Syllabus: (PDF)
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- WELCOME! -
This is the web-page for PHYS 111, General Physics 1 (sections 1 and 2, fall 2016). Materials on this webpage are meant to supplement information given to you in class itself. I'm not a big fan of OAKS, therefore any on-line supplementary material for the course you need can be found here. To the left, you'll find important links/syllabi/etc.If you'd like to find out more about me or the research we do in my lab, check out my main webpage.
- IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!! -
Due to the cancelling of classes that occurred due to Hurricane Matthew, we have a significantly altered instructional schedule from our original plan for the semester. All due dates/test dates that are listed on this page are up to date. Note that we likely will use the make-up dates, thus you should plan to be here on those days.I am working with your lab instructors to come up with a modified lab schedule. As of right now, please assume that you need to attend every remaining Monday/Friday lab session unless told otherwise. This includes the new make-up dates of Saturday, December 3rd (which will be treated like a Monday) and Sunday, December 4th (which will be treated like a Friday). We will let you know as our plans for these labs are modified.
- About This Course -
This course is the first in a two-semester survey of Calculus-based General Physics. Throughout this year, you will be introduced to most of the major areas of Physics including Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Oscillations and Waves, Electricity and Magnetism, Special Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and various other elements of Modern Physics like Atomic and Nuclear Physics.The first semester of the sequence (this course) is devoted to the study of mechanics (kinematics and dynamics), thermodynamics, and oscillations/waves.
This course is meant to be introductory in nature (in that you aren't expected to be familiar with the basic ideas of interest prior to taking the class), but that does not mean it will be easy. This is a challenging course that may require continuous and substantial effort to achieve success. I will do everything within my power to assist you in the learning process, and I desperately want you to succeed. That being said, Physics is a quantitative and objective discipline -- you will be evaluated on your success in applying the principles we will be introducing in this course in a problem solving context. Some of you will excel at this, others will struggle. Effort alone is not enough to ensure a good grade.
- When you are struggling.... -
Part of maturing as a thinker is learning how and when to get help. When I was a student, I had an aversion to seeking extra help from my professors and classmates -- and ultimately, I think this was to my detriment. I encourage you to work with your classmates on the homework, form study groups, come to office hours/help sessions run by your professor, and make use of the tutoring opportunities available to you. (In addition to the CSL in the library, the department also runs free tutoring sessions [Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:30-3:30 PM in room 111 of HWWE], and the department also posts a list of tutors available for hire). Make use of these resources! You don't get bonus points for figuring it out totally on your own, and you'll be surprised how much you can gain out of the process of talking through this stuff with other people -- whether they are your professors or your classmates. If, at any time, you feel like things aren't going like they should in this class -- see me immediately! I can help you get the assistance you need, or put you on the right path myself.- Step by Step Guide in How to Succeed in PHYS 111 -
Like all classes, what you ultimately will get out of taking this class is directly related to how much effort you put into the course. This material is challenging -- especially for a 100 level course -- but it CAN be done, if you put in the necessary effort.- Attend class daily, pay attention, and be an active participant. (Take notes, ask questions, etc.)
- Read your textbook and/or watch the included videos before class! (It may be confusing, but this way when you hear it in lecture, you'll be hearing it for the second time. If you hear it in lecture the first time, you will almost certainly be confused. If you are kind-of/sort-of familiar with the content in advance, then -- when hearing it in lecture -- you can identify what things are still confusing and ask effective questions). Reading the textbook -- especially before hearing the lecture on the topic -- is likely the most important thing you can do to succeed in this class.
- Complete all homework (
including reading the text! ). - When confused or lost, seek help
right away! (Via office hours -- normally scheduled or by appointment, sessions at the tutoring center, attending and participating at the regularly scheduled problem solving sessions, or through help from private tutors. There are many resources available for extra help if you need it, but you can't wait until the end of the semester to turn things around!) - When preparing for tests, rework problems you've seen before -- the ones done in class, during problem solving sessions, or non-assigned questions in the text (that have answers in the back of the book). Get help on any questions you do not understand. I'm happy to work any problems for you independently, except for assigned homework problems.
- Don't wait until the last minute to start your homework! Sometimes you'll struggle for a while with a problem, and need to come back to it several times to develop a plan of attack. You can't do that if you're starting it 6 hours before it is due. My homework is not easy! Sometimes, successfully solving a single problem is a productive evening's work. Budget your time accordingly! (If you have any doubts about this, ask around the Physics upper-classmen; they will vouch for the seriousness of my homework sets).
