Physics 1 (PHYC10003_2023_SM2)

2023 Syllabus

When and where:

Day Location
Tuesday 10am Lyle Theatre
Thursday 9am Rivett Theatre
Friday 10pm Lyle Theatre

Canvas Learning Management System: http://www.lms.unimelb.edu.au/

Recommended Text: Walker, Fundamentals of Physics (1st AU/NZ ed.), Wiley 2020

Subject Coordinators: a/Prof Duane Hamacher [email protected] & Prof Geoff Taylor
[email protected]

General Information
Course Description
This subject is designed for students with a sound background in physics, and aims to provide
a strong understanding of a broad range of physics principles.
Topics include:
- Mechanics: describing and explaining translational and rotational motion, for example
in the contexts of human and animal movement and transport (Newton’s laws of
motion, both translational and rotational; energy transfer and transformation;
momentum and impulse; simple harmonic motion, equilibrium).
- Waves and sound: water waves; seismic waves; production and detection of sound, eg.
musical instruments, hearing; ultrasound (reflection and refraction, superposition,
resonance, energy transport, absorption, Doppler effect).
- Optics: optical imaging, sensors and optical instruments, human vision,
crystallography (dispersion, lenses and mirrors, interference, diffraction, polarisation).
- Gravitation: weightlessness, planetary and satellite orbits, escape velocity (universal
gravity, Kepler’s laws).
- Special relativity: particle accelerators, the ‘twin paradox’ (Einstein’s modification of
Newtonian physics, relativity of time and space, equivalence of mass and energy).
- Vector notation, and differential and integral calculus, are used wherever appropriate.

Assessment
Assessment will be derived from the end-of-semester exam (60%), on-line assignments
(15%), and laboratory work (25%).

Exam: A 3-hour exam will be set at the end of the semester. It will cover all of the material in
semester 1. You will be provided with a formula sheet (to be made available
before the end of the semester). You are expected to be available to sit an exam
at any time during the University’s exam period. The exam timetable will be
finalized by central timetabling later in the semester.

PHYSICS 1 PAGE 1
Classes
Activity Weekly Occurrence Hours - Total
Lectures 3 per week 36
Lectures will introduce you to the content of the subject. It is expected that you supplement
the lectures with reading the textbook and more widely, explore any resources, websites
provided to you and attempt any set problems.
Problem-Based Classes 1 per week 12
Starting in Week 2, the Problem-Solving Classes will give you an opportunity to try
questions with your fellow students under the guidance of a tutor. It is expected that you
come to these classes having attempted the homework sheets already.
Laboratory Sessions 1 per week over 8 weeks 20
You will have eight laboratory sessions throughout the semester. At the end of each session
you will submit a logbook entry detailing the work you did in the experiment. The
experiments are compulsory and constitute a hurdle requirement for the successful pass of
the subject. You must complete at least 80% of the experiments and obtain at least 50%
grade.

Your Laboratory and problem groups can be found on the Lab Allocations App in the Laboratory
Resources Module on the LMS.
Problems
A list of problems, exercises and self-paced tutorials relevant to the subject, taken from the
textbook and online assessment, is provided on the web site and in lectures. Solutions for the
set problems will be also available via the LMS website at the end of each week. These are
intended to help you with the problems and they are not designed to be printed. The
recommended problems are suggested as a minimum amount and you are encouraged to
complete as many textbook questions as you can.

Seeking help

Don’t forget your Tutor is your first point of reference if you are having trouble with the
material covered in the subject. The Senior Teaching Fellows can assist with assignment
extensions and general subject questions. However, for further assistance, or if you wish to
make suggestions or comments about the way in which the subject is delivered, please email
to make an appointment with your lecturer or the a/Director of First Year Studies, Daniel
Pyke.

Do feel free to raise any questions with during the PSC sessions, or post relevant questions to
the appropriate discussion board in LMS.

Physics, in particular, is an integrated subject - each aspect of the subject is designed to help
you with your understanding of each other aspect. Consequently, if you read the sections of
the text before lectures, attend lectures and understand some of what the lecturer is presenting,
go away and follow up the parts you did not understand using the textbook and other
resources, regularly work through problems before the problem classes and before being given
the solutions, and put the effort into the labs, then you will almost certainly pass and will
probably enjoy yourself!

