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PHYS 219
Spring semester 2016
Lecture 01: Course Overview
Ron Reifenberger
Birck Nanotechnology Center
Purdue University
Please see Appendix attached to this
lecture for information about websites and
useful features of Mastering Physics
Lecture 01
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Historical Perspective
Most of the Physics you have already studied (Mechanics) was
developed between ~1600 and mid 1800’s. This body of
knowledge was essentially devised to correct Aristotle.
Magnetism
Optics
~ 1600
Mechanics
Electricity Thermo
~ 1700
~ 1800
 Aristotle placed great emphasis on reason – just think about a
problem logically and you can solve it! (refer to Euclid’s success in
laying out geometry)
 Before ~1600, Aristotle’s approach gave rise to a culture in which
only a few know the accepted answers, while most do not.
 After ~1600, the scientific approach becomes important.
 Benefits of the scientific approach? Occasionally, a new theory
leads to unexpected payoffs that provide a stimulus for centuries!
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton-stm/
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One example: Understanding Planetary Motion
The Antikythera mechanism, recovered in 1900, was
created by the ancient Greeks about 2,000 years ago.
The mechanism appears to be a device for estimating
the positions of the moon and planets.
Galileo’s work circa 1620 starts the scientific
revolution that culminates in 1686 when Newton’s
Principia is published. This remarkable book explains
the theory for calculating motion.
Antikythera
dimensions:
about 33 cm x 18 cm x 10 cm
Within ~85 years of Newton’s Principia, precise
mechanical models of planetary motion are developed,
e.g. Rittenhouse’s Orrey (circa 1770). One Orrey was
donated to Rutgers and a second to Princeton.
The Orrey allowed students in the first US universities
to predict the position of planets up to 4000 years in
the future!
In 2014, using computers to solve Newton’s equations,
the trajectory of a man-made satellite can be
predicted and controlled with sufficient accuracy to
land a spacecraft on a comet.
Rittenhouse’s Orrey
2014
Rosetta Mission
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By ~1750, a new topic becomes popular
- Electricity By 1850, the fundamental laws of Electricity and Magnetism
are reasonably well established at the macroscopic level.
Maxwell’s unification of Electricity and Magnetism and
the prediction of
Electromagnetic Waves
With this understanding, Newton’s Laws receive a new
challenge!
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The progress of science/engineering/technology is
marked by the transformation of the qualitative to
the quantitative using mathematics.
Historically, math was originally divided into two disciplines,
geometry and number theory. 1 The invention of a coordinate system
unified these two disciplines.
The scientific world is quantified using four levels of
mathematics
• Functional relationships:
V=IR; Q=CV; F=-kx
• Dynamical Models: Calculus and Differential Equations
• Probabilistic Models: Boltzmann statistics, FermiDirac statistics, etc.
• Fields: Electromagnetic field equations
vectors
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words “number theory” means very loosely any sort of mathematics dealing with any sort
of number.
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If you feel uncomfortable with your math
skills, please do something to improve
them!
