Course Description

Physics investigates the natural world and endeavors to provide an organized systematic description of the observed phenomena. Surprisingly, a vast range of natural phenomena can be described by applying a small collection of fundamental principles. For example, the same basic rules govern the motion of the moon around the earth or objects falling toward the surface of the earth.

This course will introduce you to some of the most profound concepts of physics. Some of the implications these, such as the fact that heat only flows freely from hot to cold objects, may seem obvious to you. Others, such as the apparent ability of a microscopic object to explore two divergent trajectories through space simultaneously, may confound your sensibilities. This course will also introduce you to the workings and tools of any scientific discipline: measurements, interpretation of data, hypotheses and theories.

This course will also introduce you to the mechanics of any science: measurements, interpretation of data, hypotheses and theories.

Course Number: PHYS 100

Instructor: Prof. David Collins, Physics

Contact Information:

Class Times: MWF 2:00 - 2:50am (section 001), MWF 10:00 - 10:50am (section 004)

Classroom: H 204 (section 001), WS 131 (section 004)

First Class Meeting: Monday 22 August 2010

Prerequisites: Curiosity!

Text: Art Hobson, Physics: Concepts and Connections, 5ed, Pearson Prentice Hall (2010).

First Day Handout: Pdf Format

Outline: Pdf Format


Syllabus

The following is subject to change.

  1. Understanding the physical world via scientific inquiry: examples from planetary motion and the atomic world.
  2. Classical physics: "clockwork" description of the physical world.
  3. Energy and entropy: the driving rules for the physical world.
  4. Quantum theory: the modern description of the physical world.
  5. Nuclear physics: the workings of the atomic nucleus.


Course Structure

Phys 100 meets three times per week in a lecture format. You will be expected to read the relevant sections of the text beforehand and attempt designated exercises in the text.

Homework Assignments

Homework Due date
Homework 1 31 August 2011 Pdf
Homework 2 7 September 2011 Pdf
Homework 3 14 September 2011 Pdf
Homework 4 21 September 2011 Pdf
Homework 5 5 October 2011 Pdf
Homework 6 12 October 2011 Pdf
Homework 7 19 October 2011 Pdf
Homework 8 26 October 2011 Pdf
Homework 9 9 November 2011 Pdf
Homework 10 16 November 2011 Pdf
Homework 11 22 November 2011 Pdf
Homework 12 7 December 2011 Pdf

Homework Solutions

Homework solutions are posted on my shared H drive. You can access this from any computer connected to the MSC network. The directory is H:\DOWNLOAD\dacollin\2011Fall\Phys100\homework.


Tests and Exams

There will be three fifty minute tests during class on the following dates: Monday 26 September, Monday 31 October and Monday 28 November. There will be a comprehensive final exam on Monday 12 December.

Exams and Solutions from previous semesters.

Semester Test
Spring 2009 Test 1 Pdf
Spring 2009 Test 2 Pdf
Spring 2009 Test 3 Pdf
Spring 2009 Final Pdf


Semester Test Solutions
Spring 2009 Test 1: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2009 Test 2: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2009 Test 3: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2009 Final Solutions Pdf


Semester Test
Spring 2010 Test 1 Pdf
Spring 2010 Test 2 Pdf
Spring 2010 Test 3 Pdf
Spring 2010 Final Pdf


Semester Test Solutions
Spring 2010 Test 1: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2010 Test 2: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2010 Test 3: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2010 Final: Solutions Pdf



Solutions to exams from the current semester.

Semester Test
Fall 2011 Test 1 (10am) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 1 (2pm) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 2 (10am) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 2 (2pm) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 3 (10am) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 3 (2pm) Pdf


Semester Test Solutions
Fall 2011 Test 1: Solutions (10am) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 1: Solutions (2pm) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 2: Solutions (10am) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 2: Solutions (2pm) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 3: Solutions (10am) Pdf
Fall 2011 Test 3: Solutions (2pm) Pdf


