Introduction to Physics
Full course description
Physics is the natural science that aims to understand how the universe behaves, from the subatomic scale up. This is an introductory course which introduces participants to what studying physics at university is all about. Because physics is largely expressed through the language of mathematics, the course will dance between mathematical concepts and their application to physics. On the physics side we will focus on mechanics: the motion of physical bodies and the associated concepts of force, work and energy. This will require the mathematics of functions, derivatives, integrals and vectors.
Course objectives
- Sketch the graphs of basic functions (polynomial, root, exponential, logarithmic, simple combinations of these), and solve equations involving these
- Work with the derivative as both a function and a rate of change, and calculate the derivative of basic functions
- Calculate the definite and indefinite integrals of basic functions
- Apply vector algebra to find resultant vectors, solve vector equations, calculate dot products
- Check dimensional consistency of relations, and convert between units
- Define position, displacement, velocity and acceleration, and calculate these for simple motions
- Apply Newton’s laws of motion, particularly to relate force, mass and acceleration in simple physical scenarios
- Calculate the work done by a force in simple scenarios
- Remember the work-energy theorem and apply it in simple physical scenarios
- Explain the concept of conservative forces and of potential energy, and apply conservation of energy to simple physical scenarios
- Define linear momentum and impulse, and apply momentum conservation to standard scenarios and collisions
Prerequisites
- None
Co-requisites
- PRA1101 (only in Period 1)
Corequisites
Recommended reading
The textbook for this course is a free and online textbook:
University Physics volumes 1, 2 & 3, (2016 September), OpenStax College.
Volumes available from: https://openstax.org/