PHY 101
General Physics I (Mechanics)
2 Unit(s) (LH 30)
Course Description
At the end of the course, student should be able to;
1. identify and deduce the physical quantities and their units;
2. differentiate between vectors and scalars;
3. describe and evaluate motion of systems on the basis of the fundamental laws of mechanics;
4. apply Newton’s laws to describe and solve simple problems of motion;
5. evaluate work, energy, velocity, momentum, acceleration, and torque of moving or rotating
objects;
6. explain and apply the principles of conservation of energy, linear and angular momentum;
7. describe the laws governing motion under gravity; and
8. explain motion under gravity and quantitatively determine behaviour of objects moving under
gravity.
Course Outline
Space and time. Units and dimension, Vectors and Scalars. Differentiation of vectors:
displacement, velocity and acceleration. Kinematics. Newton laws of motion (Inertial frames,
Impulse, force and action at a distance, momentum conservation). Relative motion. Application
of Newtonian mechanics. Equations of motion.Conservation principles in physics. Conservative
forces. Conservation of linear momentum. Kinetic energy and work. Potential energy. System of
particles. Centre of mass. Rotational motion:Torque, vector product, moment, rotation of
coordinate axes and angular momentum. Polar coordinates. Conservation of angular momentum.
Circular motion. Moments of inertia. gyroscopes and precession. Gravitation: Newton’s Law of
Gravitation. Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion. Gravitational Potential Energy. Escape velocity.
Satellites motion and orbits.