- Class Readings / Videos -
As mentioned above, you should be reading the appropriate parts of your text and/or watching the videos posted here BEFORE class. Success in class may depend on it, so don't take this lightly. Even though the only graded homework is listed below, that doesn't mean that this is less important. All readings/pages/chapters are listed out of Principles of Physics by Serway and Jewett, Fifth Edition.| Class Date | Suggested Readings | Suggested Video(s) | Suggested Applet(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24th | Chapter 1 (p. 1-11) | Walter Lewin's Lec 1 | |
| Aug 26th | Chapter 1 (p. 12-28) | Lewin on Vectors, Lewin on Coordinate Systems, Full Lewin Lecture on Vectors (watch first 30 minutes) | Vectors PhET |
| Aug 29th | 1.9(p. 17-20), 6.3 (p. 158-159), p. 318, 2-2.5(p. 37-50) | Lewin Lecture on Vectors[again; watch from about 12.5 minute to 30 minute mark]; Lewin Lecture on 1D Kinematics | Moving Man PhET |
| Aug 31st | Remainder of Ch. 2 (p. 50-62) | Lewin Lecture on 1D Kinematics, Another Lecture on 1D constant acceleration motion | Moving Man PhET, Another applet, similar to Moving Man PhET |
| Sep 2nd | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Hermine) | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Hermine) | |
| Sep 5th | Start of Ch. 3 (p. 69-81) | Lewin Lecture on Projectile Motion | Projectile Motion PhET |
| Sep 7th | Start of Ch. 4 (p. 97-106) | Lewin Lecture on Newton's Laws (watch first 31 minutes) | Forces and Motion PhET |
| Sep 9th | Rest of Ch. 4 (p. 107-116) [including examples!] | Lewin Lecture on Newton's Laws (watch rest of video) | Another Forces and Motion PhET |
| Sep 12th | Review Examples from Ch. 4 | Lewin Lecture on Newton's Laws (review whole video) | |
| Sep 14th | Section 5.1 (p. 125-130) [including examples!] | Lewin Lecture on Frictional Forces | |
| Sep 16th | Section 5.1 (p.125-130); Sections 11.1-11.3 (p. 354-363) | Lewin Lecture on Frictional Forces | PhET Forces and Motion (check Friction tab) |
| Sep 19th | Sections 11.1-11.3 (p. 354-363) | Veritasium Mini-Lecture on Gravity and Gravity inside a uniform sphere | PhET Gravity Force Lab |
| Sep 21st | Section 6.1-6.5 (p.154-168) | Lewin Lecture on Work and Energy (watch first 20 minutes or so) | "The Ramp" PhET |
| Sep 23rd | Section 6.6-6.10 (p. 168-180) | Lewin Lecture on Work and Energy (watch remainder of video) | Hooke's Law PhET |
| Sep 26th | Chapter 7 (p. 192-218) | Khan Academy Video Working a Sample Problem, Another Sample Problem, and The remainder of the second problem. | PhET Energy Skate Park Basics |
| Sep 28th | Chapter 7 (p. 192-218) and Review for Exam | Review Previous Problems / Prepare for Exam | PhET Energy Skate Park |
| Sep 30th | Review for Exam | Review for Exam | |
| Oct 3rd | Section 8.1-8.5 (p. 235-253) | Lewin Lecture on Momentum (watch first 36 minutes) | PhET Collision Lab |
| Oct 5th | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Matthew) | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Matthew) | |
| Oct 7th | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Matthew) | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Matthew) | |
| Oct 10th | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Matthew) | CLASS CANCELLED (Hurricane Matthew) | |
| Oct 12th | Section 3.6 (p. 84-87) and Section 8.6-8.8 (p. 253-263) | Lewin Lecture on Momentum (watch remainder of video) and Lewin Lecture on Collisions | |
| Oct 14th | Section 3.6 (p. 84-87) and Section 8.6-8.8 (p. 253-263) | Lewin Lecture on Momentum (watch remainder of video) and Lewin Lecture on Collisions | |
| Oct 17th | Section 3.4-3.5 (p. 81-84), Section 5.2-5.3 (p. 130-138), and Section 10.1-10.3 (p.306-311) | Lewin Lecture on Uniform Circular Motion | 2D Motion PhET and Ladybug Motion PhET |
