Course Syllabus

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Course Description

This course is intended for students not majoring in physics or engineering but needing a one-year course in physics as a requirement for their major program.  The course is part of a two-semester sequence whose contents may be offered in other sequences or combinations.  Core topics include:  kinematics, dynamics, work and energy, momentum, fluids, and simple harmonic motion.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Predict the future trajectory of an object in two dimensions with uniform acceleration.
  2. Analyze a physical situation with multiple constant forces acting on a point mass using Newtonian mechanics.
  3. Analyze a physical situation using concepts of work and energy.
  4. Analyze static and dynamic extended systems using the concepts of torque and angular acceleration.

Laboratory Course Objectives: At the conclusion of the laboratory component of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Analyze real-world experimental data, including appropriate use of units and significant figures.
  2. Relate the results of experimental data to the physical concepts discussed in the lecture portion of the class.

Course Content:

  • Vectors and Scalars
  • Newton’s Laws
  • Statics and Dynamics
  • Translational Kinematics
  • Rotational Kinematics
  • Rotational Dynamics
  • Work and Energy
  • Momentum
  • Gravitation
  • Simple Harmonic Motion
  • Fluids
  • Laws of Thermodynamics
  • Heat Engines
  • Kinetic Theory
  • Entropy
  • “Floating topics” which may be included in this semester
    • Mechanical Waves and Sound

Materials/Textbook:

Scientific Calculator will be needed:  TI-30 or above should suffice.  For access to a TI-84 emulator through Texas Instruments go here. 

 

Great news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!
College Physics from OpenStax, ISBN 1-947172-01-8

You have several options to obtain this book:

You will also need to pay for required access to Webassign.

You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended -- the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

Important Notes:

  • All first week assignments need to be completed and submitted by the due date to avoid possibly being dropped from the class.  Most weeks are very busy but the first week is particularly busy.
  • Any student needing accommodations should inform the instructor. Students with disabilities who may need accommodations for this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact the Disability Services Program (DSP) early in the quarter so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. Students may contact the DSP by visiting the DSP office (located in room 407), or by phone (707-864-7136 to leave voicemail), or by email (dsp@solano.edu).  You can find the DSP webpage here.  All information will remain confidential.
  • Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the assignment. Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism. "Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material, from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases but it also includes statistics, lab results, art work, etc.  Please see the Solano Community handbook for policies regarding plagiarism, harassment, etc.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due