Mechanics & Heat (5)

UM-StL Evening Physics 111 - Fall '97

Boiler Plate: An introduction to the phenomena, concepts, and laws of mechanics and heat for physics majors and students in other departments. Three hours of lecture, one hour of discussion, and two hours of laboratory per week.

New, Answer What?, Local Pages, External Links, More Books, OverView, HomeWork,
What's New?
  • The CURRENT course home page may be found here.
  • A previous final exam, p.1,2,3,4,5.
  • A 0th-Law with teeth from class, and some fun with information physics.
  • A series of three multiple-choice questions for credit that you can submit on the web. No passwords needed! Due by end of Oct '97.
  • A multiple-choice question is posted on the discussion server. For credit, post YOUR answer as a reply with or without explanation. Note: The discussion server was having problems with logon around Oct 24, but seems to be up and running now.
  • Six more multiple-choice questions that you can submit for credit, via the web. Due by end of 1st-Friday in Nov '97.
  • Fourth exam tentatively on Monday 8 Dec 1997. A previous 4th exam, p.1,2,3,4.
  • Third in-class exam on Wednesday 12 Nov 1997. An example 3rd exam, p.1,2,3,4.
  • Second in-class exam on Monday 13 Oct 1997. A sample 2nd exam, p.1,2,3,4.
  • First in-class exam on Wednesday 17 Sept 1997. A sample 1st exam, p.1,2,3,4.
  • This course now has a university-wizarded webpage and discussion area.
  • Ask in class for the discussion password if you don't have it. One item being discussed is possible credit for participating.
  • Comparing energies: Does food, gasoline, or electricity buy more for less?
  • A Java (JDK1.1) applet for solving anyspeed constant acceleration problems.
  • One possible set of solutions to the first exam may be found here: p.1,2,3,4. Exam stats.
  • Take advantage of the free tutoring service for Phys 111/2 students now begun in the Physics Dept Reading Room, Benton 516, every Mon 11am - 12:30pm & Tuesday/Thursday 2 - 4 pm. It is sponsored by the Center for Academic Development, and the tutor is Denny Elking.
  • A weekly evaluation survey form for this class can be found here. Use it!
  • Three abstracts for the Winter 1998 AAPT Conference.
  • Anyspeed acceleration - teaching only what's right in Newtonian physics: Text, Figs.1,2,3,4,x.
    Questions this course might help you answer...
  • How to determine the earth's diameter from a seashore sunset?
  • Where to run in order to catch the next fly ball coming your way.
  • What length to adjust the cord so that a bungee-jumper doesn't fall too far.
  • Why cats falling from skyscrapers may be hurt more if the fall is too short?
  • How much "arc" to put on the next jump shot you shoot.
  • When to try breaking a board with your hand, and when not.
  • Are bean soup cans faster than boullion cans when rolling downhill?
  • Why was 1.4km of the Nimitz Freeway most damaged in the 1989 quake?
  • How many push-ups are in an m&m (plain, not peanut)?
  • Why to give trailer-pulling drivers room, when they start to weave.
  • How to rest in a vertical fissure when climbing rocks.
  • Are information in bits, & work in joules, related to temperature, and how?
  • Why scorpions locate their prey so easily in the dark?
  • How to warm the air in an igloo, without increasing the air's total energy?
    Some local resources of possible interest:
  • A sample unworked 1st exam, p.1,2,3,4. Some 1st exam solutions: p.1,2,3,4. Other exam samples may be found on reserve at the library.
  • A survey of unidirectional constant acceleration problems (for any and all speeds).
  • Excerpts from an any-speed primer.
  • Does making a hotdog require 50 nanoseconds of life's power stream?
  • Start relativity with the metric equation instead of Lorentz transforms!.
  • Is statistical physics a dead subject, or is there another paradigm change afoot?
  • Browser-interactive solver for constant acceleration problems.
  • Try focussing a high-res electron microscope image on-line!
  • A question involving relativistic acceleration which contains what you need to solve it.
  • deBroglie's electrons and some interesting TEM facts.
  • What other resources might help you? E-mail suggestions to pfraundorf@umsl.edu.
  • At UM-StLouis see also: a1toc, cme, i-fzx, phys&astr, programs, stei-lab, & wuzzlers.
  • Some current and previous courses: p111, p112, p231, p325, p341, p400.
  • Cite/Link: http://newton.umsl.edu/~philf/p111f97s.html
  • This release dated 22 Oct 1997 (Copyright by Phil Fraundorf 1988-1997)
    A few of the many resources elsewhere on the web:
  • What is d^3x/dt^3? Check sci.physics' Frequently Asked Questions.
  • SUNY-Buffalo Physics 107C Mech&Heat Lecture Notes by R. J. Gonsalves
  • Kenny Felder's Math and Physics Help pages.
  • Univ. Oregon Student Physics Problems Page
  • Contemporary Physics Education Project's Particle Adventure.
  • Other physics education links that may be of interest include those at: Yahoo, Quantum, c3p, McGill, ....
  • Press below for Alta-Vista's Dynamic Link-Lists on these topics...

