Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Academic Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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PH 130 - Survey of Physics

3 lecture hours 2 lab hours 4 credits
Course Description
This course is intended to provide students in nontechnical fields with the fundamentals of physics. Topics include: mechanics, energy, fluids, thermodynamics, optics, electricity and magnetism, and nuclear physics. Laboratory experiments complement the lecture material and provide work on report writing skills. Not for credit for students who have credit in PH 2011 , PH 2011A , PH 2010, PH 2010A, PH 110, PH 113  or PT 110. (prereq: two years of high school mathematics) (coreq: MA 127 )
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • Define and use displacement, velocity, and acceleration in one dimension as well as understand the graphical relationship between them
  • List, explain, and use Newton’s three laws in one dimension
  • Define work, power, kinetic energy, and potential energy and apply them to conservation of energy
  • Know the factors that are essential to calculate the heat necessary to change the temperature or state of a material
  • State and discuss the three heat transfer mechanisms
  • State and use Archimedes’ Principle, Pascal’s Principle and Bernouilli’s Principle
  • State and use Coulomb’s Law and Ohm’s Law
  • State and use the law of reflection and refraction as well as use the object-image formula for thin lenses and mirrors
  • Know the basic parts of the eye and the function of each
  • Explain radioactivity, half life, and state the properties of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation
  • Use graphical analysis to interpret data
  • Design, conduct and analyze an experiment to determine an unknown temperature with limited means

Prerequisites by Topic
  • None

Course Topics
  • One Dimensional Kinematics (4 classes)
  • One Dimensional Mechanics (4 classes)
  • Energy (3 classes)
  • Thermodynamics (3 classes)
  • Fluid Dynamics (2 classes)
  • Coulomb’s Law and Simple Circuits (5 classes)
  • Optics (6 classes)
  • Modern Physics (3 classes)

Laboratory Topics
  • One Dimensional motion
  • Newton’s Second Law
  • Conservation of Mechanical Energy
  • Oscillatory Motion
  • Specific Heat and Heat of Fusion
  • Problem solving, Measuring Temperature with Limited Means
  • Resistors and Ohm’s Law
  • Mirrors or Lenses
  • Grating Spectrometer
  • Half-Life Determination

Coordinator
Ruth Schwartz



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