Academic
Physics Syllabus
Text:
Conceptual Physics. Hewitt.
Semester
One:
I.
Metric
System and Simple Linear Motion [Chapter 2 in text]
(Metric
system/conversions, Scientific notation, Displacement vs. distance, Speed vs.
velocity, Acceleration, Graphs of linear motion)
II.
Free
Fall and Kinematics [Chapter 2 in text]
(Free
Fall, Equations of linear motion)
III.
Vectors
[Chapter 3 in text]
(Vectors
and scalars, Adding vectors graphically and
mathematically, Resultant velocity, Projectiles)
IV.
Forces
[Chapters 4-6 in text]
(Mass/Weight/Inertia,
Newton’s laws, Friction, Air Resistance)
V.
Momentum
[Chapter 7 in text]
(Momentum,
Impulse, Conservation of momentum, Elastic and inelastic collisions,
explosions)
VI.
Work
and Energy [Chapter 8 in text]
(Work,
Power, Kinetic and Gravitational potential and elastic potential energies,
Conservation of energy, Simple machines, Efficiency)
VII.Circular Motion
[Chapter 9 in text]
(Rotational
speed, Conversions, Centripetal acceleration and force)
VIII.
Center
of Gravity and Rotation Mechanics [Chapters 10-11 in text]
(Center
of mass and toppling, Torque, Rotational inertia, Angular momentum)
IX.
Universal
Gravitation [Chapters 12-14 in text]
(Newton’s
Law of Universal Gravitation, Kepler’s laws, Astronomy,
Cosmology)
Departmental Midterm Exam
I.
Special
Relativity (Chapters 15-16 in Text)
(Time
as the 4th dimension, Special relativity vs. general relativity,
Simultaneity, Time dilation, Length contraction, Time travel)
II.
Density
and Buoyancy (Chapters 18-19 in Text)
(Density,
Buoyant Force, Archimedes principle, Pressure in solids and liquids,
Bernoulli’s principle)
III.
Temperature
and Heat (Chapters 21-23 in Text)
(Temperature
scales, Specific heat, Phase changes and latent heats, Thermal expansion, Heat
transfer)
IV.
Waves
and Sound (Chapters 25-26 in Text)
(Simple
harmonic motion, Pendulums, Wave phenomena, Resonance, Sound, Human hearing,
Harmonics, Doppler effect, Sound intensity)
V.
Light
and Color (Chapters 27-30 in Text)
(Electromagnetic
spectrum, Brightness, Color, Reflection and mirrors, Refraction and lenses,
Snell’s law, Total internal reflection)
VI.
Electricity
(Chapter 32 in Text and supplementary materials)
(Atomic
Structure, Electrostatics, Charge, Current, Resistance, Batteries/generators,
Ohm’s law, Circuits, Power, Household electricity)
Departmental Final Exam