    Some Suggested Supplementary Reading

    Symbols: Make sure that you know the Greek alphabet and special Mathematical Symbols, which will be constantly used in this course. Consult the back cover of the textbook.

    MathReview: There is a very useful collection of trigonometry, and differential and integral calculus formulae in the back of the text for quick reference and review (Appendix B). Make sure that you know this material!

    ...on the subject matter of this course...

  • Galileo Galilei - Dialog Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632, translated by Stillman Drake, UC Press, 1962)
  • Newton's Principia (in the 1600's sometime).
  • Halliday, Resnick & Walker - Fundamentals of Physics - 4th Edition or later with "puzzlers" (John Wiley & Sons)
  • Roman Vinokur - The science of the jump shot: Kinematics on the basketball court, Quantum (Jan/Feb 1993) 46-50.
  • McBeath et. al. - How baseball outfielders determine where to run to catch fly balls, Science 268 (28 April 1995) 569-573.
  • Larry Gonick & Art Huffman, The Cartoon Guide to Physics (HarperPerennial, NY, 199_).
  • Larry Gonick & Woollcott Smith, The Cartoon Guide to Statistics (HarperPerennial, NY, 1993).

    ...on subjects of related but more general interest...

  • Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edition (U. of Chicago Press, Chicago IL, 1970)
  • Jearl Walker - The Flying Circus of Physics (Wiley 1977)
  • Joel A. Barker, The Business of Paradigms (ILI Press, Lake Elmo MN, 1985)
  • R. P. Feynman - "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" (Bantam 1986)
  • K. Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation (Anchor Doubleday, New York NY, 1986)
  • Stephen W. Hawking - A Brief History of Time
  • Jearl Walker, Flying Circus of Physics (John Wiley & Sons, 1975)
  • Michio Kaku, HyperSpace (Oxford University Press, 1994)
  • James Gleick, Chaos: Making a New Science (Penguin Books, 1987)
  • Stuart Kauffman, At Home in the Universe (Oxford University Press, 1995)
  • Kip S. Thorne, Black Holes & Time Warps (W. W. Norton & Co., 1994)
  • Mark Slouka, War of the Worlds (BasicBooks, 1995)
  • Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene (Oxford University Press, 1976)

    Overview

    Assumed Background:

    Prerequisite:
  • Math 80: Analytic Geom & Calc I (5) or Math 101: Survey of Calc (4)
    Recommended:
  • Physics 1: Foundations I (4) or Chem 12: Intro II (5)

    Specifics:

    Prof: Phil Fraundorf 516-5933; Benton Hall 421 (office)
    Office Hours: after class and by appointment
    Text: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Fourth Edition by Raymond A. Serway (Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia PA 1995)
    Lectures: Section E0A: MW 5:30- 6:45pm Room B116
    Discussion Sections: Section 0A1: MW 5:05- 5:30pm Room B116
    Lab Sections: Section E01: M 6:55-8:45pm Room B331

    Approximate Distribution for Grade:

  • (1) Collected HomeWork / Quizzes - 10%
  • (2) Laboratory - 20%
  • (3) Four 1-Hour Exams - 50%
  • (3) Comprehensive Final Exam - 20%

    Drops: The University regulations regarding drops will be strictly enforced.

    Homework/Labs Schedule

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