PHYS 201L: College Physics I Laboratory

PHYS 201L: College Physics I Laboratory

Professor: Dr. J. Best
Office: Byrd Science Center 115
Office Hours: MWF 9a-11a

Required Lab Manual: PHYS 201 Lab Manual, by J. Best

Course Overview and Objectives: PHYS 201L is a one-credit-hour laboratory course that is to be taken simultaneously with PHYS 201 College Physics I. The objectives of the lab are to demonstrate principles taught in the lecture course; develop skills in report writing; develop skills in data analysis and simple error analysis; and develop skills in experimental technique. Among the specific content areas to be addressed are:

· science in theory and in practice. This includes defining the power and limitations of scientific enterprises, the importance of science in the modern world, techniques used by practicing scientists, and the process of peer review as the mechanism of oversight and correction.

· linear motion. This includes understanding the basic defining concepts used in motion (distance, velocity, acceleration), and the interaction among them in describing the motion of an object in horizontal and vertical directions.

· nonlinear motion. This includes linking the concepts of linear motion to describe multi-dimension motion (including projectile motion).

· force. This includes understanding and applying the Newtonian Laws of Motion in practice, as well as incorporation frictional forces into physical problems.

· energy. This includes understanding work, power, efficiency, the various types of energy, the link between work and energy, and the conservation of energy.

· collisional physics. This includes understanding momentum, impulse (and its relationship to momentum and Newton's Laws), the types of collisions, and the conservation of momentum.

· rotational motion. This includes understanding the defining concepts (and how they are analogous to the linear motion concepts), Newtonian gravitation, and dynamics in the rotational sense.

· thermodynamics. This includes understanding temperature, heat, specific heat, the mechanisms of heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation) and the effects of heat transfer in global applications.