Physics 1425, General Physics I

Section 1: Dr. Yost

Announcements:

Final grades for the course have been posted on Blackboard. The final exam score is curved, and the final letter grade may include small adjustments for borderline cases. Note that an average grade of 60% is not sufficient to pass if your laboratory grade is below this level.

Answers with explanations for the final exam are available by logging into CAPA Set 19 using the CAPA ID printed on your exam. Note that the order of the problems as well as the order of the answer choices is different for each student. All numerical data is the same, however.

Don't forget to try the discussion links in the problem sets or the general class message board.

Welcome to Physics 1425, General Physics I for science and engineering students! This course is an introduction to the physical concepts of mechanics and thermodynamics. By the end of the course, you should be familiar with Newton's Laws, forces, work and energy, momentum and inertia, rotational motion, oscillation and waves, heat, and temperature. This includes the first 20 chapters in the Giancoli textbook.

Physics is a hands-on subject! You cannot do well by watching your professor work problems on the board, or by asking your friends to show you how they did them. There is absolutely no substitute to struggling through the problems yourself.

Your grade in the course should largely reflect the amount of effort you put into the homework. However, it is a mistake to make completing the homework your only goal. The real goal is to understand the material, and to do this well, you must first read the chapter, and not blindly try to start on the problems, hoping you can skim the material for the right equations to use. That approach may get you through the homework more quickly, but without the understanding you will need to apply your knowledge in new contexts, including the exams. If you have trouble with one of the problems, go back and read the chapter some more, or try some different problems and come back to it.

The mathematical tools we will use include algebra, trigonometry, geometry, vector algebra, and calculus. Everyone should have a comfortable working knowledge of algebra and trigonometry, since they are part of the basic language of the course, used extensively on a daily basis. Any weakness in these areas will have a strong impact on your understanding of physics. You should consider a tutor if you feel you need one. Vector algebra is needed any time we want to describe quantities that have a direction. If you are not already familiar with vectors, you will be soon. Calculus was invented to describe the kind of physical problems we will be considering, and is essential for the most general treatment, as Newton first realized. Those of you who are just becoming familiar with calculus should find that seeing it in a physical context will help you understand the concepts of differentiation and integration more fully and intuitively.