This course is a general physics course for the non-science major. The course helps develop an awareness of the physical concepts which govern our everyday experiences and emphasizes problem-solving. Topics will include most of the following, depending on class preparation and interest: describing motion, Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation, energy and conservation laws, states of matter and its behavior, thermodynamics, waves, electricity and magnetism, optics, atomic and nuclear physics, special relativity. Conceptual reasoning is stressed, and mathematics is kept to the level of intermediate algebra. Laboratories emphasize concepts learned in lectures, and graphing and data handling techniques are learned. (formerly PHYS& 100 and 101)
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Identify the fundamental laws of physics in those areas we study, and describe how these laws are manifested in natural events.
- State qualitative descriptions of velocity, acceleration, force, momentum, work, and energy, and calculate these quantities for simple physical situations.
- Use mathematics at the level of elementary algebra to describe and analyze physical situations.
- Use the concepts of momentum and energy conservation to analyze physical situations.
- Use the atomic model of matter to explain such phenomena as pressure, expansion, buoyancy, and thermodynamic effects.
- (If time permits) Describe the quantum-mechanical model of the atom, and use it to describe the current model for the emission and absorption of light.
- (If time permits) Qualitatively describe the theory of special relativity. Use elementary algebra and graphs to determine relativistic effects on time, length, momentum, and energy.
- Make, analyze, and interpret graphs of experimental data.
- Mechanics
Describing motion: speed, velocity, and acceleration
Newton’s laws of motion
Gravitation: projectile and satellite motion, tides, weight, acceleration due to gravity
Momentum and its conservation
Work, types of energy, and energy conservation
Rotational motion - Physics of Matter
States of matter
Density
Atoms
Pressure
Bernoulli’s principle
Archimedes’ principle
Temperature, heat, and thermal expansion
Heat transfer
Changes of phase
First and second laws of thermodynamics - Waves
Types of waves
Characteristics of waves
Propagation of waves
Sound waves
Characteristics of sound
Perception of sound - Electricity and Magnetism
Electric charge, Coulomb’s law, and electric fields
Electric currents, circuits, and Ohm’s law
Power and energy in electric circuits
Magnetism
Interactions between electricity and magnetism
Electromagnetic waves - Optics
Properties of light waves
Reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference, and polarization
Properties of mirrors, lenses, and refracting surfaces
Optical properties of the eye and correction of vision problems
Dispersion - Atoms and Nuclei
History of 20th-century physics
Light emission and absorption, light quanta
The quantum-mechanical atom
Quantum-mechanical application - Special Relativity
Time dilation and length contraction
Relativistic energy and momentum
Exams and Quizzes: 50-60% Homework: 20-30% In-Class Discussion: 20%
PO5 should be assessed: Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources.