Course title and description: Principles of Physics I-II (4 credits each semester). Covers fundamental principles of Physics. Includes mechanics, thermodynamics, wave phenomena, electricity and magnetism, and selected topics in modern Physics. Prerequisites are one year of high school algebra or equivalent. A concurrent course in college algebra and trigonometry is recommended. Lecture 3 hours per week, laboratory 3 hours per week. Total 6 hours per week.
This course is offered via the Internet and via distributed CD-R and/or DVD-R disks in an asynchronous mode. The student will receive instructional information and assignments and will respond to assignments by email and by web forms. The student must have access to a suitable computer either at home or on campus. On-campus computers are available in the College Learning Lab and in the Math-Science Lab, as well as in College classrooms whenever classes are not scheduled in those rooms. The locations of these labs and directions for finding them can be obtained in the Office of the Division of Science and Engineering Technologies in Room 1208 of the Occupational Technical Center, the Library or the Office of the Division of Business, Humanities and Social Sciences in Room 721 of the Learning Resources Center. Computers must have Internet access, a CD-Rom or DVD-Rom drive and Internet access, and the ability to execute Windows executable programs (.exe programs).
To play the optional video clips, computers must have the ability to play MPEG files. Windows Media Player and most other video players have this capability.
Email the instructor for information. The instructor's email address is published every semester in a footnote to the instructor's courses in the VHCC schedule, and can also be obtained through the VHCC website www.vhcc.edu.
The instructor is available via email or web forms (instructions for using these forms are contained in the orientation to the course) at any time and will normally respond promptly (usually within 24 hours and almost always by the end of the day following your submission) with answers to questions, feedback on your efforts, and other information. Exceptions may occur in the event of Internet service interruptions and occasions when the instructor is out of town.
The broad goals to be achieved by students in the course include the following:
Understanding through direct experience, experiment, syntax and mathematical formulation
Understanding what it means to validate a hypothesis to a given level of precision by means of an experiment.
Development of the ability to analyze and solve complex problems.
In addition to these course-specific goals, the following general education goals will be accomplished:
Each assigned task and problem constitutes a specific objective, which is to complete that problem or task and understand as fully as possible its relationship to the stated goals of the assignment and to other concepts, problems and situations encountered in the course.
In addition to the above, the following specific objectives will be accomplished in relation to the specified activities, or to equivalent activities. These objectives comprise approximately 80% of the course:
Objectives:
Conceptualize and analyze numerically, graphically and symbolically the behavior of the various physical systems, generalize your understanding and analysis as much as possible, and solve problems utilizing this knowledge, within the context of the following situations, relations, problems and tasks:
First-Semester Topics
Measurement and Analysis of Uniformly Accelerated Motion; Measurement of Nonuniformly Accelerated Motion
- From time and position measurements infer linear and angular velocities and accelerations. (University Physics courses: From functions modeling position vs. time obtain functions modeling velocity and acceleration vs. time).
- Analyze the relationships among initial, average and final linear and angular velocities for situations involving uniform and nonuniform acceleration. (University Physics courses: The relationship between average velocity, average of initial and final velocities, and uniform or nonuniform acceleration functions).
- Analyze the relationships among initial and final linear and angular velocities, acceleration, time intervals and displacements.
Measurement of Restoring Forces on and Motion of a Pendulum including
- Force vs. displacement for a pendulum, as related to pendulum length and mass.
- Work done in displacing a pendulum from equilibrium to a known position (after Activity 8).
- Velocity vs. time and acceleration vs. time of a pendulum as inferred from position vs. time data. (University Physics courses: Relationship to the derivatives of periodic functions).
- The proportionalities relating frequency to pendulum length and period to pendulum length.
Relationship between Force and Acceleration including
- The effects of forces.
- Inference of force vs. acceleration from data for force vs. incline and acceleration vs. incline.
- The process of establishing the relationship among force, mass and acceleration for an object on an incline and for a system accelerated by an unbalanced gravitational force.
- Inference of gravitational acceleration at infinite slope.
- Measurement of gravitational acceleration.
Vectors
- Replacement of a vector by its components in any given rectangular coordinate system.
- Computation of vector components from magnitude and angle and computation of vector magnitude and angle from components.
- The vector nature of forces, displacements, velocities and accelerations.
- (University Physics: Dot and cross products)
Forces
- Given a situation involving known and unknown forces and constraints, determine the unknown individual forces acting within the system and/or the net force on a given object.
Potential and kinetic energies; energy conservation including
- Systems involving work and the exchange of kinetic and gravitational or elastic potential energies, and dissipation of energy. (University Physics courses: Determining the work done by a nonconstant force modeled by a function of position).
- The specific relationship between work and kinetic energy change in the absence of potential energy changes or dissipation of energy.
- The specific relationship between work and elastic or gravitational potential energy in the absence of kinetic energy changes or dissipation of energy. Fulfill Activity 3, Objective 2.
Impulse, Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, including:
- The difference between the effects of impulse F dt and work F ds on the motion of an object.
- Relationships among average force, momentum changes and time intervals. (University Physics courses: Net force as the time derivative of momentum).
- The relationship between Newton's Third Law and conservation of momentum.
- Situations involving elastic and inelastic collisions in one or more dimensions. (University Physics courses: coefficients of restitution)
Projectiles and circular motion including:
- Independence of the vertical and horizontal motion of projectiles.
- Motion of a projectile given initial velocity and vertical position relative to landing point.
- Initial velocity inferred from range and other variables.
- Centripetal acceleration
- (University Physics courses: the effects of viscous drag forces)
Torques and rotation; Momentum and Energy in Rotation including:
- Torques and the condition of rotational equilibrium.
- Find the center of mass of a given collection of masses (University Physics courses: includes continuous mass distributions).
- Conversion of gravitational potential energy to rotational kinetic energy.
- Calculate the moment of inertia of a given collection of masses constrained to rotate about a given point (University Physics courses: includes continuous mass distributions).
- Establish the connection between Newton's Second Law and its angular form, and particularly the connection between mass and moment of inertia.
- Explain the connection between Newton's Third Law and conservation of angular momentum, and how conservation of angular momentum is not equivalent to conservation of momentum.
Gravitation including:
- The idea of gravitational flux, analogous to luminous flux, and the analogical connection to Newton's inverse square law of universal gravitation.
- The mechanics of circular orbits; especially the derivation of the relation between orbital radius and velocity.
- Conservation of angular momentum and Kepler's Laws.
- Potential energy in changing gravitational fields, terminal velocity, total energy of an orbit. (University Physics courses: determining exact values by integration).
Simple Harmonic Motion
- The conditions required for simple harmonic motion.
- Relationships among mass, restoring force constant and angular frequency. (University Physics courses: derivation of these relationships).
- Graphical and circular models of simple harmonic motion and their relationship.
- Energy relationships in simple harmonic motion; derivation of velocity vs. position relation.
- The position, velocity and acceleration functions of time, and their relation to the graphical and circular models. (University Physics courses: derivation of velocity and acceleration functions).
Second-semester Topics
Waves
- Relationships among wave velocity, frequency, wavelength, density of medium, tension of medium, amplitude, energy and period.
- Superposition of waves
- Nature of reflection at boundaries of various types and the formation of standing waves between two points.
- Determining wavelengths of the harmonics of a standing wave given boundary conditions.
- Determining frequencies of harmonics from wavelengths and propagation velocity.
- Energy in standing and traveling waves
Thermal Energy and Thermodynamics
- Specific heat, calorimetry, latent heat, energy conservation.
- Kinetic theory of gases, ideal gas laws.
- First and second laws of thermodynamics.
- Analysis of multi-cycle heat engines.
Fluids
- Density, pressure, energy relationships and Bernoulli’s Equation.
- Viscosity and surface tension.
Electrostatics
- Coulomb’s Law, electric fields, superposition of fields.
- Gaussian surfaces
- Energy, potential difference, potential functions.
Electrical Circuits
- Ohm’s Law, Series and Parallel Circuits, Kirchoff’s Laws, Energy Relationships
Magnetism
- Magnetic fields.
- Interaction between magnetic fields and moving electric charges.
- Magnetic fields as the result of moving charges.
- Magnetic flux, EMF resulting from changing magnetic flux.
Modern Physics
- Time dilation, length contraction, mass-energy.
- Photoelectric effect, quantization of energy.
- Uncertainty principle.
- Atomic spectra, quantization of angular momentum, atomic structure.
- Modes of nuclear decay, energy conservation.
Experiments and computerized problem sets will be integrated with the problem sets.
Students will learn to do the problems in the introductory problem sets, and complete the experiments.
Requirement of communication
Regular communication is required of the student. This includes turning in assignments in a timely fashion and in responding in a timely manner to feedback on these assignments. Any deviation of more than three days from the chosen schedule of the course must be approved in advance by the instructor. Exceptions will of course be made in the event of documented illness or other unexpected emergencies, but the instructor should be informed of such situations within a reasonable time of occurrence.
The text is Physics by Giancoli, current edition, published by Prentice Hall.
All assignments will be posted on the homepage. Additional materials may be distributed on CD-Rom or DVD-Rom media.
The Problem Sets on the homepage and the experiments performed by the students are the focus of the course. Directions for experiments and other information are found through the instructor's homepage.