Note: This guide is an indication of the distribution of material. The lecturers may choose to
cover some topics in more or less depth than is suggested here, and the order of presentation
may vary to some extent.

PHYSICS 1 PAGE 2
Reminders:
Subject Objectives
Students satisfactorily completing this section of the subject will be able to
• explain the basic principles of physics presented In the lecture list below;
• apply these principles, together with mathematical reasoning, to situations in the
physical sciences; and
• acquire and interpret experimental data and design experimental investigations.

In addition students will be able to:

• participate as an effective member of tutorial, laboratory and study groups;
• communicate their understanding of physics orally and in written form in tutorials, lab
classes and study groups; and
• manage their time commitments to this subject in order to be prepared for regular lab
and tutorial classes as well as tests and examination.

Timetable
24 July
Lectures 1-18 commence
31 July Tutorials classes commence
31 July
Laboratory classes commence
4 September Lectures 19-36 commence
25 to 29 September Mid-semester break
20 October Last day of semester
23 to 27 October SWOT VAC

30 October to 17 November Exam period

PHYSICS 1 PAGE 3
 Outline Mechanics (Weeks 1 – 6)
Lecturer: a/Prof Duane Hamacher email: [email protected]
Textbook Experiment
Week Topic/s
reference
Motion: mass, length and time, measurement and
units; inertial frames of reference, position, 1.1-1.3
W1 displacement, speed and acceleration; position, 2.1-2.6 No lab class
velocity and acceleration as vectors; properties of 3.1-3.3
vectors.
Motion: 2D and 3D motion; projectiles, circular 4.1-4.7
motion and relative motion.
5.1, 5.3 Experiment 1:
W2 Force: Uniform and accelerated motion; Newton’s
First and Second Laws; action and reaction; 2.6 Pendulum
Newton’s Third Law.

Force: examples of forces in nature and their 5.1-5.3

effects on motion; superposition; applications and No lab class
W3 examples of Newton’s Laws.
6.1-6.3
Energy: kinetic energy, work, power. 7.1-7.6

Energy: potential energy, conservation of energy,

work and external forces. Experiment 2:
8.1-8.5
W4 Linear momentum: impulse, conservation of Gravity
momentum, centre of mass frame; elastic collisions, 9.1-9.9
kinetic energy, rockets.

Rotational motion: rigid bodies, rotational inertia,

rotational variables; Newton’s Law, rotational 10.1-10.8 Experiment 3:
W5 kinetic energy, torque and work; translation, 11.1-11.4 The Great Race
rotation and rolling.

Angular momentum: vector addition of angular

momenta. 11.5-11.7
Equilibrium: linear and rotational motion, static Experiment 4:
W6 12.1-12.3
equilibrium, elasticity. Moment of Inertia
Gravity: Newton’s law, g and G, gravitational 13.1-13.8
potential energy, satellites.

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 Outline Waves (Weeks 7 – 12)
Lecturer: Prof Geoff Taylor email: [email protected]
Textbook
Week Topic/s Experiment
reference

Oscillations: simple harmonic motion, forces and

W7 energy in SHO; angular SHO, pendula; damped and 15.1-15.6 No Lab Class
driven SHO.

Waves: Types of waves, wavelength, frequency Experiment 5:

16.1-16.5
W8 and speed; power in a wave and the wave equation,
16.7 Angular
interference, standing waves and resonance. Momentum

Sound waves: speed of sound, music and the 17.1-17.2 Experiment 6:

Doppler Effect.
W9 17.7 Wavelength of
Geometric optics: images, and plane and spherical
mirrors; refracting surfaces and lenses. 34.1-34.4 Light

Geometric optics: optical instruments and defects

of the eye (myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia). 34.5 Experiment 7:
W10 Wave optics: light as a wave, and Young’s 17.3 Polarisation
interference; coherence, interference and 35.1-35.5
Michelson’s interferometer.

Diffraction: single slit, and circular aperture.

Relativity: relativity, Galilean relativity, Einstein’s 36.1-36.6 Experiment 8:
W11 principle of relativity, evidence for relativity; time 37.1-37.2 Vibrations
dilation and length contraction.

Relativity: Lorentz transformations, relativity and 37.3-37.4 No lab class

W12
velocities, E=mc2. 37.6

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