EDEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED SCIENCES

INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS I

PHY 1410

COURSE OUTLINE – SEMESTER 1

Lecturer Mr. x

Mr. Chileshe. A

Tutors Mr. Litebele. L

Ms. Chileshe. M

Ms. Nyirongo. R

July 2023 Intake

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 PREFACE

Physics is the most fundamental of the natural sciences which deals with the structure and behavior of
matter. It is the science concerned with the description of the interactions of energy, matter, space, and
time. Physics is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every phenomenon. It
plays a very central role in the technological and economic advancement of a nation.

What then is Physics? It can be defined as follows:

1. Physics is the study of the laws of Nature and the application of these laws to non-living things.
2. It is the science of matter and energy and the relations between them.
3. It is the body of knowledge gained from the study of natural phenomena.
Physicists work in all sectors of the economy especially in different branches of science and make
important contributions to applied sciences.

D. M. Fubara, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Hacourt, Nigeria in an Internal
Report on Physics and Development No. 3, Miramare – Trieste May 1983 had this to say about Physics:

“Physics is the descriptive formulation of the universe as a system of concepts expressible mathematically.
The universe is physics. The conquest of the universe is development. Development is a measure of the
advancement in science, engineering and technology arising solely from resolved physics concepts.
Therefore, development is a progressive resolution of physics concepts.”

Is Physics difficult?

The answer can be yes or no. With the right attitude and approach the answer is no otherwise it is yes. This
is true for all the other courses you will be taking. In the lectures we will cover only the most important
parts. Therefore, you should read the textbook very carefully. Read again and again until you understand
the concepts. Do not try to memorize a lot of facts or rules. The most important thing is to learn how to
answer questions and solve end of chapter problems. As mentioned earlier, memorizing is not very helpful
instead you must understand how a particular problem is solved. Remember it not beneficial work in
isolation from one course mates but rather work cooperatively with them. The lectures will be
complimented by tutorial sessions which will be conducted once in a week.

The tutorials aim at training you in solving Physics problems particularly those related to the theory
covered in lectures so that you can achieve a good understanding of the theory. It is therefore recommended
that you participate actively in tutorial sessions. To a large measure, this will certainly improve your results
and might even be the decisive factor of whether you will pass the course or not.

The tutorials will be organized as follows: You are strongly advised to solve the problems before hand at
home and then these problems will then be discussed as group in the tutorial session. Each one of you is
expected to go to the board and make an oral presentation of the solution to group members. You should
rise and shine and do not be shy! The tutorial session will be moderated by the tutor and s/he will intervene
only if you fail to solve a problem, or to present an alternative way of solving a problem, or to clarify any
matter.

It is of vital importance that you prepare for the tutorial by solving problems beforehand at home. This
will help you identify where your own difficulties lie otherwise just copying from the board what other
people are doing will not help you much and you will lose most of its value. You must remember that at
university level, you must go to knowledge and not the other way around.

The best way to learn Physics is through actively solving problems. Remember that just as listening to
recordings won't teach you to play piano (though it can help), merely reading a textbook won't teach you
physics (though it too can help). You MUST work the problems. Your text books contain a large number

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of solved problems in every chapter. It would be a good idea to test your understanding by closing the
book and try these problems on your own and then refer to the book if you get stuck. It is good practice to
test your test your understanding of the concepts you learn in class while ideas are still fresh in mind.
Don’t wait until the end!

Your performance in tutorials will be assessed taking some tutorial tests, commonly known as quizzes,
during the year. The quizzes will not be announced earlier and will be taken during the first 10-15 minutes
of a normal tutorial session after the normal tutorial session will continue. The tutorial test problems which
you will be required to solve will be randomly picked from the tutorial sheet by your tutor. The problems
will be of standard hardness, meaning that they will neither be too difficult nor too simple. Each quiz will
be marked out of 10 and at the end of the year ALL the tests will counted, contributing five percent (5 %)
of your continuous assessment.

You can find a lot of problems related to the PHY 1410 course in the following books:
1. Serway Jewett, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6th edition, (2004), Thomson Brooks/Cole.
2. F. W. Sears, M. W. Zemansky, and H. D. Young, University Physics, Addison Wesley, 1987.
3. Fredrick. J. Bueche and Euegene Hecht, College Physics, 9th ed., Shaum’s Outlines Series,
McGraw-Hil, USA.
4. A. Halpern, 3000 Solved Problems in Physics, Shaum’s Solved Problem Series, McGraw Hil,
USA.
The list of references given above is by no means exhaustive, so you may refer to any refer to any other
book you find appropriate. Whenever you encounter difficulties do not hesitate to consult your group tutor
or even your lecturer. Remember that your own classmates are an invaluable source of information who
you can easily consult any time.

