Week 1
Read: Scaling in Art and Nature (ASGv2 Chap. 1).
Key topics: Dimensional analysis, units, scaling.
PHY 201 lecture: Dimension analysis of nuclear explosion....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: Dimensional analysis, units, scaling.
PHY 201 lecture: Dimension analysis of nuclear explosion....see course materials for this unit.
Week 2
Read: The Coherence of Substances (ASGv2 Chap. 2), Archimedes' Principle and Falling Bodies (ASGv2 Chap. 3)
Key topics: Early modern ideas about the coherence of substances; Archimedes' principle, the effect of buoyancy and drag on bodies falling in fluids.
PHY 201 lecture: Aristotle's wheel: an ancient geometrical problem related to atomism and infinitesimal calculus....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: Early modern ideas about the coherence of substances; Archimedes' principle, the effect of buoyancy and drag on bodies falling in fluids.
PHY 201 lecture: Aristotle's wheel: an ancient geometrical problem related to atomism and infinitesimal calculus....see course materials for this unit.
Week 3
Read: and Falling Bodies and Pendular Motion (ASGv2 Chap. 4), Pendular motion and harmony (ASGv2 Chap. 5)
Key topics: Pendular and periodic motion; sound waves, vibrating strings, frequency and pitch, consonance and dissonance, sympathetic resonance
PHY 201 lecture: Drag and terminal velocity....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: Pendular and periodic motion; sound waves, vibrating strings, frequency and pitch, consonance and dissonance, sympathetic resonance
PHY 201 lecture: Drag and terminal velocity....see course materials for this unit.
Week 4
Read: and The law of the lever (ASGv2 Chap. 6). Chapter 6 is a bit dense. Don't worry if you don't quite follow some of Galileo's geometrical proofs; we'll talk about this in class. Beams, bones and giants (ASGv2 Chap. 7)
Key topics: , torque, equilibrium, the law of the lever, strength of materials, beam breaking
PHY 201 lecture: Lecture on torque and statics....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: , torque, equilibrium, the law of the lever, strength of materials, beam breaking
PHY 201 lecture: Lecture on torque and statics....see course materials for this unit.
Week 5
Read: and Naturally accelerated motion (ASGv2 Chap. 8). The Mean Speed Theorem (ASGv2 Ch. 9)
Key topics: uniform acceleration; position, velocity and acceleration, mean speed theorem
PHY 201 lecture: A calculus approach to kinematics and falling bodies....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: uniform acceleration; position, velocity and acceleration, mean speed theorem
PHY 201 lecture: A calculus approach to kinematics and falling bodies....see course materials for this unit.
Week 6
Read: and Equilibrium, Force and Acceleration (ASGv2 Ch. 10). From Conic Sections to Projectile Motion (ASGv2 Chap. 11) and The Speed and Force of a Projectile (ASGv2 Chap. 12).
Key topics: two-dimensional kinematics, projectile motion
PHY 201 lecture: More 2 d kinematics: archery problem on a slope (Ex. 11.2b)....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: two-dimensional kinematics, projectile motion
PHY 201 lecture: More 2 d kinematics: archery problem on a slope (Ex. 11.2b)....see course materials for this unit.
Week 7
Read: Reason, Authority and Science (ASGv2 Chap. 13) and Pascal's Principle (ASGv2 Chap. 14).
Key topics: deductive and inductive reasoning, causality, final cause, hydrostatic paradox, pascal's principle, pressure.
PHY 201 Lecture: Torricelli's law and deriving a rate equation for draining a fluid-filled vessel....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: deductive and inductive reasoning, causality, final cause, hydrostatic paradox, pascal's principle, pressure.
PHY 201 Lecture: Torricelli's law and deriving a rate equation for draining a fluid-filled vessel....see course materials for this unit.
Week 8
Read: Submerged Bodies (ASGv2 Chap. 15); Syringes, Siphons and Suckling Infants (ASGv2 Chap. 16); and Life Under a Sea of Air (ASGv2 Chap. 17).
