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Week 1a Lecture PDF

This document outlines the syllabus for PH102 Classical Physics at the University of the South Pacific for 2020. It introduces classical physics and its focus on describing objects and systems that are macroscopic in size and move at speeds much slower than the speed of light. The course will cover mechanics, measurements, and Chapter 1 of the textbook on physics and measurements. Lectures, labs, and tutorials are scheduled throughout the week.

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JDR
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101 views22 pages

Week 1a Lecture PDF

This document outlines the syllabus for PH102 Classical Physics at the University of the South Pacific for 2020. It introduces classical physics and its focus on describing objects and systems that are macroscopic in size and move at speeds much slower than the speed of light. The course will cover mechanics, measurements, and Chapter 1 of the textbook on physics and measurements. Lectures, labs, and tutorials are scheduled throughout the week.

Uploaded by

JDR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PH102 Classical Physics

2020
Welcome!

PH102: a course for those students who


are majoring in BSc Physics
Or for students who are doing BE (EE,
ME or CV)
PH102 Classical Physics
Course coordinator:
Dr Abhikesh Kumar
(Location: N261, FSTE
Email: [email protected])

This is the text book for this


course

Classical Physics: study theories and principles that govern or can be used to
describe the behavior of objects or systems that are big in size, bigger than an
atom and move at speeds much lower than that of speed of light.
 Course outline
 Importance and use of moodle platform
 USP apps: USP mobile>>app notification
 Items required: - Book to write notes, 1A4
book for lab writing (100 pages), text book

 Lectures 3 x 1hr – Mon 9 am, Tues 11 am,


Fri 4 pm (all in 092-001)
Lab slots: (010-032)
 Monday 1pm – 4pm
 Monday 4pm – 7pm
 Tuesday1pm – 4pm
 Wednesday 8am – 11am
 Wednesday 2pm – 5pm
 Wednesday 5pm – 8 pm
 Thursday 11am – 2pm
 Friday 1pm – 4pm
Tutorial slots:
 Monday 2 pm Room: 014-114
 Monday 2 pm Room: 014-014A
 Tuesday 3 pm Room: 093-201
 Tuesday 12 pm Room: 093-208
 Tuesday 5 pm Room: 014-014A
 Wednesday 11 am Room: 014-117
 Wednesday 12 pm Room: 014-117
 Wednesday 1 pm Room: 014-027
 Thursday 10 am Room: 014-115
 Thursday 1 pm Room: 093-205
 Thursday 3 pm Room: 014-116
 Friday 2 pm Room: 014-114
 Friday 12 pm Room: 093-001
CLASSICAL PHYSICS
Chapter 1 from text book
Physics and Measurements
Physics
 Fundamental Science
 Concerned with the fundamental principles of the Universe
 Foundation of other physical sciences
 Divided into five major areas
 Classical Mechanics
 Relativity
 Thermodynamics
 Electromagnetism
 Optics
 Quantum Mechanics
Classical Physics
 Mechanics and electromagnetism are basic
to all other branches of classical and modern
physics
 Classical physics
 Developed before 1900
 Our study will start with Classical Mechanics
 Also called Newtonian Mechanics or Mechanics
 Modern physics
 From about 1900 to the present
Objectives of Physics
 To find the limited number of fundamental
laws that govern natural phenomena
 To use these laws to develop theories that
can predict the results of future experiments
 Express the laws in the language of
mathematics
 Mathematics provides the bridge between theory
and experiment
Theory and Experiments
 Should complement each other
 When a discrepancy occurs, theory may be
modified
 Theory may apply to limited conditions
 Example: Newtonian Mechanics is confined to objects
traveling slowly with respect to the speed of light
Measurements
 Used to describe natural phenomena
 Needs defined standards
 Characteristics of standards for
measurements
 Readily accessible
 Possess some property that can be measured
reliably
 Must yield the same results when used by anyone
anywhere
 Cannot change with time
Fundamental Quantities and
Their Units
Quantity SI Unit
Length meter
Mass kilogram
Time second
Temperature Kelvin
Electric Current Ampere
Luminous Intensity Candela
Amount of Substance mole
Quantities Used in Mechanics
 In mechanics, three basic quantities are used
 Length
 Mass
 Time
 Will also use derived quantities
 These are other quantities that can be expressed
in terms of the basic quantities
 Example: Area is the product of two lengths
 Area is a derived quantity
 Length is the fundamental quantity
Number Notation
 When writing out numbers with many digits,
spacing in groups of three will be used
 No commas
 Standard international notation
 Examples:
 25 100
 5.123 456 789 12
Prefixes
 The prefixes can be used with any basic units
 They are multipliers of the basic unit
 Examples:
 1 mm = 10-3 m
 1 mg = 10-3 g
Basic Quantities and Their
Dimension
 Dimension has a specific meaning – it
denotes the physical nature of a quantity
 Dimensions are denoted with square
brackets
 Length [L]
 Mass [M]
 Time [T]
Dimensions and Units
 Each dimension can have many actual units
 Table 1.5 for the dimensions and units of some
derived quantities
Dimensional Analysis
 Given the equation: x = ½ at 2
 Check dimensions on each side:
L
L  2  T2  L
T
 The T2’s cancel, leaving L for the dimensions
of each side
 The equation is dimensionally correct
 There are no dimensions for the constant
Dimensional Analysis to
Determine a Power Law

x  amt n

x  at 2
Symbols
 The symbol used in an equation is not necessarily
the symbol used for its dimension
 Some quantities have one symbol used consistently
 For example, time is t virtually all the time
 Some quantities have many symbols used,
depending upon the specific situation
 For example, lengths may be x, y, z, r, d, h, etc.
 The dimensions will be given with a capitalized,
nonitalicized letter
Conversion
 Always include units for every quantity, you can
carry the units through the entire calculation
 Multiply original value by a ratio equal to one
 Example
15.0 in  ? cm
 2.54 cm 
15.0 in    38.1cm
 1in 
 Note the value inside the parentheses is equal to 1 since 1
in. is defined as 2.54 cm
Uncertainty in Measurements
 There is uncertainty in every measurement –
this uncertainty carries over through the
calculations
 May be due to the apparatus, the experimenter,
and/or the number of measurements made
 Need a technique to account for this uncertainty
 We will use rules for significant figures to
approximate the uncertainty in results of
calculations (read and recall on your own about uncertainties
and significant Figures)…in this unit leave your answers in 3 SF.

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