Bryn Mawr College, Department of Physics
Physics 101-1: Introductory Physics I (Postbac Section), Fall 2008
Michael Schulz
Office: 340 Park Science Center
E-mail: mbschulz at brynmawr dot edu
Office phone: (610) 526 - 5367
Lecture (243 Park Science Center):
Tuesday, 8:40–10:00am
Thursday, 8:40–10:00am
Recitation section (243 Park Science Center):
Tuesday, 5:45–6:45pm
Thursday, 5:45–6:45pm
Office hours (340 Park Science Center*):
Tuesday, 2:10–4:00pm
Wednesday, 11:10am–1:00pm
Friday, 11:10am–1:00pm****Exception: There will not be Friday office hours on 7 November or 5 December.
*I have also reserved 337 Park on Tuesday, and 339 Park on Wednesday and Friday, in case we need a larger room.
Student consultant: Nana Asabera (nasabere at brynmawr.edu).
You are encouraged to get in touch with Nana, our student consultant through the Teaching and Learning Initiative, if you have thoughts you'd like to share about how the course is going. Your comments will be kept anonymous. There is also a mechanism for anonymous feedback though Blackboard.
Course webpage:
Course description:
A tentative schedule can be found on the calendar and assignments webpage.
Physics 101-1 is the fall semester of a two semester course in introductory physics. This section is for students in the postbaccalaureate premedical program. The other section, Physics 101-2 is for undergraduate students. Any undergraduate wishing to enroll in postbac section will need to obtain permission from the physics department.
Here's an outline of what we hope to cover:
Part I: Force and Motion (8 weeks). The fall semester begins with the problem of motion: velocity and acceleration, motion in one and two dimensions, force, and Newton's Laws. Our first goal will be to learn how to describe the motion of objects (cars, projectiles, people, animals) accurately without asking why the objects move the way they do. This subject is called kinematics. We then turn to the "why" problem, dynamics, and ask how forces cause deviations from uniform motion.
Part II: Conservation Laws (3 weeks). Once we have understood how to apply Newton's Laws to a variety different types of forces and motion, we turn to conservation laws: the conservation of momentum and the conservation of energy. We'll see that these tools can be used to dramatically simplify problems of motion, particularly when the number of objects involved is two or more.
Part III: Properties of Matter (2 weeks). New simplifications occur in systems comprised of many atoms or molecules. In this case, the conservation of energy leads naturally to an investigation of the thermal properties of matter. Newton's Laws lead to a description of the motion of fluids.
We'll wrap things up with study of periodic motion, a ubiquitous theme in nature, from our heartbeats to the ocean tide. This will set the stage for waves at the start of next semester.
Why is physics useful for medicine? Physics is a very powerful approach to understanding the world around us. One goal of this course is to hone analytical skills through the rigorous approach to problem solving characteristic of physics: Physics is good practice for developing the ability to tackle complex problems by making simplifying assumptions and systematically breaking these problems into smaller more managable pieces. The subject matter itself is also relevant to medicine. Our bodies—our skeletons, muscles, organs, circulatory and nervous systems, the lenses in our eyes, and cochlea in our ears—all obey the laws of physics. Their motion and electrical properties are a direct application of the ideas of this course, and we will try to make these connections explicit whenever possible. The instruments used in medicine frequently originate in physics as well, for example, diagnostic imaging like x-rays and MRI.
See the following articles from Physics World (and links therein) for more on the interplay between physics and medicine:
The impact of physics on biology and medicine (written for the 100th anniversary of the American Physical Society), H. Varmus, Physics World, 9/3/99.
Physics in Medicine, Physics World, 11/1/98.
Textbook:
Knight, Jones, and Field, College Physics: A Strategic Approach, 1st ed., Pearson Addison-Wesley (2006), ISBN 0-8053-0634-X.
We used this textbook for the first time last year and received very positive student feedback. The textbook incorporates the best practices from physics education research, and one of the authors writes MCAT problems. The companion website, ActivPhysics Online, provides a suite of interactive applet-based tutorials that reinforce the ideas in the textbook.
On reserve in Collier Library:
In addition to the required text, an assortment of other introductory physics textbooks is on reserve in Collier Library. You might find it useful to consult these textbooks for a different perspective. You might also find inexpensive books like Schaum’s Outline of College Physics and ExamKrackers (the latter designed specifically for the MCAT) to be worth purchasing if you need additional problem-solving practice (although their problems may be at a bit lower level than ours).
Format:
Lecture. We'll adopt the philosophy that class time is best spent bringing the material in your textbook to life through discussion of concepts, problem solving, and demonstrations. I'll try to restrict lecturing to hitting the highlights of your reading assignments and to "big picture" ideas. For that reason, it will be very important for you to stay on top of the reading, and to read the textbook before the material is discussed in class. Brief reading quizes will be given periodially at the start of class, to provide added incentive.
Recitation. The (optional) evening recitation sections will be used to reinforce what we've learned in class in the morning. They will be devoted to working through additional example problems or conceptual questions, and to difficulties that have come to light on the homework problems. As needed, we will also use recitation section to review math that has become rusty.
Laboratory. The laboratory is run independently, but is a required part of this course. While no official grade will be assigned to the laboratory, satisfactory completion of eleven (11) laboratory exercises is required in order to pass the course.
Homework. Weekly homework problems—some to be graded, some just for practice—will be assigned throughout the course. Homework is due each week on Tuesday at 5pm in the box outside of my office, unless there is a midterm that day, in which case special instructions will be given.
In the event that you are on the border between two grades, good lab performance, reading quiz performance, and other indications of effort throughout the course will help to justify the higher grade.
Grading:
Homework: 20% (distributed weekly)
Midterm exams: 50% (three 80 minute closed book exams, given in class on Thu 25 Sep, Tue 28 Oct, and Tue 25 Nov).
Final exam: 30% (3 hours, closed book)The lowest of your three midterm scores (relative to the mean) will be weighted 10%; the other two will carry weights of 20%. Your lowest homework score (or a missed assignment) will be dropped.
I hope that there will be much discussion both inside and outside of class. You are allowed (and encouraged!) to work on the problem sets together and to form study groups. The solutions you submit must of course be prepared yourself and not be reproductions of other people's work.
Accommodations:
Students who think they may need accommodations in this course because of the impact of a learning, physical, or psychological disability are encouraged to meet with me privately early in the semester to discuss their concerns. Students should also contact Stephanie Bell, Coordinator of Access Services (610-526-7351 or sbell@brynmawr.edu), as soon as possible, to verify their eligibility for reasonable academic accommodations. Early contact will help to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and delays.