PHYS0030
Basic Physics [ Lab Website ]
This year-long course (PHYS 0030 & PHYS 0040) is designed primarily for concentrators in science other than Physics who do not expect to take additional courses in the physics concentration curriculum. It is intended to provide an understanding of the principles underlying physical phenomena that are encountered in the study of other scientific disciplines. The majority of students in the course are pursuing a premedical curriculum.
To make the study of physics meaningful for general education and relevant as professional preparation emphasis will be centered on the development of physical intuition, modeling skills and problem solving ability. The course employs quantitative methods. Algebra and trigonometry are used extensively as are the basic concepts of calculus. More calculus is used in PHYS 0040 than in PHYS 0030, but the level is limited to simple derivatives and integrals. (Note that Mathematics 0090, 0100 are co-requisites for this course.) Course notes detailing procedures and policies are available. The text is University Physics (extended version) by Hugh D. Young and Roger Freedman, 11th edition.
PHYSICS 0030 deals with the phenomena of motion, and the mechanical properties of matter and covers the following material, essentially the Chapters 1 through 16 in Young:
- Preliminaries (estimation, dimensions, units, vectors)
- Kinematics (using equations of motion, falling bodies, projectiles)
- Dynamics (mass, force, the laws of motion, contact forces, friction)
- Work, Energy and Power (forms, transformation, conservation of energy)
- Impulse and Momentum (collisions, center of mass)
- Circular Motion (centripetal force, banked curves, rolling)
- Gravitation (law of gravity, orbits of planets and satellites)
- Rotational Dynamics (torque, moment of inertia, angular momentum)
- Mechanical Properties of Matter (density, elastic properties, surface tension forces of cohesion and adhesion)
- Hydrostatics and Hydrodynamics (pressure, buoyancy, smooth and urbulent flow, viscosity, terminal speed, centrifugation) Oscillatory Motion (kinematics, frequency, energy, damping, resonance) Mechanical Waves (equation of motion, interference, standing waves, resonance, beats, wave speed, energy transport)