Lab kits will be purchased through the VHCC Bookstore at a time which will be indicated by the instructor. Preliminary labs will be completed using simple materials included with the initial set of CDs. Specific information regarding lab kits is posted along with much more information at http://www.vhcc.edu/dsmith/genInfo/ . Lab kit information is included under Textbook and Course Materials.
Experiments and computerized problem sets will be integrated with the problem sets.
Students will learn to do the problems in the introductory problem sets, and complete the experiments.
The first-semester course will include text Chapters 1-9 and approximately the first half of Chapter 11, with supplementary experiments, problem sets and other materials.
Topics will include:
- Kinematics in one and two dimensions
- Dynamics
- Work and Energy
- Gravitation
- Linear Momentum
- Rotational Motion
- Equilibrium and Elasticity
- Simple Harmonic Motion
For second semester, topics from the following chapters will be included, with starred (*) chapters covered without major omissions except from optional sections as so described in the text, and with at least most fundamental topics in the remaining chapters covered:
- Chapters * 10-12 on Fluids and Waves
- Chapters * 13-15 on Thermal Energy and Thermodynamics
- Chapters * 16-21 on Electricity and Magnetism
- Chapters 23-24 on Geometrical and Physical Optics
- Chapters 26-28 on Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
Students will complete and submit the assignments specified on the homepage. Any student not specifying an alternative schedule, agreed upon by the instructor, for completion of assignments will by default be expected to complete assignments according to the dates posted on the homepage.
The instructor will respond in a timely fashion to any work submitted, making suggestions where improvement is needed and posing questions designed to enhance the student's learning experience.
Questions posed by students and the instructor's responses, as well as examples of work done by students, may be posted for review.
Students may on occasion be asked to critique work done by other students. The instructor will not make reference to the identity of any party in this exchange, permitting students to protect their anonymity.
The instructor will when necessary arrange meetings with individual students or groups. However the primary means of communication will be via email, and all questions and difficulties must be fully addressed first through this means, and face-to-face meetings will occur only when electronic communication options have been exhausted.
Approximately three tests and a cumulative final examination will be given. The final exam will be weighted as two tests (see weighting below).
A grade will be given on assigned work, based on the student's final mastery of the assignment as evidenced by the initial attempt and followup work based on the critiques received by the student. The average of grades assigned on this work will count as half of a test grade, or approximately 10% of the grade in the course.
Labs must be completed as assigned. The lab average will constitute 25% of the grade for the course.
Both the lab average and the weighted average on tests and exams must be passing in order for a student to receive a grade of C or better.
Raw test and exam scores will be normalized to the following scale, according to the difficulty of the test, as specified in advance of each test by the instructor:
A: 90 - 100
B: 80 - 90
C: 70 - 80
D: 60 - 70
F: Less than 60.
The final grade will be a weighted average of test and exam grades, grades on homework and the lab grade. A summary of the weighting is as follows:
Major Quiz (Physics I only): Weight 0.5 or 1.0, whichever is to the advantage of the student.
Test #1: Weight 1.0
Test #2: Weight 1.0
Test #3 (Physics II only): Weight 1.0
Test #4 (Physics II only): Weight 1.0
Final Exam (Physics I only): Weight 1.0 or 2.0, whichever is to the advantage of the student.
Score on Problems and Questions: Weight 0.5.
Lab Grade: Lab grade is 25% of course grade. Both lab average and the average of all other contributions must both be passing in order to receive a grade of at least C.
In the event of a college-wide emergency
In the event of a College-wide emergency, course requirements, classes, deadlines, and grading schemes are subject to changes that may include alternative delivery methods, alternative methods of interaction with the instructor, class materials, and/or classmates, a revised attendance policy, and a revised semester calendar and/or grading scheme.
In the case of a College-wide emergency, please refer to the following about changes in this course:
· Course web page http://vhmthphy.vhcc.edu/ (click on your course)
· Instructor’s email dsmith@vhcc.edu (however, you should use your access page for the most reliable responses)
For more general information about the emergency situation, please refer to:
· Web site - www.vhcc.edu
· Telephone Number - 276-739-2400
· Emergency Text Messaging or Phone System- Virginia Highlands Community College uses VHCC Alert to immediately contact you during a major crisis or emergency. VHCC Alert delivers important emergency alerts, notifications and updates to you on your E-mail account (work, home, other), cell phone, pager or smartphone/PDA (BlackBerry, Treo & other handhelds). VHCC Alert is a free service offered by VHCC. Your wireless carrier may charge you a fee to receive messages on your wireless device. VHCC will test the alert system each semester. Register online at alert.vhcc.edu or by sending a text message to 411911 keyword: VHCC
In the event of an emergency just regarding this class, the instructor will contact all students via email, and may post information to your access site. You should check both email and your access site.