| Oct 19th | Section 3.4-3.5 (p. 81-84), Section 5.2-5.3 (p. 130-138), and Section 10.1-10.3 (p.306-311) | Lewin Lecture on Uniform Circular Motion | 2D Motion PhET and Ladybug Motion PhET |
| Oct 21st | Section 10.3-10.4 (p.310-316) | Lewin Lecture on Rotational KE(first 26 minutes) | |
| Oct 24th | Section 10.4-10.9 (p. 311-331) | Lewin Lecture on Angular Momentum and Torque | Torque PhET |
| Oct 26th | Section 10.4-10.9 (p. 311-331) | Lewin Lecture on Angular Momentum and Torque | Torque PhET |
| Oct 28th | Study for Exam | Study for Exam | |
| Oct 31st | Section 10.10 (p. 331-334), Section 10.12 (p. 336-338), Section 12.1-12.3 (p. 390-399) | Lewin Lecture on Torques, Oscillating Bodies, and Physical Pendulums | |
| Nov 2nd | Section 10.10 (p. 331-334), Section 10.12 (p. 336-338), Section 12.1-12.3 (p. 390-399) | Lewin Lecture on Torques, Oscillating Bodies, and Physical Pendulums | |
| Nov 4th | Sections 12.1-12.3 (p. 391-400) | Lewin Lecture on Simple Harmonic Motion | Mass on a Spring PhET |
| Nov 9th | Sections 12.4-12.7 (p. 400-405) | Link Between Uniform Circular Motion and Simple Harmonic Motion 1, Link Between Uniform Circular Motion and Simple Harmonic Motion 2 (though the narrator says a couple things that are a little quesitonable), Resonance Example 1, and Resonance Example 2 | Pendulum PhET and Resonance PhET |
| Nov 11th | Sections 12.5-12.7 (p. 402-405) | Resonance Example 1, and Resonance Example 2 | Resonance PhET |
| Nov 14th | Sections 13.1-13.5 (p.416-429) | Home-built wave machine and Transmission and Reflection of Waves | Wave on a String PhET, Loaded String Applet |
| Nov 16th | Sections 13.6-13.7 (p. 429-434) | Overview Picture of Sound | Sound PhET, Doppler Applet |
| Nov 18th | Chapter 14 | Beats Demo, Lewin Lecture on Beats (watch first 11 minutes) | |
| Nov 21st | Sections 15.1-15.4 (p. 482-492) | Lewin Lecture on basic Fluids (watch first 28.5 minutes) | PhET on Fluid Pressure and Flow |
| Nov 28th | Sections 15.5-15.8 (p. 493-498) | Lewin Lecture on basic Fluids (watch remainder of video) | PhET on Fluid Pressure and Flow |
| Nov 30th | Sections 16.1-16.3 (p. 516-525) and (maybe) Section 16.6 (p.533-534) | Lewin Lecture on Thermal Expansion (Watch first 30 minutes or so). | |
| Dec 2nd | Sections 17.1-17.5 (p. 546-558) | Lecture on Latent and Specifc Heats and Lecture on 1st Law of Thermodynamics | Gas Properties PhET |
| Dec 3rd | Sections 17.6-17.9 (p. 559-568) | Thermodynamic Processes and Degrees of Freedom | |
| Dec 4th | Sections 18.1-18.4 (p. 587-593) | Heat Engines | |
| Dec 5th | Sections 18.1-18.4 (p. 587-593) | Carnot Engine | Carnot Appliet |
| Dec 7th | Study for Exam | Study for Exam | |
| Dec 9th | Study for Final | Study for Final | TBA |
- Homework Assignments -
Assignment 1(PDF) (due date: 8/26/16)Assignment 2(PDF) (due date: 9/9/16)
Assignment 3(PDF) (due date: 9/9/16)
Assignment 4(PDF) (due date: 9/16/16)
Assignment 5(PDF) (due date: 9/23/16)
Assignment 6(PDF) (due date: 10/14/16)
Assignment 7(PDF) (due date: 10/21/16)
Assignment 8(PDF) (due date: 11/4/16)
Assignment 9(PDF) (due date: 11/11/16)
Assignment 10(PDF) (due date: 11/18/16)
Assignment 11(PDF) (due date: 11/30/16)
- Test Information -
We plan to have 3 in-class midterms as well as a final exam. To give you as much time as possible to complete these exams, I will allow you to start the exams no later than 8:00 AM in our normal classroom. Our expected exam dates are as follows:Friday, September 30th, 2016
Friday, October 28th, 2016
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
The (cumulative!) final exam is scheduled for Saturday, December 10th, from 6-8 PM
10 November 2016