• Algebra
• Scientific Notation
• Simple Vector Concepts
Some math you will need to know:
• One equation, one unknown
• Sine, cosine, tangent, exponents
• Right triangle, Pythagorean Theorem, geometry
• Exponential (scientific) notation
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Units of Measurement
A few exceptions: electron volt : 1eV=1.602x10-19 J
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Metric Unit Abbreviations
Scientific
Notation
Decimal
equivalents
= 1000
milli- (m)
= 103
= 10-2
= 10-3
= 0.001
micro- (u)
= 10-6
= 0.000001
nano- (n)
= 10-9
= 0.000000001
pico- (p)
= 10-12
= 0.000000000001
Prefix
kilo- (k)
centi- (c)
= 0.01
Example
Units
kilogram (kg);
kilometer (km)
centimeter (cm)
milligram (mg);
millimeter (mm)
microgram (ug)
microliter (uL)
nanogram (ng)
nanoamperes (nA)
picogram (pg)
picoamperes (pA)
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Scientific Notation
a few examples
1,000 x 1,000,000 = (1 x 103) x (1 x 106 ) = 1 x 109 = 1,000,000,000
0.001 x 0.000001 = (1 x 10-3) x (1 x 10-6) = 1 x 10-9 = 0.000,000,001
1,000 x 0.001 = (1 x 10-3) x (1 x 103) = 1 x 100 = 1
1,000 / 1,000,000 = (1 x 103) / (1 x 106 ) = (1 x 103) x (1 x 10-6 )
= 1 x 10-3 =0.001
Make sure you know how to handle Scientific Notation in Mastering Physics
FORMAT. A few EXAMPLES:
0.001 = 1*10^-3
1,000,000,000 = 1*10^9
Up Next – The Physics of elementary charges
Attached:
APPENDIX A: Worth Reading at Least Once
APPENDIX B: A few useful links
APPENDIX C: A Few Useful Features of
Mastering Physics
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APPENDIX A: Worth Reading at Least Once
How much time should you devote to this course?
The general rule of thumb regarding college studying is (and has been
for a LONG time) that for each class, students should spend
approximately 2-3 hours of study time for each credit hour that they
spend in class.
PHYS 219 is a 4 credit course.
This means you should spend between 8-12 hours per week on AVERAGE
working on course material outside of class time.
In high school, studying was equivalent to memorization. In college if you
sit and memorize, you will quickly realize that memorization won’t help.
In college, your final grade does not necessarily depend on your effort,
but on your understanding.
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How to get the most from this course
• Don’t study like you eat!
• Realize from Day 1 this class is not a recreational course; you will need to work at it.
• Always be where you are supposed to be on time - Come to class and force yourself to take notes.
• Bring “a question” to every class.
• Listen to the Vocabulary – the Words are Important!
• Do not become speechless consumers of content; don’t be afraid to ask “So What?”
• Be aware of “Oh, wow!” moments
• Work through many, many, many “Confidence Building” questions
• Do the homework problems and study the solutions
• Adopt the attitude “What I can’t calculate, I don’t really know”
• Don’t fall into the trap: “Which formula do I plug into?” It’s OK to start at this point, but make sure
you follow up with an attempt to understand
• Read many text books in parallel
• Realize that in contrast to engineering, in physics it’s legal to be interested in something just
because it is interesting.
• Show up, do your best, let go of the rest.
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How to learn the material
1. Read about it (read textbooks)
2. Listen to someone discuss it (come to class
lectures, view You Tube tutorials, etc.)
3. Work as many problems as possible (do the
homework, plus more)
Be honest about your understanding –
“The first principle is that you must not fool
yourself - unfortunately you are usually the easiest
person to fool.”
One common theme - over the years: the best
students I have taught at Purdue tell me they
“reorganize” each and every lecture.
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What Are Your Responsibilities?
Here is a list I shamelessly compiled over the years from various websites
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Come to class on time.
Know all the pertinent information about the class, including:
• the course number
• instructor's name
• the date, time and location of all examinations.
Know the contents of the syllabus.
Have sufficient general knowledge to understand the course material.
Have sufficient general vocabulary to understand the class material, homework
problems, and exam questions.
Look up any unfamiliar vocabulary or topics you encounter in class.
Read and reorganize in your own words all on-line lecture notes pertaining to this
class.
Maintain a dedicated Homework Solutions notebook during the semester.
Retain material discussed in class.
Give yourself time to think about the course material.
Ask questions about topics you are unsure about.
Know the course material well enough to understand the terminology used in
homework and exam questions. You should be able to interpret the meaning of the
homework or exam questions.
Know the course standards and material well enough to estimate your own grade
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accurately.
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Two reasons you may find this course “hard”
Reason 1: Physics is a “ spiral subject” that continually revisits,
reinforces, and refines your understanding of core concepts.
