General Physics I

General Info

Time: MWF 10:30 - 11:20
Place: SciBldg 217
Text: Young & Freedman's University Physics

General Physics is the starting point for physics study at Marlboro, covering in the first term the essentials of Newtonian Mechancis: force, energy, linear and angular momentum. Sometimes we have time for a bit of relativity at the end. We emphasize the fundamental ideas and the problem-solving techniques.

While the course itself will not require math beyond algebra; the text does use calculus notation. My intent is to discuss what the calculus notation means and to use that notation conceptually. Depending on the backgrounds of the enrolled students I may split the course once per week into calculus/algebra sections and have slightly different assignments for each.

As weight lifters ("no pain, no gain") and music students ("do re me fa so fa me re do re me fa ...") have learned, repetition and drill can train your hands and your head to "know" a subject well. An introductory physics course is similar: there's no substitute for practice. Mastering this material requires studying the text and pounding away at the problems. Some folks even enjoy the experience.

For the text I've chosen the first third or so of a rather large text, which we will cover at a pace of roughly one chapter per week. For those who continue on I plan to use the same text for the continuation into second term, when we study Electricity and Magnetism, and it will also come in useful for the sophomore course. Expect weekly problem sets, posted here, and about three exams spread over the term. The course is worth 4 credits.

A recommended but optional lab covering some basic data analysis and experimental / computer ideas meets once weekly for an additional credit.

Rough Syllabus


 - - - - Spring 1999: - - -   - topic - - - - - -   due - - - - - - -

** Sept ****                |			  |
   1 - 2   Intro Classes    | chap      	  |
 (Fri) 3  regular schedule  + 1	   vectors        |
                            |                     |
  6 - 10   week 1           + 1,2: 1D x, v, a     |
                            |                     |
  13 - 17       2           + 2,3: 2D motion      |
                            |                     |
  20 - 24       3           + 3,4: F = m a        |
                            |                     | - Quiz I -
  28 -  2       4           + 5:   more F = m a   |
** Oct ****                 |                     |
   4 -  8       5           + 6	  :  energy       |
      mid-term grades       |                     |
  11 - 15       6           + 7   :  more energy  |
                            |                     |
  18 - 22       7           + 8   :  momentum     |
        (18,20 Hendricks)   |                     | - Quiz II
  25 - 29       8           + 8, 10 : rotations   |
** Nov ****                 |                     |
   1 -  5       9           + 11    : more rot.   |
                            |                     |
   8 - 12       10          + 12 : gravity, orbit |
                            |                     |
  15 - 19       11          + 13 : harmonic       |
  23 - 24 (25-27 Thanks.)   |                     | - Quiz III -
  29 -  3       12          +      relativity     |
** Dec ****                 |                     |
   6 - 8 (Wed)  13          +      review         |
                            |                     |
  11(Sat) - 14(Tu) exams    |		          | - Final -
                            |			  |
  14  final grades due      |			  |
                            |			  |