Links and Animations

  1. References
    1. Physlink Reference information and data, including decimal system notation, physical constants, math constants, astro-physical constants, etc,....
    2. Eric Weinstein's World of Physics Encyclopedia of Physics maintained by Wolfram Research. Entries at a variety of technical levels.
    3. Science and Engineering Encyclopedia: Physics Encyclopedia of Physics with a somewhat cumbersome interface. Includes conversion calculators.
    4. NASA Solar System Data Reference information and data for the Sun's solar system.
    5. Periodic Table of Elements WebElements site.
    6. NIST Databases Administered by the National Institute for Standards and Technology. The final word in physical data. Intended for professionals.
  2. Animations
    1. Activ Physics Large collection provided by Addison Wesley.
    2. PhET Animations developed by the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project at the University of Colorado.
  3. Planetary Motion
    1. Star Trails NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day.
    2. Big Dipper Constellation From Astropix.
    3. Jupiter and Saturn Orbits NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day.
    4. Mars Orbit NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day. Other examples of Mars' retrograde motion are here and here. Venus's retrograde motion is illustrated here. Saturn's complicated retrograde motion is illustrated here
    5. Geocentric Model From WH Freeman
    6. Ptolemaic Model From Ming Zhu, University of Toronto.
    7. Inner planets From the University of Virginia.
    8. Planetary orbits Illustrates Kepler's law. Elliptical orbits possible. From the University of Virginia.
    9. Mars' retrograde motion Data from 2003 and 2005 provided by NASA. Animation with good graphics.
    10. Geocentric model Provides animations illustrating Ptolemy's epicycles. From the University of Tennessee.
    11. Ptolemaic system simulator model Provides animations illustrating Ptolemy's epicycles. From the University of Nebraska.
    12. Heliocentric model Provides animations illustrating retrograde motion. From the University of Tennessee.
    13. Retrograde motion Includes real data for the observation of Mars from the earth during 1994/1995. From McGraw Hill.
    14. Venus' phases From the European Southern Observatory.
    15. Elliptical orbits From the University of Tennessee.
  4. Atoms, Elements and Compounds
    1. Brownian motion applet. From University of Virginia.
    2. Brownian motion. Video of smoke particles undergoing Brownian motion. From University of Maryland.
    3. Brownian motion. Video of smoke particles undergoing Brownian motion. From University of Virginia.
    4. Images of atoms. Images taken using a scanning tunneling microscope at IBM's Almaden lab.
    5. Images of atoms. Images taken at various institutions. Hosted by Purdue University.
    6. Chemical Elements. Wikipedia list of elements.
    7. Periodic table. A wooden periodic table from Theodore Gray.
    8. Gas properties. PhET animation.
    9. States of Matter. PhET animation.
  5. Measurement Scales
    1. Secret Worlds: The Universe Within. An updated "Powers of Ten" animation from Florida State University.
    2. Powers of Ten. Official site of Charles and Ray Eames.
  6. Mechanistic Universe
    1. Pendulum clock mechanism. Pendulum clock due to Galileo. Provided by sciencemuseum.com.
  7. Freely Falling Objects
    1. Hammer and feather. Demonstration by Apollo 15 commander David Scott. Provided by NASA.
    2. Guinea and feather. Description of equipment construction and a video. From the University of Washington.
    3. Ball bearing and feather. From the Teralab.
    4. Free fall applet. From Davidson College.
  8. Motion
    1. Skater From PhET, University of Colorado.
    2. Moving Man. From PhET.
    3. Forces in One Dimension. From PhET.
    4. Voyager I. Voyager I is the man made object most distant from the sun and now approximately free from interactions with the sun and solar system.
    5. NY Times editorial correction. Correction to the 1920 editorial. From NY Times.
    6. Three body motion. Applets developed by Eugene Butikov, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
    7. Double Pendulum. Applet developed by Peter Lynch, University College of Dublin.
  9. Gravity
    1. Newton's Cannon From the University of Virginia.
    2. Neptune From NASA.
    3. Neptune From Wikipedia.
    4. Neptune From nineplanets.org by Bill Arnett.
    5. Solar System From PhET, University of Colorado.
    6. Cavendish Experiment Schematic. From San Diego State Univ.
    7. Cavendish's Experiment. From Science and Society Picture Library
  10. Energy
    1. Skater From PhET, University of Colorado.
    2. Springs and Masses From PhET, University of Colorado.
    3. Loop the loop From the University of Iowa.
    4. Molecular Vibrations From UCLA.
    5. Ice Vibrations From Visionlearning.
    6. Internal Combustion Engine From How Stuff Works.
    7. Internal Combustion Engine animation From ForgeFx.
    8. Energy Flow in Automobiles From Art Hobson, University of Arkansas.
    9. Energy in the earth's atmosphere Diagram.
    10. Earth's Energy Budget From NASA.
