Instructor: Brian Martin
Office: A-207, Phone: 465-3500x8339, or 922-4577 (res.)
Schedule: MWF 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. (S201)
Lab: Friday, 2:00 - 5:00 (S201)
Prerequisites: Physics 241 or equivalent
Calendar Description:
Simple harmonic oscillation, wave motion, sound, light, interference and diffraction, polarization, wave-particle duality, introduction to atomic and quantum theory.
Required Texts:
Free on-line text at OpenStax College - Chapters 16,17,25,27,29-32 | https://openstax.org/details/college-physics |
Thomas A. Moore, Six Ideas That Shaped Physics 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill 2003. Unit Q |
All of creation testifies to God and so it should be no surprise that Physics, by exploring the physical world, also explores God's relationship with creation and us. In this course, we will take time to look at how the laws of the natural world are a reflection of the relationship between Creator and Creation. Clearly our task is to develop skills and understandings but we should also be able to look "beyond" these and see how and where ideas come from.
Read this carefully! There will be two kinds of assignment - each with its own purpose:
initial attempt | Your
initial solutions will be graded on a 0 - 5 point scale: |
|
0
= |
no effort | |
1
= |
poor effort, major errors | |
2
= |
fair effort with modest conceptual errors or good effort with major conceptual errors | |
3
= |
good effort with minor conceptual errors or fair effort with only minor errors | |
4
= |
good effort with only minor errors | |
5
= |
good effort with no errors | |
correction | You will receive your initial attempts the following class with a minimum of comments and a numerical score. The solutions to these questions will be posted at this time! You may receive up to 2 additional points if you correctly identify your mistake and correct it in a different color. You must clearly identify the error (explain what you did wrong not merely rephrase the posted solution!). You have up to (but not exceeding) one week to hand in your corrections. |
A final exam, based on the entire course will be scheduled for April.
Note: you must pass the lab section of the course in order to pass the course.
Additional References:
Expanded topics will inlcude Damped Oscillators, Acoustics and Doppler effect.
Your final grade in the course will be comprised of both lecture and lab marks. The weighting is as follows:
Your final grade will be expressed using the alpha grade system used by The King's University College. See the student calendar for more information
Laboratory | 20 |
Assignments | 25 |
Mid-term exam | 20 |
Final exam |
35 |
Total | 100 |
Physics 243 is the continuation of Physics 241. The course will focus on three major topics: wave motion, sound and light. Topics considered will be:
1. Oscillations: the application of Newton's second law to simple vibrating systems will introduce the topic of oscillation. Applications will include the oscillating spring and simple pendulum.
2. Wave Motion: the physics of wave motion will be developed. Included will be a mathematical description of the travelling wave, the principle of superposition, reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction.
3. Sound: the physics of sound waves including measurement of sound intensity, mathematical representation of sound waves, interference and resonance. The Doppler effect and shock wave phenomena will be briefly discussed.
4. Light: combining some very rudimentary ideas about electricity and magnetism this section will introduce the notion that light is an electromagnetic wave. A distinction will be made between mechanical and electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic spectrum and some simple technological applications (radio, microwave etc.) will be considered.
5. Modern wave-particle ideas will be introduced and applied to atomic systems. This section will include a discussion of the spectrum of atomic hydrogen and some very simple ideas from quantum mechanics.
In addition to the topics discussed above, the historical and cultural dimension of the ideas of physics will, where appropriate, be explored. This will lead to discussions relating one's worldview to one's physics. The discussion of the wave-particle duality, for example, affords a stimulating insight into some of the dilemmas facing 20th century physicists.