1. SCI340_L01_fundamentals SCI 340
Welcome to Physics
SCI 340

2. What’s the Point? Physics is basic Physics explains things
Physics is the secrets of the universe

3. Topics Semester 1 Kinematics: describing motion
Mechanics: Explaining motion
Force and motion
Common types of motion
Conservation laws: What Nature cares about
Thermodynamics: Small things in Quantity
Heat and temperature
Kinetic theory

4. Topics Semester 2 Entropy: why anything happens Fluids
Density and buoyancy
Fluid flow
Electricity and Magnetism
Forces
Circuits
Electric power

5. Topics Semester 2 Light Nuclear Physics Electromagnetic waves Color
Optics
Nuclear Physics
Radioactivity
Fission and fusion

6. Who are You?
Please clearly write your first and last name on the tent card
Your Name
Please bring your tent card to every class
First Last

7. Group Work Introduce yourself to your group.
Identify something memorable about
yourself
your home town
your family
your name
or anything else associated with you
Tell your group and write it down.

8. The fundamental quantities
The Science of Physics
The fundamental quantities

9. Indefinable Fundamentals
Distance
Mass
Electric charge
Time

10. Distance Defined circularly with length
Length: the distance between specified locations
Distance: the length of a line segment joining two points
American Heritage Dictionary, 1981.

11. Mass
6. The measure of a body’s response to acceleration. The mass of a body is different from but proportional to its weight, is independent of the body’s position but dependent on its motion with respect to other bodies, and may be expressed in mass units, such as kilograms or slugs, or corresponding energy units, by means of the mass-energy relationship of the special theory of relativity.
American Heritage Dictionary, 1981.

12. Charge
14a. The intrinsic property of matter responsible for all electric phenomena, in particular for the force of the electromagnetic interaction,occurring in two forms arbitrarily designated negative and positive.
American Heritage Dictionary, 1981.

13. Time
A nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past to the present to the future.
An interval separating two points on this continuum, measured essentially by selecting a regularly occurring event, such as the sunrise, and counting the number of occurrences during the interval’s duration.
American Heritage Dictionary, 1981.

14. Fundamental Units Quantity Unit Distance meter (m) Mass kilogram (kg)
Charge coulomb (C)
Time second (s)
SI (International System) or MKS units

15. Fundamental Units
All units we will encounter are defined in terms of the fundamental m, kg, C, and s.

16. Working with Units
Math makes sense

17. Eat a live bullfrog first thing in the morning…
…and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day!

18. Do math with units
Unit labels can be treated like any variable in algebra.
Add them!
3 x + 4 x = 7 x
3 s + 4 s = 7 s
Divide them!
= 3 x/y
6 x
2 y
Multiply them!
(3a)(4b) = 12 ab
(3 m/s)(4 s) = 12 m
= 3 C/s
6 C
2 s

19. Compound Units Represent: Areas Volumes Accumulated effects
Effects of population

20. Compound Units a
Area = ab b

21. Compound Units Effort = (3 w) (4 h) = 12 (w)(h) = 12 worker·hours
3 workers
4 h

22. Ratio Units
Represent:
Rates of change
Intrinsic properties

23. Ratio Units
A baby has a mass of 3.2 kg at birth and 8.6 kg 9 months later. What is its average annual growth rate during this time?
5.4 kg
0.75 y
slope =
= 7.2 kg/y
mass (kg)
time (y) 10 8 6 4 2 1
0.75 y
5.4 kg

24. Manipulating Units Conversions 39.37 in = 1 m equality = 39.37 in 1 m
conversion factors
= 72 in ·
1 m
39.37 in = 72
39.37 m
72 in
= 72 in · 1
= m

25. Group Work
1 mi = 5280 ft 1 yd = 3 ft Set up the conversion 2 mi to yd.
1 mi = 5280 ft 1 ft = 12 in 1 m = in 1 h = 3600 s Set up the conversion 75 mi/h to m/s.