Download EEP_Syllabus - Classical Physics / Santurri : Students

Rhode Island College/Classical High School
The Early Enrollment Program
Syllabus: Physics 118E
Fundamentals of Physics I
Instructor: Richard J Santurri Jr
Year 2014-2015
TEXT:
Douglas C Giancoli, Physics, updated 6th edition, 2009; Pearson Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ISBN 0-13-607302-6.
CORSE DESCRIPTION:
This noncalculus-based physics course is intended to introduce students to fundamental
mathematical principles and practices concerning frames of reference and coordinate
systems, instantaneous continuous rates, vectors with trigonometry, Galilean kinematics
and free-falling projectiles, Newtonian dynamics and universal gravitation, static
equilibrium of rigid-bodies, conservation laws for mechanical energy and momentum,
fluid mechanics and thermal physics, ideal gases through the kinetic model, acoustics and
elastic waves, and simple harmonic motion.
Students must have completed the standard science sequence of Biology, Chemistry and
Physics and must have completed and passed in Algebra II.
GOALS:
The opportunity to study physics, presented in a sound and rigorous manner, at the
college level motivates the design of this course. The application of mathematical
modeling, depth of concept development, pace of topics covered and inquiry-based
experimental investigations combine to give students the experience of learning the
concepts of classical and modern physics.
The class contact sessions meet every day, 55 minutes from September 1 to January 31.
GRADING POLICY:
Problems Study……………………………….........20%
Laboratory Products………………………………..20%
Unit Tests………………………………..................40%
Course Exam……………………………….............20%
COURSE SYLLABUS
CONTENT UNITS:
I. CLASSICAL MECHANICS--FOUNDATIONS
1. KINEMATICS, 8%. . .
Graphical analysis for position, velocity and acceleration as vector functions of time;
Galilean transformations and frames of reference; uniformly accelerated motion
formulas, free fall and projectile ballistics without air-resistance
2. DYNAMICS (FORCES), 5%. . .
NEWTON‘S LAWS, reaction pairs, free-body diagrams involving gravity, contact
forces and friction; inclined planes; terminal velocity within resistive media
3. DYNAMICS (WORK AND ENERGY), 5%. . .
Graphical analysis for work as a scalar function of spatial position (or trajectories),
kinetic energy and the MECHANICAL WORK-ENERGY PRINCIPLE, potential energy
and conservative forces; conversions between energy classifications; power
4. DYNAMICS (LINEAR IMPULSE AND MOMENTUM), 4%. . .
Graphical analysis for impulse as a vector function of time; CONSERVATION OF
LINEAR MOMENTUM, elastic and inelastic collisions; center-of-mass
II. CLASSICAL MECHANICS--APPLICATIONS
1. ROTATIONAL STATICS (TORQUE), 4%. . .
Angular position, velocity and uniform acceleration vectors; centripetal acceleration
and net forces maintaining vertical- or horizontal-circular paths; moment-of -inertia,
torque and rigid-body equilibrium
2. FLUIDS, 5%. . .
Density, hydrostatic pressure; buoyancy; continuity equations for flow
3. SIMPLE HARMONICS, 4%. . .
Graphical, turning-point and periodic properties of sinusoidal behavior; ideal elastic
force, kinetic and potential energy; mass on a spring, simple pendulum; resonance
4. SOUND AND WAVE PROPOGATION, 3%. . .
Pitch and loudness, overtones; superposition, beats; shock fronts; Doppler effect
5. THERMAL SYSTEMS, 6%. . .
Mechanical equivalent of heat, heat transfer; thermal expansion; temperature,
entropy, LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS; engine cycles and efficiency; ideal
Gases, phase diagrams, adiabatic processes; kinetic model
6. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION, 5%. . .
Force, field and potential energy for a point or spherically-symmetric source;
escape velocity, geosynchronous satellites; Keplerian (circular) orbits; barycenter
LABORATORY EXERCISES:
At appropriate points in the course, the investigations listed below will be presented to
the students to test and verify the physical principles being studies. Often a
demonstration of a physical phenomenon will be presented to the class and an
explanation of the event will be requested. Students will be encouraged to discuss, confer
and debate in order to form hypotheses. In the course of this discussion, they are to
identify the variables that are at work in the phenomenon and then to decide how those
variables may be manipulated given the available equipment and time. They are then to
develop ways of isolating and manipulating these variables so as to test their hypotheses
– to design an experiment. Groups of students may be formed to test different variables.
Observations and, whenever possible, measured data will be taken from these tests.
Results will be presented to the class and judgments will be made as to what conclusions
can be drawn from the data, including possible experimental errors and how the
experiment could be improved or expanded. Lastly, the students will be presented with
the modern “accepted” explanation or “expected” result. The students are then to discuss
possible reasons for their variation from the expected result – error analysis. Students
will produce a formal laboratory report summarizing their investigative process and
results.
1. Uniform Linear Acceleration
2. Newton’s Second Law
3. Conservation of Mechanical Energy and Momentum (Collisions)
4. Static Equilibrium
5.Standing Waves and Resonance
6. Calorimetry