Physics 1 Syllabus (Fall 2006; SJSU)

 

Office:                         Science Bldg. Room 245, (408) 924-5244

Office Hours:              To be determined; also available by appointment

E-mail:                        algarcia@algarcia.org

WWW:                         www.algarcia.org

 

Course description: This course will introduce you to some of the fundamental ideas in physics. The emphasis will be on the concepts of physics keeping the math to a minimum.

 

Required Textbook: P. Hewitt, Conceptual Physics (10th Edition). A copy of the textbook is on reserve in MLK library.

 

Textbook Website: Register at this site:          www.physicsplace.com

 

Course ID is:     cm815342

 

Using the textbook website is optional but a few of the multiple-choice questions will be taken from quiz questions that are found on the site.

 

Grades: Your grade will be computed by the following recipe: Midterms (15% each); Homework (20%); Pop Quizzes (10%); Final Exam (25%).

 

Homework: Homework will be assigned and collected each class period. Solutions will be posted, both on a board in the hallway and as PDF files on the course web site. Late homework is not accepted since the solutions will be discussed and posted when homework is due. However, you may miss up to three homework assignments with no penalty. Typical questions require three or four sentences to answer; please write clear, concise explanations.

 

Quizzes: Before each class you should read the chapter that will be discussed that day. Quizzes will be simple questions from that chapter. If absent for lecture, a quiz may not be made up however you may miss up to three quizzes with no penalty.

 

Exams: There will be three midterms with exercises and problems similar (sometimes identical) to those given as homework. You will not need scantron forms or “blue books” but bring a photo ID, a calculator and a pen or pencil. I’ll give you more details just before the first midterm. The final exam will be similar to the midterms but a little longer and comprehensive (i.e., material from the entire course).

 

Attendance: I will not be calling roll or marking attendance, however, you are responsible for all the material discussed in class. If you miss class, contact your classmates or myself to find out what you missed.

 

Laboratory: Physics 1L is a one-unit laboratory course associated with Physics 1. It is not required unless you need a lower-division lab science to satisfy GE requirements.

 

Ethics: Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San José State University, and the University’s Academic Integrity Policy requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs. The policy on academic integrity can be found on the SJSU website.

 

Disabilities: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities register with DRC to establish a record of their disability.

 

Emergencies: If you hear a continuous alarm or are told to evacuate the building, walk quickly to the nearest stairway at the end of each hall. Do not use the elevator. Take your personal belongings with you. Be quiet and follow instructions. Move away from the building and do not return until informed by police or coordinators.


Schedule of Lectures and Homework

 

#

Topics (Chapter)

Date

Homework Due

Homework Solution

1

Introduction (1, Appendix A)

8/24

None

None

2

Newton’s First Law of Motion (2)

8/29

Sample Exercise

Download

3

Linear Motion (3)

8/31

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

4

Newton’s Second Law of Motion (4)

9/5

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

5

Newton’s Third Law of Motion (5)

9/7

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

6

Momentum (6)

9/12

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

7

Energy (7)

9/14

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

8

Rotational Motion I (8)

9/19

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

9

Rotational Motion II (8)

9/21

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

10

Midterm 1 (Solution)

9/26

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

11

Gravity (9)

9/28

None

None

12

Projectile & Satellite Motion (10)

10/3

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

13

Solids & Liquids (12, 13)

10/5

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

14

Gases and Plasmas (14)

10/10

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

15

Temperature, Heat, & Exp. (15)

10/12

None

None

16

Heat transfer (16)

10/17

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

17

Change of Phase (17)

10/19

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

18

Midterm 2 (Solution)

10/24

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

19

Vibrations and Waves (19)

10/26

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

20

Sound (20)

10/31

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

21

Electrostatics (22)

11/2

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

22

Electric Current (23)

11/7

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

23

Magnetism (24)

11/9

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

24

Electromagnetic Induction (25)

11/14

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

25

Midterm 3 (Solution)

11/16

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

26

Properties of Light (26)

11/21

None

None

*

THANKSGIVING

11/23

*

*

27

Color (27)

11/28

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

28

Reflection and Refraction I (28)

11/30

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

29

Reflection and Refraction II (28)

12/5

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

30

Review (Slides)

12/7

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Download

 

FINAL EXAM:

        Thursday, December 14, 9:45am-Noon


Tentative Topics for Each Chapter (with PowerPoint Slides)

 

Chapter 2: NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION—INERTIA (Slides)

All sections except Equilibrium of Moving Things and The Moving Earth

 

Chapter 3: LINEAR MOTION (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 4: NEWTON'S SECOND LAW OF MOTION (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 5: NEWTON'S THIRD LAW OF MOTION (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 6: MOMENTUM (Slides)

All sections except More Complicated Collisions

 

Chapter 7: ENERGY (Slides)

Work, Mechanical Energy, and Conservation of Energy

 

Chapter 8: ROTATIONAL MOTION (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 9: GRAVITY (Slides)

The Universal Law of Gravity, The Universal Gravitational Constant, G, Gravity and Distance: The Inverse-Square Law, Weight and Weightlessness

 

Chapter 10: PROJECTILE AND SATELLITE MOTION (Slides)

Projectile Motion, Fast-Moving Projectiles—Satellites, Circular Satellite Orbits, Elliptical Orbits

 

Chapter 12: SOLIDS (Slides)

Density

 

Chapter 13: LIQUIDS (Slides)

All sections except Pascal’s Principle, Surface Tension, and Capillarity

 

Chapter 14: GASES AND PLASMAS (Slides)

All sections except Plasma

 

Chapter 15: TEMPERATURE, HEAT, AND EXPANSION (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 16: HEAT TRANSFER (Slides)

Conduction, Convection, Radiation, The Greenhouse Effect

 

Chapter 17: CHANGE OF PHASE (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 19: VIBRATIONS AND WAVES (Slides)

All sections except Bow Waves and Shock Waves

 

Chapter 20: SOUND (Slides)

All sections except Beats

 

Chapter 22: ELECTROSTATICS (Slides)

All sections except Electric Energy Storage

 

Chapter 23: ELECTRIC CURRENT (Slides)

All sections

 

Chapter 24: MAGNETISM (Slides)

All sections except Biomagnetism

 

Chapter 25: ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION (Slides)

All sections except Power Production, Power Transmission, Field Induction and In Perspective

 

Chapter 26: PROPERTIES OF LIGHT (Slides)

All sections except Seeing Light—The Eye

 

Chapter 27: COLOR (Slides)

Selective Reflection, Selective Transmission, Mixing Colored Light, Mixing Colored Pigments

 

Chapter 28:  REFLECTION AND REFRACTION (Slides)

Reflection, Law of Reflection, Refraction, Total Internal Reflection

_________________________________________________________

General Goals and Objectives of Physics 1

While taking Physics 1, you will:

 

1.                    Appreciate and communicate how physics relates to everyday experience.

2.                   Understand and use the words of physics, which carry different, more precise meanings than they do in everyday speech.

3.                   Comprehend and apply the relations among fundamental concepts in Newtonian mechanics.

4.                   Study, observe, and describe how electricity and magnetism affect matter.

5.                   Understand that mathematically expressed laws of physics embody particular concepts; describe and apply those laws both mathematically and conceptually.

6.                   Recognize how the applications of physics relate to important societal issues.

7.                   Strengthen your appreciation of the bases of scientific knowledge.

8.                   Relate the atomic structure of matter to observable phenomena.