PHYS 1750: SELECTED TOPICS in PHYSICS
LECTURE 01. Introduction, Measurement, and Mathematics
Note: The numbering of outline items corresponds to sections in the text, and need not be sequential on these pages. The ordering of items is more than likely the order in which they will be presented. Students are not responsible for material in the text not appearing as an outline item, unless otherwise instructed (for example, students may be required to think about one or more text Applications not mentioned in class). All such responsibilities will be clearly stated in class.
| 1.i. | Course Information | ||
| 1.1. | The Nature of Physics | ||
| 1.2. | Fundamental Measurements and Units | ||
| 1. | Length: meter (one leg) | ||
| 2. | Time: second (one heartbeat) | ||
| 3. | Mass: kilogram (a liter[quart] of water) | ||
| 4. | Unit Conversions | ||
| 1.3. | Accuracy and Uncertainty | ||
| 1. | Definitions | ||
| 2. | Significant figures | ||
| 1.5. | 'Scientific Notation' | ||
| A. | Mathematical Notation | ||
| 1. | Relational symbols | ||
| 2. | Greek letters... | ||
| 1.8. | Trigonometry | ||
| 1. | Sines, Cosines, and Tangents | ||
| 2. | Simple triangles | ||
| 1.4,6,7. | Other Mathematics | ||
| B. | Estimation and Dimensional Analysis | ||
| C. | Problem Solving | ||
| 1. | Read: get "big picture" | ||
| 2. | Sketch diagram | ||
| 3. | Identify knowns and unknowns | ||
| 4. | Choose equations: # = # unknowns | ||
| 5. | Solve symbolically | ||
| 6. | Check units | ||
| 7. | Substitute known values | ||
| 8. | Do math, check with estimation | ||