Physics 101- Introduction to Mechanics
- There are a fewnew books on reserve in the library
- Used Math- This covers very practical math for the sciences- geometry, claculus as well as complex numbers and statistics. You may not see much of the math in this book until later courses, but the calculus section is useful.
- Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell- This book focusses on algebra, trig and geometry. These three topics are essentials for every scientist and engineer. The book does a great job of explaining the hows and whys and not simply giving you reference tables.
- How Things Work- This book covers everything from seesaws to microwave ovens. It is written in a very casual manner that makes for easy reading.
- Don't forget:
- Everybody needs to enroll in the BlackBoard version of the course. (BTW: The word on the street is that the default password may not be not be the first 5 numbers of your ID. Try using your entire ID number.)
- Lab manuals are on sale in the bookstore and Seaver 104 (Dr. Saleh). Read the first experiment before coming to lab next week.
- For Monday, turn in the solution (model) to the assigned problem. Be sure to follow the problem solving algorithm as best as you can. I'm not expecting perfection on the first assignment, but do try your best.
- A few interesting notes on recent physics discoveries
- Scientific American lists their top science stories of 2001.
- Physicists observe the effects of gravity on small scales. This may lead to a better understanding of how quantum mechanics and gravity work together.
- Scientists continue to better understand Bose-Eistein Condensates. BEC is a state of matter unlike any we experience in our everyday lives. It is one of the few systtems where we can see quanum effects on the macroscopic scale. (The 1995 and 2001 Nobel Prizes were awarded to people studying BEC.)
- Discuss the worksheet we did Wednesday and the one due today.
- Instantaneous velocity and average velocity and how each of these related to position.
- Intepreting graphs.
- Practice the problem solving algorithm.
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Dr. Jeff
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| Jeff
Phillips
phillips@lmu.edu |
Loyola
Marymount University
Spring 2002 |