Course Syllabus

Course Description:

This course, intended for students majoring in physical sciences and engineering, is part of a two-semester course whose contents may be offered in other sequences or combinations. Core topics include an introduction to vectors, kinematics, dynamics, work and energy, momentum, and gravitation.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Predict the future trajectory of an object moving in two dimensions with uniform acceleration.
2. Analyze a physical situation with multiple constant forces acting on a point mass using Newtonian mechanics.
3. Analyze a physical situation with multiple forces acting on a point mass or extended object using concepts of work and energy.

Laboratory Course Objectives: At the conclusion of the laboratory component of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Analyze real-world experimental data, including appropriate use of error propagation, units and significant figures.
2. Relate the results of experimental data to the physical concepts discussed in the lecture portion of the class.

Course Content:

• Vectors and Scalars
• Newton’s Laws
• Statics and Dynamics
• Translational Kinematics
• Rotational Kinematics
• Rotational Dynamics
• Work and Energy
• Momentum
• Gravitation
• "Floating Topics" which may be included in this semester
  • Fluids
  • Mechanical Waves
  • Special Relativity
  • Laws of Thermodynamics
  • Heat Engines
  • Kinetic Theory
  • Entropy
  • Simple Harmonic Motion

Textbook:

Great news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!
University Physics, Volume 1 from OpenStax, ISBN 1-947172-20-4

You have several options to obtain this book:

• View online (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
• Download a PDF (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
• Order a print copy (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) 
• Download on iBooks (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) 

You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended -- the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

Important Notes:

• All first week assignments need to be completed and submitted by the due date to avoid possibly getting a bad grade in the class.

• Any student needing accommodations should inform the instructor. Students with disabilities who may need accommodations for this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) early in the quarter so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible.  All information will remain confidential.
• Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the assignment. Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism. "Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material, from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases but it also includes statistics, lab results, art work, etc.  Please see the Santa Fe College Handbook for policies regarding plagiarism, harassment, etc.