Assignments

for Fri Sept 10 (units, vector addition/components, start 1D motion)
1. Read the intro on "How to do physics" and chapter 1, especially units & conversions, powers of 10, and vector components / addition. Skip "dot" and "cross" product topics.
2. Remember the following resources, now and throughout the term: extra help with Jon Franklin (work study) or Jim, extra math sessions with Helen, video tapes, classmates - working together is fine.
3. Problems 1-3, 1-51, 1-29 and/or 1-57
  vector addition applet
4. How many blades of grass on campus? Trees in Vermont? Compare.
5. "g" is 9.8 m/sec². What is it in miles/millenium² (1 millenium=1000 years.)
6. Start reading chap 2, especially 2-2 through 2-4.
7. Try 2-5, 2-51.
8. Calculus folks: Derive eqn 2-12 from definition of acceleration as 2nd derivative. Why are there two initial conditions? (x₀, v₀)
for Fri Sept 17 (acceleration in 1D, 2D)
1. Finish reading chapter 2 (acceleration in 1 dimension)
2. In chapter 2 do 2-13, 2-15, 2-41, *2-71
3. Start reading chapter 3 (acceleration in 2 dimensions: projectile, circular motion)
4. Try 3-13, 3-19, 3-45, 3-23 (if we get to circular motion this week), *3-71
5. Calculus folks (optional):
  2-77
  derive centrip. accel. formula starting from (x,y) = R ( cos(w t), sin(w t) ) by differentiating twice to get the acceleration. Be clear about magnitude and direction of your answer.
for Fri Sept 24 (Newton's Laws 1)
1. Read Chapter 4; start chapter 5.
2. In chapter 4 do Q4-20, Q4-27, Q4-32 discussion questions
3. Also in chapter 4 do exercises 4-7, 4-15, 4-23, 4-29, 4-39
4. Discussion in chapter 5, Q5-5, Q5-26
5. Try 5-3, 5-9
6. * for calculus folks who like harder math: A piece of string of length L and mass M is fastened into a circular loop and set spinning about the center of a circle with uniform angular frequence f revolutions/sec. Find the tension in the string. (Hint: draw a force diagram for a small piece of the loop, and examine the tension forces as vectors at either end.)
for Fri Oct 1 (Newton's Laws 2)
1. ** FIRST QUIZ (Friday Oct 1) **
2. Finish chapter 5; applications of Newton's laws.
3. 5-17, 5-27, 5-27, 5-83, *5-65, *5-101
for Fri Oct 8 (Energy 1)
1. Read chapter 6, on energy. Skip 6-4, varying forces.
2. Q6-2, Q6-18, Q6-19
3. 6-1, 6-13, 6-21, 6-34, 6-57, 6-73, 6-77
for Fri Oct 15 (Energy 2)
1. Read chapter 7, potential energy.
2. Q7-8, Q7-9
3. 7-7, 7-15, 7-47, 7-67
for Mon Oct 25 (momentum, center of mass)
1. Read chapter 8.
2. Q8-7
3. 8-9, 8-17, 8-23, 8-33, 8-41, 8-86
4. * Guys jumping off a train: if 3 guys, each mass m, jump off the back end of a train with mass M (M>>m) with a velocity V relative to the train, should they jump off one by one or all at once to give the train the largest final velocity?
TEST 2 Fri 29'th on energy and momentum
for Mon Nov 1 (fixed axis rotation, moment of inertia)
1. Read chapter 9
2. Q9-4, Q9-11
3. 9-9, 9-19, 9-27, 9-35, 9-43, 9-69, 9-74, 9-84
for Wed Nov 10 (torque, angular momentum)
1. Read chapter 10 (skip gyros part)
2. Q10-2, Q10-5
3. 10-3, 10-17, 10-25, 10-33, 10-53, 10-61, 10-71*
for Wed Nov 17 (equilibrium)
1. Read chapter 11 (only equilibrium, minimum of Young's modulus)
2. Q11-4
3. 11-9, 11-13, 11-23, 11-61
TEST 3 Mon 22'nd on rotations, torque, angular moment (chap 9,10,11)

Lab

for Fri Sept 17 Coin Flipping (2 weeks for nice write-up and results)
To begin, we'll look at some basic notions of errors and statistics with a simple numerical "experiment." This is a bit open ended; what I really want you to do is explore the notions of "mean" and "standard deviation" and

Measure and report the number percentage of heads which turn up when N coins are flipped. Use multiple trials as well as multiple values of N - perhaps N=8, 12, 16 with 4 runs at each - but the precise number of trials to perform and choices of values of N are up to you. You should (at least) present

a table of your experimental trials including computed means and standard deviations, and
a plot of (% heads) vs (n) complete with error bars and a best-fit curve.
How does the mean and/or the standard variation vary with N? With the number of trials? Feel free to use any calculator or computer tools (StatView, NumberCrunch, Mathematica, MatLab, other plotting/math packages) as discussed in class or that you're used to.
One interesting numerical tool is the entirely web-browser based WebStat - type in your numbers and away you go.

References
Data Analysis In The Physics Sciences,
Understanding Statistics
, Against All Odds (Library Video Series)
others in the library catalog
Online
Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics
Describing Univariate Data at Rice
Globally Accessible Statistical Procedures
or just do your own web search for "standard deviation" or similar terms... (STFW)
Fri Sept 23
(In class:) Measure "g" by timing carts sliding down an air track

Physics & Astronomy at Marlboro | Jim's Schedule