Take home message: If your understanding of core concepts
is weak, you may struggle in this course.
Reason 2: The signposts along the trail of “technical progress”
are written in the language of mathematics. The dialect used
when writing these signs is algebra and calculus.
Few people speak this dialect or have a strong interest in
learning it. As a consequence, progress is driven by a small
subset of the human race that speaks mathematics as a
second language. Take home message: If your understanding
of mathematics is weak, you may struggle in this course.
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1 click
There are two pictures of a car in
this photo. Which one do you see?
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All too often, University courses are viewed as disconnected bits of information.
True, the assembled car above consists of all the parts. But the connections and
interrelationships between the parts can be far more important than the car
itself.
That’s what a University education is all about - to understand the connections
and interrelationships.
A pre-requisite for this understanding is “curiosity”, maturity and responsible
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action on your part.
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A few things I know are true
What we will cover this semester is
not the final word – it’s the first
approximation to understanding
Electric/Magnetic/Optical/Quantum
phenomena.
You probably will not remember many
of my lectures. But what you teach
yourself during this course, you will
never forget.
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Meeting expectations after you leave Purdue
Just to be clear, after you leave Purdue you will be judged on a number of
traits that may not be obvious to you at this stage of your life. Expectations are
constantly increasing. To be competitive, your time at Purdue should be focused
to demonstrate broad competency in many of the categories listed below. PHYS
219 and the associated labs provide many opportunities to develop in ALL these
areas.
 Critical Thinking: Use logic, reasoning and mathematics to identify the
strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches
to problems.
 Quantitative Reasoning: Apply quantitative reasoning to describe or
explain phenomena.
 Scientific Inquiry: Apply knowledge of the scientific process to integrate
and synthesize information, solve problems, and formulate research questions.
 Written Communication: Effectively convey information to others using
written words and sentences.
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APPENDIX B: A few useful links
 Purdue PHYS 219 Course Web Page: http://www.physics.purdue.edu/phys219/
 To register for Mastering Physics, go to Blackboard at
https://mycourses.purdue.edu/
 For a step-by-step guide to get started with Mastering Physics, go to
http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/students/
mm-support/index.html
 For a summary of the many features available in Mastering Physics, go to
http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/students/
features/index.html
 For Questions and Answers about Mastering Physics, go to
http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/students/
mm-support/top-questions/index.html
 For a Student User Guide to Mastering Physics, go to
http://help.pearsoncmg.com/mastering/student/ccng/index.htm
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APPENDIX C: A Few Useful Features of Mastering Physics
Click to see day-by-day lecture/recitation schedule
Click to see homework assignments
Access pdf’s of lecture notes
On-line copy of text book
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On-line “Demo Videos” Accessible by QCR Codes
If using e-text on-line, just click the QCR code and the video will open
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Entering Numerical or Algebraic Answers
If the answer to a question requires a NUMERICAL or ALGEBRIC
answer, then the box shown below will appear after a question is posed.
“answer box”
If you click the icon
like:
By clicking on the greycolored symbols, you can
create
an
equation-like
expression in the “answer
box” to facilitate any
numerical
or
algebraic
answer that you care to
enter.
, then another window will open that looks
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For instance, clicking on the
icon, causes
the “answer box” to look like this:
“answer box”
base
power
You can now enter numbers for the base and power into the “answer
box” by positioning the mouse cursor at the end of either of the two
red arrows and right clicking the mouse.
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Be aware that Mastering Physics accepts algebraic answers. So, for
instance, you can be asked a question like:
If y=2x2 + b, what is x?
The correct answer would be x 
yb
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Note that Mastering Physics would also accept x 
To enter this answer, you would first be required to
symbol (√x) and then the fractional symbol (a/b) by
provided in the grey boxes shown below. Then you
numerator blue box and 2 in the denominator blue
answer by clicking on the “Submit” orange box.
 b  y
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select the square root
clicking on the options
would type y-b in the
box. You submit your
“answer box”
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