Physics Department, University of Michigan Physics 160, Honors Introduction to Mechanics

Winter 2015

Instructor Prof. Vanessa Sih Office: 4420 Randall Laboratory Email: vsih@umich.edu Office hours: MF 3-4pm or by appointment Meeting Time / Place: MTuWTh 12:00-1:00pm / MW: 268 DENN, TuTh: 182 DENN Course Website Course information, homework assignments, class announcements, and lecture notes will be posted at: http://ctools.umich.edu Goals of the course:

1. Application of fundamental principles to a wide range of systems, from nuclei to stars 2. Integrate some contemporary physics (atomic models of matter, relativistic dynamics) 3. Engage in physical modeling (idealization, approximation, assumptions, estimation) 4. Integrate computational physics (now a partner of theory and experiment) 5. Given the initial conditions and any set of forces acting on a particle, be able to calculate the

trajectory of that particle. Prerequisites and expectations: Physics 160 is a more advanced and challenging version of the standard first semester course, Physics 140. We assume you have taken high-school physics and calculus, and you may need to review or learn trigonometry, calculus and vector algebra. Programming experience is not expected. Past experience in P160 shows no correlation between the level of physics/math taken in high-school or programming experience and final grade in P160. What matters is your desire to work hard and learn. Required: You will need to purchase an access code for MasteringPhysics, which is a self-paced and interactive website for problem solving. You can purchase this access code online for $66 (by itself, without access to the electronic copy of the textbook) or $110.55 with the eText. If you decide to purchase a new copy of the textbook in a bookstore, it may come bundled with a MasteringPhysics access code. You will also need VPython (free to download) to complete your assignments. If you cannot install VPython on your own computer, you can use Campus Computing Sites or the Physics Authorized Users Laboratory (PAUL).

Recommended Resources: There is no required textbook, but to do well in this course, you will probably have to do additional reading to learn and/or review the material and do more problems than are on the assignments. The best way to learn physics is to work through problems to see whether you can apply physical principles to different situations. Here are some recommendations: University Physics, by Young and Freedman (the 13th edition is the latest, but used copies of the 12th edition are fine and less expensive.) Matter & Interactions I: Modern Mechanics, by Chabay and Sherwood (currently in its 3rd edition, but the 2nd edition is also fine.) MIT OpenCourseWare: Physics I: Classical Mechanics: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-01l-physics-i-classical-mechanics-fall-2005/ HyperPhysics: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hph.html Class format: The class will be a combination of lecture/demonstrations, class discussion, and group problem solving. Regular class attendance and participation are expected. Please let me know in advance if you have to miss more than one class. Approximately once a week, you will turn in in-class assignments based on your group problem solving. The class schedule will be posted and updated on CTools. Mondays will be a computer lab, and there will be six in-class quizzes on Thursday, January 29, February 12, February 26, March 19, April 2, and April 16. I will be assigning one or more videos each week to watch before class. These have been recorded by Prof. Brad Orr and provide background for the material I will cover in class. I will provide YouTube links to these videos on CTools from the Class Schedule page. Assignments: MasteringPhysics Homework will be due most Fridays at 11pm. You will need to register for MasteringPhysics at http://www.masteringphysics.com and purchase an access code (either bundled with a new copy of the textbook or online). When you register, select Young and Freedman, University with Modern Physics, 13e (either with or without the Technology Update; the only difference is the Technology Update includes over 250 QR codes with links to interactive videos, but you can also view these in the Study Area in the MasteringPhysics course) as the textbook. You are not required to purchase the eText. You will need to login and then input the course ID: UMPHYS160W15 in order to view the assignments for this course. Computer/Written Homework will be due at the beginning of class on most Wednesdays. These assignments will include both end-of-chapter problems and writing programs using vPython to numerically solve problems and a written analysis.

You are allowed and encouraged to work together on the homework. However, your write-up must be your own, and you should understand how to do the problems on your own. The best way to succeed in learning the class material is by fully working and understanding the problems. If you need any help, please let me know in class, by e-mail or on Piazza and during office hours. In-class Assignments: Class participation includes making an active effort on in-class conceptual questions and group problem-solving exercises. Your participation will be assessed by turning in solutions for days when we have group problem solving sessions. Quizzes: There will be six in-class quizzes that will be used to test your comprehension of the material as we proceed through the course. The questions on the quizzes will be conceptually similar to (but different from) other problems on the homework and in-class assignments. Thus, they will test your understanding of the material and ability to apply it to new situations. Final Exam: The final exam will be 10:30am 12:30pm on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Course work and grading: Your class grade will be determined by the weighted sum of: MasteringPhysics HW 10% Computer/written HW 20% In-class assignments 10% Quizzes 40% Final Exam 20% Your letter grade will be based on your overall score with the following boundaries: A (85 100), B (70 85), C (55 70), D (40 55), E (0 40). I expect that the scores on quizzes and the exam may be somewhat lower than the other assignments. If it turns out that the exams are far too difficult for this scale, grades might be curved up, but they definitely will not be curved down. Typically, the median grade in P160 is expected to be at the A-/B+ boundary.

