2013-2014 Official General Catalog [Archived Catalog]
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PHY 105 - Conceptual Physics
How does your cell phone work? How does the manipulation of light, sound, and motion help create more realistic animations or simulations? What did Einstein mean when he said the distinction between past, present, and future is only a persistent illusion? This course will give you the tools to answer these questions for yourself.
“You know you can’t enjoy a game unless you know its rules…Physics is about the rules of nature-so beautifully elegant that it can be neatly described mathematically. However, in this course we will treat physics conceptually- in down-to-earth English rather than in mathematical language.” (from Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt)
Credits: 4
Hours
3 Class Hours, 3 Laboratory Hours
Course Profile
Learning Outcomes of the Course:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Explain laws of physics and apply these principles to determine probable outcomes and explain discrepant events demonstrated or observed in the natural world.
2. Discuss the historical origins and evolution of the laws of motion and energy including the work of Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, Joule, Franklin, Faraday, and Einstein.
3. Demonstrate proportional reasoning by identifying and manipulating independent, dependent and controlled variables.
4. Demonstrate proportional reasoning to the laws of motion, gravity, energy, wave motion, electromagnetic fields, and light.
5. Recognize violations of the conservation of energy.
6. Apply major principles in the areas of Newton’s Laws of Motion; Momentum; Energy; Rotational Motion; Gravitation; Properties of Matter, Heat and Thermodynamics, Vibrations and Waves, Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Atomic and Nuclear Physics, and Relativity.
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