PHYS 1101 - General Physics I

(PBS)

Fall, summer. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Forbidden Overlap: Students may receive credit for only one course in the following group: PHYS 1101, PHYS 1112, PHYS 1116, PHYS 2207. Prerequisites: three years high school mathematics, including trigonometry. Students without high school physics should allow extra time for PHYS 1101. Enrollment may be limited and freshmen are excluded. General introductory physics for nonphysics majors. Includes less mathematical analysis than PHYS 2207 but more than PHYS 1201–PHYS 1204 . Eight-week, six-week, or first four weeks only for those doing PHYS 1102 in the second four weeks.

A. Giambattista.

PHYS 1101 and 1102 emphasize quantitative and conceptual understanding of the topics of introductory physics developed without use of calculus. The course offers individualized instruction with considerable flexibility in scheduling. Students who elect to take the course must be able to meet deadlines. Most instruction occurs in the learning center where individualized tutoring in available. There are no required lectures or scheduled labs. Readings, problems, laboratory exercises, videotaped lectures, overview sessions, online tutorials, and sample tests for each of 8 subject units are assigned with a flexible schedule of deadlines. Evaluation includes an oral notebook check and a written test for each subject unit plus a final retention unit. Written tests can be repeated up to three test tries per unit. Major topics for 1101: kinematics, forces and dynamics, momentum, energy, fluid mechanics, waves and sound, thermal physics, kinetic theory, and thermodynamics. At the level of College Physics vol. 1, third ed., by Giambattista, Richardson, and Richardson.