Physics 211, "University Physics I", Spring 2021

This material can be found online at URL

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys211/phys211.html

Outline for the course, class schedule, etc.

Grades in the course

If you want to read through my lectures from the old, lecture-based version of this course, then visit

• my old lecture-based University Physics I web site.
• my old lecture-based University Physics II web site.

You may also find it useful to look at my notes from an intensive version of University Physics I, which meets 4 days a week.

• my University Physics I for physics majors web site

Workshops

• Week 1, Day A: Introduction, measurements, ring experiment [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 1, Day B: Kinematic quantities, uncertainties and graphing [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 1, Day C: 1-D kinematics under constant acceleration
• Week 2, Day A: 1-D kinematics, continued ( Zoom recording )
• Week 2, Day B: Vectors ( Zoom rec. )
• Week 2, Day C: 2-D Kinematics in simple situations [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom rec )
• Week 3, Day A: Projectile motion [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 3, Day B: Uniform circular motion ( Zoom recording )
• Week 3, Day C: Forces ( Zoom recording )
• Week 4, Day A: Forces on ramps, and Atwood's Machine [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 4, Day B: Newton's Third Law and Friction [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 4, Day C: UCM and centripetal force [Equipment: yes, click to see ]
( Zoom recording )
• Week 5, Day A: Variable forces: springs [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 5, Day B: Variable forces: gravity ( Zoom recording )
• Week 5, Day C: Work and kinetic energy ( Zoom recording )
• Week 6, Day A: Work in complicated situations ( Zoom recording )
• Week 6, Day B: Potential energy and conservation of energy ( Zoom recording )
• Week 6, Day C: Forces and potential energy ( Zoom recording )
• Week 7, Day A: Review ( Zoom recording )
• Tue: 6:30 - 7:45 PM, Test 1 via ExpertTA
  
  • link to myCourses "Assignment" area to submit long problems
  •     Formula sheet for the test (and course)
  •     Logistical information about the test
  •     A made-up test for practice and Solutions to the made-up test
  •     Practice problems for the first test
  • Solutions to problems on Test 1
    • All problems (includes rough breakdown of points)
    • detailed solutions to problems 7-10
    • detailed solutions to problems 11-13
    • detailed solutions to problem 14
    • detailed solutions to problem 15
    • detailed solutions to problem 16
• Week 7, Day B: Impulse and momentum [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 7, Day C: Momentum and collisions [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 8, Day A: Center of mass ( Zoom recording I ) ( Zoom recording II )
• Week 8, Day B: Ballistic Pendulum experiment [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 8, Day C: Introduction to angular quantities [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 9, Day A: Angular kinematics ( Zoom recording )
• Week 9, Day B: No class (recharge day)
• Week 9, Day C: Rotational KE, moment of inertia ( Zoom recording )
• Week 10, Day A: More moments of inertia, and torque ( Zoom recording )
• Week 10, Day B: Rolling motion [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 10, Day C: Torque with vectors (and the vector cross product) ( Zoom recording )
• Week 11, Day A: Work in rotational motion ( Zoom recording )
• Week 11, Day B: Angular momentum ( Zoom recording )
• Week 11, Day C: Conservation of angular momentum ( Zoom recording ) [Equipment: yes, click to see ]
• Week 12, Day A: The gyroscope and other angular momentum in action ( Zoom recording ) [Equipment: yes, click to see ]
• Week 12, Day B: Static equilibrium ( Zoom recording ) [Equipment: yes, click to see ]
• Week 12, Day C: Review of differential equations and a swinging meterstick ( Zoom recording ) [Equipment: yes, click to see ]
• Week 13, Day A: Review of material before Test 2 ( Zoom recording )
• Tue: 6:30 - 7:45 PM, Test 2 via ExpertTA
  •     Formula sheet for the test (and course)
  •     Sample test for practice
  •     Answers to sample test for practice
  •     Solutions to all test problems (includes rough breakdown of points)
• Week 13, Day B: Simple harmonic motion [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 13, Day C: The pendulum [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 14, Day A: Waves and wave motion ( Zoom recording )
• Week 14, Day B: Adding waves together: interference and beats ( Zoom recording )
• Week 14, Day C: Standing waves on a string demo, LIGO [Equipment: yes, click to see ] ( Zoom recording )
• Week 15, Monday: No class, RIT counts this as a Thursday
• Week 15, Day B: Review Day ( Zoom recording )
• Final exam: Tues, May 11, 4:15 - 6:45 PM via myCourses

Homework sets.

In order to use the on-line homework system, you need to know your login name and your initial password. Your "login name" should be the same as your last name, but spelled in lower case only; so Joe Smith should type smith. Your initial password should be the final 4 digits of your 9-digit RIT student ID number, so if your ID number is 123456789, the initial password would be 6789. Be sure to include any zeroes: if the final digits of your ID are "0035", then your password is 0035. You can change your password from the default after you log in for the first time.

