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Class Log.

November 3, 2003

F, 8/22 Introduction, Chapter 1 fundamental quantities and units
M, 8/25 Chapter 1 unit systems ~~ base units and metric system ~~ metric prefixes ~~ sine, cosine, tangent, special triangles
W, 8/27 Chapter 2 motion ~~ scalars and vectors ~~ displacement, distance, speed, velocity
  Lab 1 Measurement and Significant Figures
F, 8/29 Chapter 2 acceleration ~~ graphical representation of motion
W, 9/3 Chapter 2 kinematic equations of motion
  Lab 2 Galileo's Inclined Plane
F, 9/5 Chapter 2 free fall
M, 9/8 Chapter 3 projectile motion ~~ vector components
W, 9/10 Chapter 3 more projectiles
  Lab 3 Projectile motion
F, 9/12 TEST 1 Ch. 1, Ch.2, 3.1, 3.4
M, 9/15 Chapter 3 vector addition-graphical
W, 9/17 Chapter 3 vector addition-method of components
F, 9/19 Chapter 4 Newton's 1st and 2nd Laws, weight, normal force
M, 9/22 Chapter 4 tension, friction, 3rd Law, applications
W, 9/24 Chapter 4 more applications
  Lab 5 Friction; Atwood Machine
F, 9/26 Chapter 4 examples
M, 9/29 Chapter 5 work
W, 10/1 Chapter 5 potential energy
  TEST 2 3.2 and Ch. 4
F, 10/3 Chapter 5 work energy theorem, kinetic energy
M, 10/6 Chapter 5 Conservation of energy
W, 10/8 Chapter 6 power
  Lab 6 Conservation of Mechanical Energy
F, 10/10   momentum and impulse
M, 10/13   inelastic collisions
W, 10/15   elastic collisions
  Lab 7 2d Collisions
F, 10/17 Chapter 6 elastic collisions
W, 10/22 Chapter 5,6 review
  TEST 3 Ch 5 and 6
F, 10/24 Ch. 7 rotational quantities and kinematic equations
M, 10/27 Chapter 7 centripetal force, universal law of gravity
W, 10/29 Chapter 7 centripetal force examples, gravitation
  Lab 8 Centripetal Force
F, 10/31 Chapter 7 gravitation, Kepler's Laws
M, 11/3 Chapter 7 and 8 Kepler's third law, torque
W, 11/5 Chapter 8 static equilibrium
  Lab 9 Torque and static equilibrium
F, 11/7 Chapter 8  
M, 11/10 Chapter 8  
W, 11/12 Chapter 9  
  TEST 4 Chapters 7 and 8
F, 11/14 Chapter 9  
M, 11/17 Chapter 9  
W, 11/19 Chapter 10  
  Lab 10  
F, 11/21 Chapter 11  
M, 11/24 Chapter 12  
M, 12/1 Chapter 12  
W, 12/3 Chapter 12  
  Lab 11  
M, 12/8 FINAL EXAM @ 2 P.M.  


Useful Information.

For the Planet Psi insider with the will to succeed in College Physics....

Conversion factors
between British and metric units.

1 inch = 2.54 cm exactly

1 m/s = 3.6 km/h

1 kg weighs 2.2 lbs. on Earth

1 mi = 1.609 km

1 qt. = 946 mL

1 m = 3.28 ft.

I expect you to know how to convert within the British system and within the metric system. See the scientific notation page for metric prefixes.

1 kg of water occupies a volume of 1 L

density of water = 1 g/cm3

1 mL = 1 cm3

sine = opposite/hypotenuse

cosine = adjacent/hypotenus

tangent = opposite/adjacent

Remember SohCahToa!



Study Resources.

While I could have written one of these myself, others have already done a great job of stating what you need to do in a basic physics course. So here are some links to pages that have study tips all spelled out for you.

Dolores Gende:
How to Study Physics.

Study Tips
for Introductory Physics Students.

Study Skills
from the University of Connecticut.

(See especially the Physics Study Skills Self-Survey.)

Study Tips:
Preparing for Physics Exams.

How to Succeed
in Introductory Physics.

(It's for a calculus-based course, but some of the same principles apply.)


Trigonometry Review

We may not be able to review trigonometry for you in as much detail as you need, so here are some sites that will help you.

An Introduction to Trigonometry.
Everything you need for College Physics and then some is reviewed here.

SOS Mathematics:
math review material

(You can even find a link to someone who will do your homework for fifty dollars an hour!) I got pop-up ads with this one.

The Math Page.
A community college instructor's nifty review page.

??


Dr. Heather
Woolverton
Autumn, 2003

WHAT DIS?

1

Antimatter Surprises

A solar flare can create up to a pound of antimater, the Astrophysical Journal Letters reports in an overview of a project drawing data from NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft.

Ozone Hole

The Antarctic ozone hole is bigger than it has ever been at this time of year, threatening populated regions of south America and New Zealand with harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation, the Financial Times of London reports.

How Cold Is It?

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have cooled a sodium gas to the lowest temperature ever recorded — only half-a-billionth of a degree above absolute zero.