Syllabus of General Physics I
PHYS1025
Current Lecturer
Prof. Kang CHEN Email: kangchen@suda.edu.cn
Course Time
1st Semester
Lectures: 4 class hours per week, Start from the 5th week, and 14 weeks in total.
Course Description
General Physics I is an introductory course in physics for students who major in the physical science. The content of the course includes: introductory to vectors and calculus; particle kinematics; particle dynamics (Newton’s laws); work and energy; momentum and collisions; rotation of rigid body; Gravitation; oscillation and mechanical waves; fluid mechanics. A brief introduction of some concepts in thermal physics will be given at the end the course.
Prerequisites
None
Textbooks
Hugh D. Young and Roger A. Freedman, Sears and Zemansky’s University Physics with Modern Physics (12th Edition), Pearson Education, Inc. and China Machine Press, 2011
Daniel Kleppner and Robert J. Kolenkow, An Introduction to Mechanics, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1973; Cambridge University Press, 2010 (2nd Edition in 2013)
漆安慎 杜婵英，力学（第三版），高等教育出版社，2012
Main contents
Week | Teaching Contents | Class hours | Objectives |
5 | Introduction to the course Vectors and calculus Units and physical quantities | 1+2+1 | Grasp the basics of calculus, vector algebra and the operator gradient. Learn standards, units, dimensions etc. |
6 | Particle kinematics
| 4 | Learn the concepts of displacement, velocity and acceleration and their relations; learn the description of motion in one, two and three dimensions; learn the Cartesian, polar and spherical coordinates; learn Galilean transformation |
7 | Particle dynamics | 4 | Learn Newton’s laws and the nature of force |
8 | Application of Newton’s laws Work and energy | 1+3 | Learn examples of applying Newton’s laws Learn kinetic energy, work, conservative and non-conservative forces, potential energy, and the conservation of mechanical energy |
9 | Momentum and collision | 4 | Learn momentum and impulse, conservation of momentum, collisions, a system of particles and the center of mass |
10 | Rotation of rigid body | 4 | Learn angular momentum, angular velocity and acceleration, moment of inertia and energy in rotational motion |
11 | Dynamics of rotational motion | 4 | Learn torque, work and power in rotational motion, conservation of angular momentum, gyroscopes and precession |
12 | Elasticity Gravitation | 2+2 | Learn condition of equilibrium, stress, strain, elastic modulus Kepler’s laws and the motion of planets |
13 | Gravitation Oscillation | 2+2 | Learn Newton’s law of gravitation , gravitational potential energy, energy, momentum and the trajectory of planet’s motion Concepts of simple harmonic motion (SHM) and the energy during SHM; |
14 | Oscillation Mechanical waves | 2+2 | Composition and decomposition of SHM; damped oscillations, forced oscillations and resonance Description of a wave, wave equation and the speed of wave |
15 | Mechanical waves | 4 | Energy in wave motion, wave interference, boundary conditions and Superposition |
16 | Mechanical waves Fluid mechanics | 2+2 | Standing waves and normal modes Pressure, buoyancy, ideal fluid, steady flow, pathline, streamline, stream tube, etc. |
17 | Fluid mechanics Some basic concepts in thermal physics | 2+2 | Bernoulli’s equation and applications Temperature and heat, thermal expansion |
18 | Some basic concepts in thermal physics Review of the whole course | 2+2 | Thermal properties of matter, equation of state, thermal capacity Summary of the course |
Marking Scheme:
Homework | Presentation | Quizzes | Midterm | Final exam |
5% | 5% | 10% | 30% | 50% |