Schedule Physics 160 (pg. 1 of 3) subject to change; see updated Class Schedule on CTools

Date Lecture Topics Reading (Matter & Interactions) Jan. 7 W Introduction; Units; Vectors. Jan. 8 Th Vectors; position; velocity; acceleration 1.1-1.7 Jan. 12 M Computer Lab: Introduction to vPython Jan. 13 Tu Momentum; Newtons First Law; Relativity 1.8-1.11 Jan. 14 W Computer Lab: Creating 2D graphs in vPython Jan. 15 Th The Momentum Principle; Newtons Second Law; Force 2.1-2.3 Jan. 16 F MasteringPhysics #1 due Jan. 19 M MLK day; no class Jan. 20 Tu Predicting motion using iterative updates vs. calculus 2.4-2.5 Jan. 21 W Computer Lab

Written/Computer HW#1 due Jan. 22 Th Spring, gravitational force; periodic/harmonic motion 2.5-2.7 Jan. 23 F MasteringPhysics #2 due Jan. 26 M Computer Lab Jan. 27 Tu Examples of momentum conservation: rockets, collisions 2.8-2.11 Jan. 28 W Fundamental Interactions; Gravitational, electric forces 3.1-3.4; 3.6 Written/Computer HW#2 due Jan. 29 Th Quiz #1 Jan. 30 F MasteringPhysics #3 due Feb. 2 M Computer Lab Feb. 3 Tu Orbits; circular motion 3.5; 3.7-3.15 Feb. 4 W Contact interactions; model of a solid; tension 4.1-4.6 Written/Computer HW#3 due Feb. 5 Th Compression (normal) force; friction 4.7-4.8 Feb. 6 F MasteringPhysics #4 due Feb. 9 M Computer Lab Feb. 10 Tu Contact forces and curving motion Feb. 11 W Contact forces due to gases: buoyancy, pressure Written/Computer HW#4 due Feb.12 Th Quiz #2 Feb.13 F MasteringPhysics #5 due

Schedule Winter 2015 Physics 160 (pg. 2 of 3) Date Lecture Topics Reading (Matter & Interactions) Feb.16 M Computer Lab Feb.17 Tu Multiparticle systems; center of mass 9.1, 9.3 Feb.18 W Translational and rotational angular momentum 11.1-11.3 Written/Computer HW#5 due Feb.19 Th The Angular Momentum Principle; Torque 11.4, 11.7 Feb.20 F MasteringPhysics #6 due Feb.23 M Computer Lab Feb.24 Tu Systems with nonzero torques; moment of inertia; rotation 11.8-11.9 Feb.25 W Rolling; gyroscopes 11.11 Written/Computer HW#6 due Feb.26 Th Quiz #3 Feb.27 F MasteringPhysics #7 due Mar. 2 6 Winter vacation; no class Mar. 9 M Computer Lab Mar.10 Tu The Energy Principle; Work: mechanical energy transfer 6.1-6.3 Mar.11 W Work done by a non-constant force 6.4-6.7 Written/Computer HW#7 due Mar.12 Th Potential energy: gravitational 6.8-6.10 Mar. 13 F MasteringPhysics #8 due Mar.16 M Computer Lab Mar.17 Tu Rotational kinetic energy 9.2-9.3 Mar.18 W Work and rotational, rolling motion Written/Computer HW#8 due Mar.19 Th Quiz #4 Mar.20 F MasteringPhysics #9 due Mar.23 M Computer Lab Mar.24 Tu Plotting energy vs. separation; force and potential energy 6.11-6.22 Mar.25 W Internal energy; spring potential energy 7.1 Written/Computer HW#9 due Mar.26 Th Potential energy of a molecule 7.2, 7.3 Mar.27 F MasteringPhysics #10 due

Schedule Winter 2015 Physics 160 (pg. 3 of 3) Date Lecture Topics Reading (Matter & Interactions) Mar.30 M Computer Lab Mar.31 Tu Power: energy per unit time 7.6-7.9 Apr. 1 W Energy dissipation: air resistance, friction 7.10-7.11 Written/Computer HW#10 due Apr. 2 Th Quiz #5 Apr. 3 F MasteringPhysics #11 due Apr. 6 M Computer Lab Apr. 7 Tu Damped and driven oscillations and resonance 7.12 Apr. 8 W Resonance; molecular spectroscopy Written/Computer HW#11 due Apr. 9 Th Waves Apr.10 F MasteringPhysics #12 due Apr.13 M Computer Lab Apr.14 Tu Elastic and inelastic collisions 10.1-10.5 Written/Computer HW#12 due Apr.15 W Collisions in different reference frames 10.6-10.10 Apr.16 Th Quiz #6 Apr.17 F MasteringPhysics #13 due Apr.20 M Review and practice problems for the final exam Apr.21 Tu Review and practice problems for the final exam Apr.28 Tu Final Exam, 10:30am-12:30pm