PHYSICS PROBLEM SOLVING HINTS

Having tools and knowing how to use these tools are two different things. Very often one may know and
understand certain concepts but the challenge is knowing when and where to apply these concepts to
specific problems in physics. The best way to test you understanding of the concepts you learn in class is
to solve problems which must be done not long after you have covered certain concepts. When solving
any physics problem, you need to follow some procedures in order to obtain the correct solution. The
following procedures are quite useful:

1. Understand the Problem.

You must understand the problem you are solving for you to obtain the correct solution. This requires
reading the problem very carefully. If you do not understand some of the terms and/or concepts in the
problem go back to the material on which the problem is based. Problems can either be qualitative or
quantitative in nature. For quantitative problems it is good practice to estimate the magnitude of the answer
you expect.
2. Analyze the Problem
After understanding the problem, break it into its components so that you can identify the
a) given data
b) target variable(s) i.e. unknown variable(s) and
c) relevant concepts such as equation(s), law(s), or definition(s) that connects the data to the
unknown(s).

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3. Plan the Solution
After identifying the target variables assign specific symbols to them and then make a connection
between the given data and the unknown(s) as a series of discrete steps. In most cases this will
involve manipulation of the identified mathematical or physical expressions so as to write them
in terms of the unknown quantities.

4. Execute the Solution

After making a clear connection between the data and the unknowns, it only remains to do the
mathematics. It is usually advisable to work with symbols and then substitute numerical values at
the very end. Before you substitute numerical values ensure that all ancillary operations such
conversion of units to the appropriate form has been done. Ensure that you have used the correct
signs, exponents and units. You must keep a sharp eye on units because they often provide useful
clues.
5. Evaluate your Answer
The aim of solving physics problems is gain a better understanding and not necessarily to obtain
a number or formula. You must therefore examine your answer to see whether
a) It makes sense
b) It has the correct units
c) It really answers the question at hand.
d) Your mathematics is right.

6. Presentation of the Solution

Your solution must be logically and coherently presented. You must show your reasoning and
working as clearly as possible with appropriate diagrams where necessary. You must also ensure
that your answer is legible (readable), that is, both your handwriting and font size MUST be
comfortable for your instructor. This will definitely save a lot of time!
Adapted from: University of Zambia Introductory Physics Tutorial Problem booklet and
University Physics with modern physics by Sears and Zemansky

BEST WISHES!

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 PHY 1410 COURSE CONTENT

1. Physical quantities and units

The measurement and recording of quantities are central to the whole of physics. The skills of
estimating a physical quantity and having a feeling for which quantities are reasonable and which
are unreasonable are very useful for any physicist. This chapter introduces the SI system of units,
which provides a universal framework of measurement that is common to all scientists
internationally. Student should be aware of the nature of a physical measurement, in terms of a
magnitude and a unit. They should have experience of making and recording measurements in
the laboratory
Learning outcomes
Students should be able to;
✓ Understand that all physical quantities consist of a numerical magnitude and a unit.
✓ Make reasonable estimates of physical quantities included within the course outline.
✓ Recall the following SI base quantities and their units: mass (kg), length (m), time (s),
current (A), temperature (K), amount of substance (mol).
✓ Express derived units as products or quotients of the SI base units and use the named units
listed in this syllabus as appropriate.
✓ Use SI base units to check the homogeneity of physical equations.
✓ Use the following prefixes and their symbols to indicate decimal submultiples or multiples
of both base and derived units: Pico (p), Nano (n), micro (μ), milli (m), cent (c), Deci (d),
kilo (k), mega (M), giga (G), tera (T).
✓ Application of dimensional Analysis.
✓ Understand that the Avogadro constant NA is the number of atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon-
12.
✓ Use molar quantities where one mole of any substance is the amount containing a number
of particles equal to the Avogadro constant NA.
2. Scalars and vectors
Learning outcomes
Students should be able;
✓ Distinguish between scalar and vector quantities and give examples of each.
✓ Properties of Vectors.
✓ Vector Components and Unit Vectors.
✓ Multiplying Vectors.