    11. Global energy balance Animated diagrams from Earthguide at UCSD.
  11. Heat and Temperature
    1. Gas Model From PhET, University of Colorado.
    2. Thermodynamics Simulations From PhET, University of Colorado.
    3. Gas expansion. From U of Iowa.
    4. Work done by gas. From U of Iowa.
    5. Kinetic Theory From Oklahoma State University.
    6. Kinetic Theory From LON-CAPA.
    7. Kinetic Theory From the Ohio State University.
    8. Fire Syringe From University of Iowa.
    9. Joule's apparatus Schematic diagram from Wikipedia
    10. Joule's apparatus Actual photograph from Wikipedia
  12. Waves
    1. Waves on a String From PhET, University of Colorado.
    2. Waves From Zona Land. Best with IE.
    3. Water Waves in a Ripple Tank Source unknown.
    4. Wave Interference From PhET, University of Colorado.
    5. Wave Interference From Paul Falstad.
    6. Rectangular and Triangular Waves From Zona Land. Best with IE.
    7. Sinusoidal Waves From Zona Land. Best with IE.
    8. Two dimensional waves; ripple tank (From Paul Falstad) Best with IE.
    9. Poisson spot From the University of Melbourne
    10. Diffraction from circular aperture From PhilScience.
    11. Newton's Rings From The University of Iowa.
    12. Air wedge interference From The University of Iowa.
    13. Diffraction of Ocean Waves Satellite image of two small islands off Luderitz Bay, Namibia. (From Google Maps)
    14. Single Slit Diffraction From Walter Fendt.
    15. Microwave Interference From The University of Iowa.
    16. Michelson Interferometer From The University of Iowa.
    17. Michelson Interferometer From The University of Arizona.
    18. Electromagnetic Spectrum From LON-CAPA, Michigan State University
  13. Electricity and Magnetism
    1. Charges and Fields From PhET, University of Colorado.
    2. Magnetic Fields From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    3. Magnets and Electromagnets From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    4. Electric Generator From PhET, University of Colorado.
    5. Electric Motor From Walter Fendt.
    6. Electromagnetic Fields From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    7. Electromagnetic Spectrum From LON-CAPA, Michigan State University.
    8. Hertz's Experiments Description and illustrations of Hertz's experiment. From Sparkmuseum.
    9. Insect UV vision From Kate Sunden, University of Pennsylvania.
    10. Radio image of the night sky 408MHz image of the night sky. From NASA.
  14. Relativity
    1. Relativity of Simultaneity Physlet from Davidson College.
    2. Relativity of Simultaneity Physlet from Santa Barbara City College.
    3. Length Contraction From U of Evansville.
    4. Light Clocks From U of Virginia.
    5. NIST F-1 Atomic clock One of the world's most precise clocks.
    6. Pion and Muon Production From TRIUMF.
    7. Muon Decay From TRIUMF.
    8. Cosmic ray shower From jlab.org.
    9. Cosmic ray shower From AIRES at Univ. of Chicago. Several animated simulations.
    10. Particle Annihilation From Particle Zoo.
  15. Photons
    1. Gamma Ray Bubbles Astronomy picture of the day.
    2. Gamma Ray Bubbles Cleaned up and flashier version of the APOD illustration. From NASA. An article about this appeared in the NY Times. NASA has a nice video here.
  16. Photon and Particle Diffraction Experiments
    1. Photon interference From the Lyman page, Princeton University.
    2. Photon interference From Brown University.
    3. Quantum Wave Interference From PhET, University of Colorado.
    4. Physics Web Excellent summary of experimental efforts to demonstrate interference and diffraction of particles passing through single and multiple slits. From Physics World.
    5. Electron interference patterns from IMM Institute of the Italian National Research Council (CNR)
    6. Electron interference patterns from Hitachi, Japan.
    7. Fullerene Diffraction From Anton Zeilinger, University of Innsbruck, Austria,
    8. Electron Diffraction From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    9. Electron scattering Electron scattering images from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
    10. Electron microscopy Assorted images from Wikipedia.
    11. Electron diffraction Physics 2000, from UC Boulder.
  17. Atomic Physics
    1. Cathode Ray Tube From McGraw-Hill.
    2. Rutherford scattering From PhET, University of Colorado.
    3. Hydrogen atom models From PhET, University of Colorado.
    4. Atomic spectra From Prentice-Hall.
    5. Atomic spectra From University of Missouri - St. Louis.
  18. Nuclear Physics
    1. Chart of Nuclides (Isotopes) From the International Atomic Eneregy Agency (IAEA).
    2. Alpha Decay From PhET, University of Colorado.
    3. Beta Decay From PhET, University of Colorado.
    4. Radioactive Decay From From LON-CAPA.
    5. Isotope half lives From LON-CAPA.
    6. Radioactive Dating Game From PhET, University of Colorado.
    7. Nuclear Fusion From Atomic Archive.
    8. Solar Nuclear Fusion From Rob Scharein, University of British Columbia.
    9. Nuclear Fission From PhET, University of Colorado.
    10. Solar hydrogen fusion reaction From Wikipedia.

This page is maintained by David Collins
Last modified: 7 December 2011