Physics 100: General Physics





Full Year 2014-15

Course Instructor: Dr. Carl Adams  Room 1006 Physical Sciences Complex
                               Dr. Brandon van Zyl Room 1019 PSC

Lab Instructor: Jamie Powell jpowell@stfx.ca    PSC 1017

Physics 100 is an introductory course primarily aimed at students in the life sciences.  The topics covered are quite broad: from classical mechanics, thermodynamics, fluids, harmonic motion, waves, optics, electricity, circuits, magnetism, and modern physics.  The approach is algebra rather than calculus based.  The majority of students in this class are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year but 1st year students are most welcome.  Also there is no requirement to have taken physics in high school.

The experimental lab is a significant part of this course and Jamie Powell is in control of this aspect of the class.  You need to contact him if you need to re-arrange labs or a lab quiz.  The lab write-ups and rules can all be found on the Moodle site for this course

The tutorials are mandatory and take place on the same day of the week as your lab but in the alternate weeks i.e.  if you are signed up for the Wednesday lab you would have labs on Sept. 10, Sept. 24, etc. and tutorials on Sept. 18, Oct. 2, etc. OR labs on Sept. 18, Oct. 2 and tutorials on Sept. 10, Sept. 24.  (We will assign you to one of these two groups prior to the 1st lab day.)

This is the course description for 2014-15

Is PHYS 100 the right course for you?  The course is primarily designed for life-science students (bio and HK).  If you plan on majoring in mathematics, computer science, chemistry, engineering, or physics you "should" be in PHYS 120 instead.  There are also times when I would recommend PHYS 120 for life-science students: if you have a good math and physics background from high school, if you have taken or are taking calculus, and are just generally comfortable with physics.

Come on by and visit me!  I have time available to help you with the course.

I have posted previous tests on-line.  Follow this link.

Notifications

  1. Here is pretest you can do on your own to check your math and unit conversion skills.
  2. Tutorial attendance is mandatory.  See the course description.
  3. The course ID for MasteringPhysics is MPADAMS84823.
  4. If you need to register for MasteringPhysics go to www.masteringphysics.com.  This has options for those that have purchased MP with the text and those that need to purchase it separately.  Make sure you choose "College Physics: A Strategic Approach" Knight, Jones, Field 3e as your textbook.