• Homework 0: Introduction to WebWork due Tuesday, Jan 26, at 6 PM.
      This assignment does not count towards your grade; it is intended to uncover any errors in the system and give us time to fix them.
      Answers to homework 0
• Homework 1: Graphs and kinematics due Wednesday, Feb 3, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 1
• Homework 2: 1-D kinematic under constant acceleration due Friday, Feb 5, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 2
• Homework 3: Vectors due Monday, Feb 8, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 3
• Homework 4: Projectile motion (easy) due Wed, Feb 10, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 4
• Homework 5: Projectile motion (not so easy) due Fri, Feb 12, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 5
• Homework 6: UCM due Wednesday, Feb 17, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 6
• Homework 7: Forces: I due Friday, Feb 19, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 7
• Homework 8: Atwood strikes again due Monday, Feb 22, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 8
• Homework 9: Sliding with friction due Wed, Feb 24, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 9
• ExpertTA practice assignment: Circle due Friday, Feb 26, at 6 PM.
  In order to verify that you will be able to sign into the ExpertTA system to take Test 1 during Week 7, please complete this very easy, one-problem assignment. Let me know if you encounter any problems.

• Optional Homework 90: Bringing water to Mecca due Monday, Mar 1, at 6 PM.
  Your score on this optional problem set will be added to your overall homework score at the end of the semester, allowing you to replace missed problems.
      Answers to homework 90
• Homework 10: UCM and friction due Friday, Feb 26, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 10
• Homework 11: Gravity, friction, springs due Monday, Mar 1, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 11
• Homework 12: Work and the dot product due Wed, Mar 3, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 12
• Homework 13: Work done by variable forces due Fri, Mar 5, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 13
• Homework 14: Conservation of energy, potential energy due Mon, Mar 8, at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 14
• ExpertTA practice assignment: Timed mini-test due Monday, Mar 8, at 6 PM.
  This is a mini version of the test: 3 multiple choice questions plus one long write-out-the-solution problem. You have only 25 minutes to complete the mini-test on ExpertTA. When finished, scan your written solution to the long problem, save as PDF, and upload to myCourses Assignments area.
• Homework 15: Impulse and momentum due Wed, Mar 17 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 15
• Homework 16: Collisions due Fri, Mar 19 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 16
• Homework 17: Center of Mass due Mon, Mar 22 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 17
• Homework 18: Rotational Kinematics due Mon, Mar 29 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 18
• Homework 19: Moment of inertia, Rotational KE due Wed, Mar 31 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 19
• Homework 20: Moment of inertia, Torque due Mon, Apr 5 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 20
• Homework 21: Torque and the cross product due Wed, Apr 7 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 21
• Homework 22: Work in rotational motion due Fri, Apr 9 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 22
• Homework 23: Angular momentum due Mon, Apr 12 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 23
• Homework 24: More angular momentum due Wed, Apr 14 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 24
• Homework 25: Conservation of angular momentum due Fri, Apr 16 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 25
• Homework 26: Static equilibrium due Mon, Apr 19 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 26
• Optional Homework 91: Clock on ice due Tue, Apr 20 at 6 PM.
  Your score on this optional problem set will be added to your overall homework score at the end of the semester, allowing you to replace missed problems.
      Answers to homework 91
• Homework 27: Building up to SHM due Mon, Apr 26 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 27
• Homework 28: SHM due Wed, Apr 28 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 28
• Homework 29: Pendula due Fri, Apr 30 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 29
• Homework 30: Waves due Mon, May 3 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 30
• Homework 31: Wave interference and power due Wed, May 5 at 6 PM.
      Answers to homework 31

Extra Credit Projects (each student may hand in up to 2 extra credit projects during the semester). Please submit your work by 5 PM on Wednesday, May 5.

1. Human Reaction Times
2. Indoor Exercise
3. The Paris Gun
4. Measure the Earth's Radius
5. Coefficient of Static Friction
6. Find the equilibria
7. Bouncing balls
8. A Solar Sail
9. The Office Chair Radar Gun
10. Moment of Inertia of the Human Body
11. Verify Conservation of Angular Momentum
12. The Pendulum
13. Record a Wave
14. Measure the Speed of Sound in Air

For more information

Looking for help? RIT's Academic Success Center offers tutoring sessions. You can even sign up for physics help via Slack.

• I have written down some very simple rules for dealing with uncertainties in measurements.
  • My tutorial on uncertainties adopts the "simple" version of error propagation
  • Ultra-condensed description of propagation of errors again using the "simple" version of error propagation
  • Prof. Lindberg's guide to Uncertainties and Error Propagation
• Know it all? Try solving some of the Duke Physics Challenges
• Solar sails can propel a spacecraft through the solar system without any fuel. How? It's just conservation of momentum .... If you want to get into the messy details of sending spacecraft to another planet, check out
  • Solar Sails: A Novel Approach To Interplanetary Travel is an electronic book in the Wallace Library
  • NASA's Basics of Space Flight
  • The Rocket and Space Technology version of Basics of Space Flight
  • Orbiter -- a space flight simulator a free program which runs under Windows
  • So You Wanna Build A Rocket? takes a somewhat speculative look into future rocketry.
• The Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics site tries (futilely, no doubt) to point out how Hollywood ignores Mr. Newton.
• A good place to look for information on the solar system is NASA's "Welcome to the Planets" site
• Information about the Earth's oceans can be found at the Argo Project's web page.

This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Jan 28, 2021

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.