3 Centripetal Force
    • 6.4 Drag Force and Terminal Speed
  • lecture slides (pdf) – FBD problem (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • Chapter 7: Work and Kinetic Energy
    • 7.1 Work
    • 7.2 Kinetic Energy
    • 7.3 Work-Energy Theorem
    • 7.4 Power
  • lecture slides (pdf) – work calculation (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – can you power your house with a bicycle?
• Dynamics Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 6
  • See Dynamics notes for free-body diagram tips
• Sunday – HW 7 due. Covers sections 6.1 – 6.4

Week 8: Momentum

• Monday (Mar 10)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 8: Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy
    • 8.1 Potential Energy of a System
    • 8.2 Conservative and Non-Conservative Forces
    • 8.3 Conservation of Energy
    • 8.4 Potential Energy Diagrams and Stability
    • 8.5 Sources of Energy
  • lecture slides (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • Chapter 9: Linear Momentum and Collisions
    • 9.1 Linear Momentum
    • 9.2 Impulse and Collisions
    • 9.3 Conservation of Linear Momentum
    • 9.4 Types of Collisions
    • 9.5 Collisions in Multiple Dimensions
    • 9.6 Center of Mass
    • 9.7 Rocket Propulsion
  • lecture slides (pdf) – CM calculation (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – collision sim and more
• Work and Energy Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 7 and 8
• Sunday – HW 8 due. Covers sections 7.1 – 8.5

Spring Break

Week 9: Midterm Exam 2

• Monday (Mar 24)
  • Exam Review (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Midterm Exam 2 covers chapters 5-9. – solutions (pdf) – results (pdf)
• No lab this week.
• Sunday – HW 9 due. Covers sections 9.1 – 9.7

Week 10: Rotation

• Monday (Mar 31)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 10: Fixed-Axis Rotation
    • 10.1 Rotational Variables
    • 10.2 Rotation with Constant Angular Acceleration
    • 10.3 Relating Angular and Translational Quantities
    • 10.4 Moment of Inertia and Rotational KE
    • 10.5 Calculating Moments of Inertia
  • lecture slides (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • 10.6 Torque
    • 10.7 Newton’s Second Law for Rotation
    • 10.8 Work and Power for Rotational Motion
    • Chapter 11: Angular Momentum
    • 11.1 Rolling Motion
    • 11.2 Angular Momentum
  • lecture slides (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – why do these disks roll down a ramp at different speeds?
• Momentum Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 10
• Sunday – HW 10 due. Covers sections 10.1 – 10.8

Week 11: Statics

• Monday (Apr 7)
  • Reading
    • 11.3 Conservation of Angular Momentum
    • 11.4 Precession of a Gyroscope
  • lecture slides (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – see why a cat can land on its feet; and the bizarre consequences of the intermediate axis theorem
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • Chapter 12: Static Equilibrium and Elasticity
    • 12.1 Conditions for Static Equilibrium
    • 12.2 Examples of Static Equilibrium
    • 12.3 Stress, Strain, and Elastic Modulus
    • 12.4 Elasticity and Plasticity
  • lecture slides (pdf) – statics problem (pdf)
• Rotational Dynamics Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 11
• Sunday – HW 11 due. Covers sections 11.1 – 11.4

Week 12: Gravitation

• Monday (Apr 14)
  • Reading
    • Chapter 13: Gravitation
    • 13.1 Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
    • 13.2 Gravitation Near Earth’s Surface
    • 13.3 Gravitational Potential Energy and Total Energy
  • lecture slides (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Reading
    • 13.4 Satellite Orbits and Energy
    • 13.5 Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
    • 13.6 Tidal Forces
    • 13.7 Einstein’s Theory of Gravity
  • lecture slides (pdf)
  • Supplemental Content – watch the moon shield Earth from space junk
• Static Equilibrium Lab
  • Concept Quiz on Ch 12
• Sunday – HW 12 due. Covers sections 12.1 – 12.2

Week 13: Midterm Exam 3

• Monday (Apr 21)
  • Exam Review (pdf)
• Wednesday
  • Midterm Exam 3 covers chapters 10-13.
• No lab this week.
• Sunday – HW 13 due. Covers ch 13.

 

Last modified: Mon April 21 2025, 12:53 PM.