Key topics: hydrostatic pressure, barometers, siphons, weighing earth's atmosphere,
PHY 201 Lecture: deriving a barometric formula: how does pressure depend on altitude for a compressible fluid?...see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: hydrostatic pressure, barometers, siphons, weighing earth's atmosphere,
PHY 201 Lecture: deriving a barometric formula: how does pressure depend on altitude for a compressible fluid?...see course materials for this unit.
Week 9. Spring Break.
Read: Does Nature Abhor a Vacuum (ASGv2 Chap. 18);
...see course materials for this unit.
...see course materials for this unit.
Week 10 (Mar. 18 - 22)
Read: Mass, Momentum and Force (Chap. 19); and Absolute and Relative Motion (ASGv2 Chap. 20).
Key topics: Mass, momentum, inertia, force, centripetal force, absolute and relative motion.
PHY 201 Lecture: Further discussion of absolute and relative motion....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: Mass, momentum, inertia, force, centripetal force, absolute and relative motion.
PHY 201 Lecture: Further discussion of absolute and relative motion....see course materials for this unit.
Week 11 (Mar. 25 - 29)
Read: Newton's Laws of Motion (ASGv2 Chap. 21).
Key topics: newton's laws of motion, force addition, action-reaction pairs, free body diagrams,
PHY 201 Lecture: None; easter Break begins on Thursday....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: newton's laws of motion, force addition, action-reaction pairs, free body diagrams,
PHY 201 Lecture: None; easter Break begins on Thursday....see course materials for this unit.
Week 12 (Apr. 1 - 5)
Read: Conservation of Momentum (ASGv2 Chap. 22) and The Third Law and the Power of Machines (ASGv2 Chap. 23).
Key topics: applications of newton's laws; conservation of momentum; center of mass position and velocity; elastic and inelastic collisions,
PHY 201 Lecture: Applications of Newton's laws of motion...see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: applications of newton's laws; conservation of momentum; center of mass position and velocity; elastic and inelastic collisions,
PHY 201 Lecture: Applications of Newton's laws of motion...see course materials for this unit.
Week 13 (Apr. 8 - 12)
Read: Centripetal Force and Acceleration (ASGv2 Chap. 24) and Newton's Rules of Reasoning (ASGv2 Chap. 25).
Key topics: rotational motion, centripetal force, centripetal acceleration, principle of parsimony, principle of induction, philosophy of nature.
PHY 201 Lecture: Elastic and inelastic collisions; circular motion...see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: rotational motion, centripetal force, centripetal acceleration, principle of parsimony, principle of induction, philosophy of nature.
PHY 201 Lecture: Elastic and inelastic collisions; circular motion...see course materials for this unit.
Week 14 (Apr. 15 -19)
Read: Planetary motion (ASGv2 Chap. 26), Universal Gravitation (ASGv2 Chap. 27), Hypothesis and Natural Theology (ASGv2 Chap. 28).
Key topics: Kepler's laws of motion, Newton's universal law of gravitation, natural theology, scientific apologetics, and Newton's argument from design.
PHY 201 lecture: torque and angular motion....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: Kepler's laws of motion, Newton's universal law of gravitation, natural theology, scientific apologetics, and Newton's argument from design.
PHY 201 lecture: torque and angular motion....see course materials for this unit.
Week 15 (Apr. 22 - 26)
Read: The principle of relativity (ASGv2 Chap. 29) and The absolute speed of light (ASGv2 Chap. 30).
Key topics: principle of relativity, speed of light postulate, relativistic time dilation and length contraction, ...see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: principle of relativity, speed of light postulate, relativistic time dilation and length contraction, ...see course materials for this unit.
Week 16 (Apr. 29 - May 3)
Read: Lorentz transformations (ASGv2 Chap. 31) and Relativistic energy and Minkowski space(ASGv2 Chap. 32).
Key topics: Relativistic energy and momentum....see course materials for this unit.
Key topics: Relativistic energy and momentum....see course materials for this unit.
Week 17 Final exam
There will be a comprehensive final examination on week 17.
Here is a copy of the final exam from the spring of 2021.
And here is the final exam from spring 2022....see course materials for this unit.
Here is a copy of the final exam from the spring of 2021.
And here is the final exam from spring 2022....see course materials for this unit.