General Physics I (Mechanics)

On completion, the students 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.

Space and time; units and dimension, vectors and scalars, differentiation of vectors: displacement, velocity and acceleration; kinematics; Newton’s 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. PHY 103 General Physics II (2 Units C: LH 30) (Behaviour of Matter) Learning Outcomes On completion, the students should be able to: 1. explain the concepts of heat and temperature and relate the temperature scales; 2. define, derive and apply the fundamental thermodynamic relations to thermal systems; 3. describe and explain the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and the concept of entropy; 4. state the assumptions of the kinetic theory and apply techniques of describing macroscopic behaviour; 5. deduce the formalism of thermodynamics and apply it to simple systems in thermal equilibrium; and 6. describe and determine the effect of forces and deformation of materials and surfaces. Course Content Heat and temperature, temperature scales; gas laws; general gas equation; thermal conductivity; first Law of thermodynamics; heat, work and internal energy, reversibility; thermodynamic processes; adiabatic, isothermal, isobaric; second law of thermodynamics; heat engines and entropy, Zero’s law of thermodynamics; kinetic theory of gases; molecular collisions and mean free path; elasticity; Hooke's law, Young's shear and bulk moduli; hydrostatics; pressure, buoyancy, Archimedes' principles; Bernoullis equation and incompressible fluid flow; surface tension; adhesion, cohesion, viscosity, capillarity, drops and bubbles. PHY 107 General Practical Physics I (2 Units C: PH 90) Learning Outcomes On completion, the students should be able to: 1. conduct measurements of some physical quantities; 2. make observations of events, collect and tabulate data; 3. identify and evaluate some common experimental errors; 4. plot and analyse graphs; and 5. draw conclusions from numerical and graphical analysis of data. Course Content These introductory courses emphasise quantitative measurements, the treatment of measurement errors and graphical analysis. A variety of experimental techniques should be employed. The experiments include studies of meters, the oscilloscope, mechanical systems, electrical and mechanical resonant systems, light, heat, viscosity, etc., covered in PHY 101 and PHY 102. However, emphasis should be placed on the basic physical techniques for observation, measurements, data collection, analysis and deduction. PHY 108 General Practical Physics II (2 Units C: PH 90) Learning Outcomes On completion, the students should be able to: 1. conduct measurements of some physical quantities; 2. make observations of events, collect and tabulate data; 3. identify and evaluate some common experimental errors; 4. plot and analyse graphs; and 5. draw conclusions from numerical and graphical analysis of data. Course Content These introductory courses emphasise quantitative measurements, the treatment of measurement errors and graphical analysis. A variety of experimental techniques should be employed. The experiments include studies of meters, the oscilloscope, mechanical systems, electrical and mechanical resonant systems, light, heat, viscosity, etc., covered in PHY 101 and PHY 102. However, emphasis should be placed on the basic physical techniques for observation, measurements, data collection, analysis and deduction.