Science 10101. Physics Department, Spring 2011
Tuesday: 2:00 pm.-4:40 pm.; Thursday: 2:00 pm.-3:40 pm.
Room: SH 376
Instructor: Sergey Vitkalov tel. (212) 650 5460;
e-mail: vitkalov@sci.ccny.cuny.edu
web: http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~vitkalov/
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday: 9-10am in MR324A
Book: “The Physics of Everyday Phenomena” 6E W. Thomas Griffith
Course Description:
course designed to develop an understanding of the phenomena of our everyday life via the
laws of physics. The emphasis is not on problem-solving course, but on encouraging
students to understand and appreciate their environment from a new perspective. This
course includes topics in mechanics and other physics subfields such as thermal physics,
electrical phenomena, and waves.
Course Objectives:
1. Develop basic science literacy of students, particularly with regard to physics, so that
they can better fulfill their role as knowledgeable citizens.
2. Improve students' quantitative reasoning skills.
3. Develop an appreciation for the processes by which scientific knowledge is obtained and
evaluated.
4. Develop an understanding of some of the fundamental laws and principles of physics.
5. Develop an understanding of common phenomena from the perspective of physics.
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, students should be able to:
1. understand and describe mechanical motion in scientific terms: position, velocity and
acceleration
2. understand and use the basic properties of projectile motion
3. apply Newton's Laws to describe mechanical motion
4. describe circular motion
5. understand and use the concepts of energy and momentum
6. understand and describe electrostatic phenomena, applying Coulomb's Law
7. use basic principles of electrical circuits
8. describe sources of magnetic field and understand electromagnetic induction
9. describe main physical properties of light and waves
10. understand scientific meaning of temperature, heat and entropy
11. apply First law of Thermodynamics to Ideal Gas
12. describe basic properties of atoms in scientific terms .
13. understand and apply quantum mechanical concepts to evaluate the atomic spectrum
14. understand the basic properties of relativity
January
February
1 Describing Motion (Ch.2)
3 Projectile Motion (Ch.3)
8 Newton's Laws of Motion (Ch.4)
10 Circular Motion, Planets and Gravity (Ch.5)
15 Energy and Oscillations (Ch.6)
17 Momentum and Impulse. Collisions. (Ch.7)
22 Review of Classical Mechanics
24 Exam #1
March:
1 Electrostatic Phenomena Ch.12 (1,2,3,4)
3 Electrostatic Phenomena Ch.12(5)
8 Electric Circuits Ch.13
10 Magnetism, Sources of magnetic field, Electromagnetic induction (Ch.14)
15 Waves Ch.15
17 Light and Color Ch.16
22 Light and Image Formation Ch.17
24 Review of Electricity and Magnetism, Waves and Light
29 Exam #2
31 Temperature, Heat Ch.10
April:
5 First Law of Thermodynamics Ch.10
7 Heat Engines and The Second Law of Thermodynamics Ch.11
12 The Atom, Ch. 18 (1,4,5)
14 Quantum (Wave) Mechanics
19 Spring recession
21 Spring recession
26 Spring recession
28 Condensed Matter Physics
29 Micro and Nanoelectronics. Nanotechnologies, Artificial Structures and Atoms.
May:
3 Summary, Review Thermodynamics and Quantum Mechanics
5 Exam #3
10 Our Universe, Relativity, Time Machine Ch.20
12 Review of the course
17: FINAL Exam
Reading Assignment: The text material that will be covered in class each day is listed on
the Lecture schedule. You should read the indicated sections in the textbook before coming
to class.
Homework: The homework problems are taken from the textbook . Students will be able to
use WebAssign to practice solving homework problems online. WebAssign will evaluate
your homework. You will use the Passcard that comes with your textbook or you will
purchase access to WebAssign online.
Grades: Grade will be based on the highest score obtained in a) and b):
a)
exams (3 midterms + final)
60%
presentation
20%
homework (WebAssign)
20%
b)
exams (3 midterms + final)
80%
presentation
20%
Exams: There will be three midterm exams (80 min.) and a final exam (140 min.).
No exam grades will be dropped and no make-ups will be given except in the case of
documented illness.
Statement on Academic Integrity
The CCNY policy on academic integrity will be followed in this course. The document can
be found through the CCNY website by clicking on Current Students → Academic Services
→ Policy on Academic Integrity. All students must read the details regarding plagiarism and
cheating in order to be familiar with the rules of the college. Cases where academic integrity
is compromised will be prosecuted according to these rules. In addition, the Policy of
Academic Integrity can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin 2007-2009 in Appendix B.3
on page 312.