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3. Kinematics
Kinematics is the study of motion. Movement is part of everyday experience, so it is important to
be able to analyze and predict the way in which objects move. The behavior of moving objects is
studied both graphically and through equations of motion.
Learning outcomes
Students should be able;
✓ Define and use distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration.
✓ Derive, from the definitions of velocity and acceleration, equations that represent
uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line.
✓ Solve problems using equations that represent uniformly accelerated motion in a straight
line, including the motion of bodies falling in a uniform gravitational field without air
resistance.
✓ Use motion in two-dimensions to solve projectile motion related problems.
✓ Derive Maximum Height (H), Time of Flight (T), and Range (R) of a projectile.
4. Dynamics
The motion of any object is governed by forces that act on the object. This chapter introduces
Newton’s laws of motion, which are fundamental to understanding the connection between forces
and motion. The concept of momentum and the use of momentum conservation to analyze
interactions are also studied.
Learning outcomes
Students should be able to;
✓ Understand that mass is the property of a body that resists change in motion.
✓ Recall the relationship 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 and solve problems using it, appreciating that acceleration
and resultant force are always in the same direction.
✓ Define and use linear momentum as the product of mass and velocity.
✓ Define and use force as rate of change of momentum.
✓ State and apply each of Newton’s laws of motion.
✓ Describe and use the concept of weight as the effect of a gravitational field on a mass and
recall that the weight of a body is equal to the product of its mass and the acceleration of
free fall.
✓ State the principle of conservation of momentum.
✓ Apply the principle of conservation of momentum to solve simple problems, including
elastic and inelastic interactions between bodies in both one and two dimensions
(knowledge of the concept of coefficient of restitution is not required).
✓ Recognize that, for a perfectly elastic collision, the relative speed of approach is equal to
the relative speed of separation.
✓ Understand that, while momentum of a system is always conserved in interactions
between bodies, some change in kinetic energy may take place.

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5. Forces, density and pressure
In this chapter, the natures of some different types of force are studied, including how forces give
rise to both translational and rotational equilibrium. The concept of pressure is introduced. This
acts as a starting point for later work on pressure in gases.
Learning outcomes
Students should be able to;
✓ Describe the force on a mass in a uniform gravitational field and on a charge in a uniform
electric field.
✓ Understand the origin of the up-thrust acting on a body in a fluid.
✓ Show a qualitative understanding of frictional forces and viscous forces including air
resistance (no treatment of the coefficients of friction and viscosity is required).
✓ Understand that the weight of a body may be taken as acting at a single point known as its
center of gravity.
✓ Understand that a couple is a pair of forces that tends to produce rotation only.
✓ Define and apply the torque of a couple.
✓ State and apply the principle of moments.
✓ Understand that, when there is no resultant force and no resultant torque, a system is in
equilibrium.
✓ Use a vector triangle to represent coplanar forces in equilibrium.
✓ Define and use density.
✓ Define and use pressure.
✓ Derive, from the definitions of pressure and density, the equation 𝛥𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔𝛥ℎ.
✓ Use the equation 𝛥𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔𝛥ℎ.
6. Work, energy and power.
This chapter introduces different forms of energy in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The
concept of energy and its conservation provide useful accounting tools that help to understand the
behavior of physical systems. The concepts of power and efficiency are also studied.
Learning outcomes
Students should be able to;
✓ Give examples of energy in different forms, its conversion and conservation, and apply
the principle of conservation of energy to simple examples.
✓ Understand the concept of work in terms of the product of a force and displacement in the
direction of the force.
✓ Calculate the work done in a number of situations including the work done by a gas that
is expanding against a constant external pressure: 𝑊 = 𝑝𝛥𝑉.
✓ Recall and understand that the efficiency of a system is the ratio of useful energy output
from the system to the total energy input.
1
✓ Derive, from the equations of motion, the formula for kinetic energy 𝐸𝑘 = 2 𝑚𝑣 2 and use
it to solve problems.
✓ Distinguish between gravitational potential energy and elastic potential energy.
✓ Understand and use the relationship between force and potential energy in a uniform field
to solve problems.
✓ Derive, from the defining equation 𝑊 = 𝐹𝑠, the formula 𝛥𝐸𝑝 = 𝑚𝑔𝛥h for potential
energy changes near the Earth’s surface and use it to solve problems.
✓ Define power as work done per unit time and derive power as the product of force and
𝑊
velocity. Use the relationship 𝑃 = 𝑡 and 𝑃 = 𝐹𝑣 to solve problems.

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